1.Jodie Durney — Direct/Cross
169 linesMay 29, 2019.
THE COURT: We have a new agent, while we are down we will get him sworn in.
DONALD EVATT, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
THE COURT: Let's bring the jury in. (Whereupon, the jury came into open court at approximately 9:07 a.m.)
THE COURT: Let's get to work. I have one request to stop promptly at 5:00, request granted. The lawyers now know we're going to stop promptly at five, so that's an easy request for me. We got business to tend to. Anything happen last night? Everybody good? Nobody communicating with you. Y'all have been very patient. I appreciate y'all's attention. Call your next witness.
ROBERT MADSEN: We call Jodie Durney.
JODIE DURNEY, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Have a seat up there, ma'am. Once you're seated, state your full name, spelling your last.
JODIE DURNEY: Jodie Niko Durney, D-U-R-N-E-Y.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. MADSEN:
ROBERT MADSEN: Jodie, do you work anywhere right now?
JODIE DURNEY: I do.
ROBERT MADSEN: Where do you work?
JODIE DURNEY: At Key Choice Home Healthcare.
ROBERT MADSEN: And what do you do with them?
JODIE DURNEY: I provide healthcare as a CNA.
ROBERT MADSEN: How long have you been doing that?
JODIE DURNEY: I've been there for six months.
ROBERT MADSEN: Prior to that, did you provide childcare for the Jones children in 2011?
JODIE DURNEY: I did.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you kind of tell me how that came about, please?
JODIE DURNEY: I ran ads on Craigs List and FaceBook and he responded to an ad.
ROBERT MADSEN: And initially, where did you provide the childcare at?
JODIE DURNEY: In my home.
ROBERT MADSEN: At that point in time, you only had the four children, correct?
JODIE DURNEY: Correct.
ROBERT MADSEN: Merah, Elias, Nahtahn and Gabriel?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, sir.
ROBERT MADSEN: Do you recall approximately what times you had them at your home?
JODIE DURNEY: Tim usually dropped them off at 7:30 and he was there by 6:00.
ROBERT MADSEN: Was he punctual?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, he was.
ROBERT MADSEN: How about when he dropped the kids off, did he drop off the diaper bag?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you kind of tell me about that?
JODIE DURNEY: He normally -- he did like a parent would do, he provided their diapers and their wipes, their clothes. If -- Gabriel was usually the only one that would soil pants or whatever. He would -- I'd put them in a plastic bag. He'd take the plastic bag out, put fresh clothes in. It was -- he was -- it was always tidy. And anything that was used was replaced.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did he -- when they came, did he bring them with snacks?
JODIE DURNEY: He did.
ROBERT MADSEN: Now, when they stayed at your house, did you provide certain meals to them?
JODIE DURNEY: I did.
ROBERT MADSEN: What meals did you provide?
JODIE DURNEY: Breakfast and lunch.
ROBERT MADSEN: How about toys, did he bring toys with them?
JODIE DURNEY: He did.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you -- was there a particular one -- you have something with a driveway?
JODIE DURNEY: Yeah. My driveway was slanted and it was also circular, so they had riding -- you know, little riding toys that they could get on that would pick up speed.
ROBERT MADSEN: When you say they, who's they?
JODIE DURNEY: Eli and Nahtahn, Merah, also. Gabriel was, of course, still a little bit too young for that, or too small for that kind of toy.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did the children appear to enjoy that?
JODIE DURNEY: Oh, yes, they loved it.
ROBERT MADSEN: And at some point, did that daycare at your home end?
JODIE DURNEY: It did.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you tell me about that, please?
JODIE DURNEY: I wound up -- well, it wound up slowing down, slowing down. I was going to try to slow it down and just get out of it altogether. I wanted to go back to school to pursue health science. Tim had left and was going to try to make things work with his wife. And just a few weeks after that, he wound up coming back and asked me to reconsider, that things did not work out with Amber and asked me if I'd come to his home and watch the kids.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you kind of tell me -- when he told you that things didn't work out, can you tell me about that conversation with him?
JODIE DURNEY: I don't remember the details of it, but just that -- I know he was very upset. He really wanted the relationship to work out. We never really discussed it in a year and a half of prior to them talking. I didn't even realize that that was a possibility that he would go back because he was a pretty strong person and parent. I remember worrying when he told me that he was going to go back to her slightly, but it was not my personal business to get involved, so I just remember him saying that, you know, he was going to go back. Then when it failed, he then came back and he was obviously very upset.
ROBERT MADSEN: When he told you that he was getting back together with her, how did he appear?
JODIE DURNEY: Very happy. He was ecstatic. I remember the day he was grinning ear to ear.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did you have any type of social relationship with Tim?
JODIE DURNEY: No.
ROBERT MADSEN: Was it just professional?
JODIE DURNEY: Just professional.
ROBERT MADSEN: Was Tim a socially awkward person?
JODIE DURNEY: I suppose. He was just more parental and he never changed. You know, like, Tim was always what you see is what you get. He was never -- he -- I don't know, it's just like he wasn't a happy, happy person. He didn't volunteer anything extra. Our time was so limited, like, as far as dropping off and picking up, so that was really the only time that I got. You know, maybe once every two or three weeks, it would past that where he might discuss something with Amber or maybe something like with his church, you know, something extra that didn't involve me babysitting.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did you ever see anything that led you to believe that Tim was using drugs?
JODIE DURNEY: No.
ROBERT MADSEN: He ever talk to you about hearing voices?
JODIE DURNEY: No.
ROBERT MADSEN: He ever talk to you about his mother?
JODIE DURNEY: No.
ROBERT MADSEN: He ever tell you or you ever seen anything that made you think that he was afraid of his children?
JODIE DURNEY: No.
ROBERT MADSEN: I need to ask you, also, you got a conviction for shoplifting in 2013, correct?
JODIE DURNEY: I do.
ROBERT MADSEN: And then forgery, also, in 2013?
JODIE DURNEY: Yep.
ROBERT MADSEN: Petty larceny in 2015?
JODIE DURNEY: Yep.
ROBERT MADSEN: And an obtaining signature property by false pretenses in 2015 and 2017, correct?
JODIE DURNEY: Yep.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did you -- the ones -- you ended -- or you said that he had ended the daycare or coming to you and then came back and asked you to keep the kids again?
JODIE DURNEY: Correct.
ROBERT MADSEN: What was your initial thought about that?
JODIE DURNEY: Initially, I didn't want to do it, but I was trying to go back to school. I mean, obviously, I've had some things go on, so I'm trying to -- you know, I've steady been trying to make changes for years.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did he talk you into coming back?
JODIE DURNEY: He did. It wasn't hard because I love kids. I really enjoyed being around the kids, plus it was just kind of -- in other words, I wasn't going to be in my home. It was like a normal job, just leave my house, go to work, come home.
ROBERT MADSEN: When the things didn't work out with Amber, was he upset -- was part of that because she was pregnant again?
JODIE DURNEY: No, I think he was ecstatic about the pregnancy. He was happy.
ROBERT MADSEN: And so you ended up, I guess, watching the kids the summer of 2013?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, sir.
ROBERT MADSEN: Was that back in your house?
JODIE DURNEY: No, that was back -- that was -- that was in his home.
ROBERT MADSEN: And so you had the four children then and then was Elaine a baby?
JODIE DURNEY: And the baby, yep.
ROBERT MADSEN: Do you recall kind of the times that you would go over there?
JODIE DURNEY: Same times, nothing changed. I was over there at 7:00 o'clock in the morning and when he got in is when I would leave, which was usually by 6:30.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you describe Tim as a father from what you saw?
JODIE DURNEY: Tim was an amazing father. He was an amazing father. I can't begin -- I've met a lot of parents. I'm a mom. And I could say in taking care of my own kids, I remember having to hustle up in the morning and get them off to school and get the trash taken off and get myself to work or get my husband to work or go to school myself. And trying to do everything and have it done by a certain time in the morning is kind of hard. You know, then when it's -- you know, when you clocking out of work and have to pick back up to that mom again. You're cooking and cleaning and washing clothes. That is the parent that Tim was. Tim was amazing.
ROBERT MADSEN: How did he interact with the children?
JODIE DURNEY: He was -- he was wonderful. He was -- I know -- there's so many things that I can recall that I remember that he did with those kids on a weekly basis.
ROBERT MADSEN: Such as what?
JODIE DURNEY: He would take them skating. He would take them to church. Any opportunity that he had to be a parent to them was just like any of ours. And he took advantage of every opportunity. He did school functions, church, you know, the skating, camping, hiking.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did the kids appear to enjoy that?
JODIE DURNEY: They did.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did you ever see Tim interact with the kids as far as any type of discipline?
JODIE DURNEY: Uh-huh, I did.
ROBERT MADSEN: Can you tell me about that?
JODIE DURNEY: Yeah. As far as the discipline, usually, he would just take away things that made them happy, like those ride-on toys, you know, if he -- if Tim came to my house and he was upset because of a report card, he would come in and he would pick it up himself and remove and say, you know, you don't ride that tomorrow, something like that. I mean, he would just take away something that -- or like if they -- we're going to go skating on Wednesday, this one wasn't going to skate.
ROBERT MADSEN: And that's how he would handle it?
JODIE DURNEY: That's exactly how he handled it.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did you ever see any bruises on the children?
JODIE DURNEY: Nope.
ROBERT MADSEN: Would you have had an opportunity?
JODIE DURNEY: I would have.
ROBERT MADSEN: Was there any point in time that they would be outside during that summer running around in the sprinkler?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, sir. He -- he purchased a slip and slide and a swimming pool, sprinkler. They played that summer outside a lot in the back yard at his house. And I was, obviously, out there with them.
ROBERT MADSEN: So you would see them without --
JODIE DURNEY: Absolutely, in their trunks and -- yeah, yeah.
ROBERT MADSEN: Never saw anything that made you have any concern?
JODIE DURNEY: No. No.
ROBERT MADSEN: Now, I think you had told me the kids would play pretty hard, wouldn't they?
JODIE DURNEY: They did.
ROBERT MADSEN: And something about Elias wanting to do something with the vent?
JODIE DURNEY: He always threw his toys in the vent. I don't -- that was only at Tim's house, he didn't do that at my house. He would throw his toy in the vent and then want to stick his hand down there and try to get it. And I just recall, at least, one time with me anyway, he got his hand down in there and it took 15 -- it took 15 minutes to get the vent cover off his arm. You know, just little things like that. But even that didn't leave a bruise.
ROBERT MADSEN: When you were over at Tim's house, what was the condition of his home?
JODIE DURNEY: His home was immaculate.
ROBERT MADSEN: Was there sufficient food there?
JODIE DURNEY: There was.
ROBERT MADSEN: Did he ever take the kids out to get something, any type of treats?
JODIE DURNEY: Yeah. I mean, they did normal things. He'd take them to McDonald's. He would take them, you know, to Sonics and get little drinks and there was -- he did the normal stuff, you know.
ROBERT MADSEN: Would they eat when they were at the house with you?
JODIE DURNEY: Yeah, we all ate all day.
ROBERT MADSEN: How about, did they have kind of a favorite snack?
JODIE DURNEY: They did, and Tim provided those.
ROBERT MADSEN: What was that?
JODIE DURNEY: Well, the number one thing -- well, at his house was the smoothies. He had --
ROBERT MADSEN: When you say smoothies, what do you mean?
JODIE DURNEY: The smoothies that you drink.
ROBERT MADSEN: And what would he provide --
JODIE DURNEY: Fruit smoothies.
ROBERT MADSEN: What would he provide for that?
JODIE DURNEY: Well, the milk and frozen fruit bags.
ROBERT MADSEN: And so you would make those for the kids?
JODIE DURNEY: Uh-huh. They would help make them.
ROBERT MADSEN: Just kind of overall, can you just tell me what kind of father he was?
JODIE DURNEY: Overall, Tim was better than your average parent. He was probably a better parent than I've been.
ROBERT MADSEN: Thank you. That's all the questions I have.
JODIE DURNEY: Thank you.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS. MAYES:
SUZANNE MAYES: Good morning, Ms. Durney.
JODIE DURNEY: Good morning.
SUZANNE MAYES: Just a few questions.
JODIE DURNEY: Okay.
SUZANNE MAYES: When you spoke with law enforcement after the children were killed, I believe it was Detective Dykes that came to speak with you. One of the questions he asked you was whether Timothy Jones appeared to have any type of mental illness or mental defect to you. And what was your response to that?
JODIE DURNEY: No, he did not appear to have any kind of mental illness.
SUZANNE MAYES: And so in your interactions with him leading up to the summer of 2013, you had a chance to communicate with him pretty much on a regular basis that summer?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, briefly, when he would drop the kids off and pick them up.
SUZANNE MAYES: It was just a business relationship?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, ma'am.
SUZANNE MAYES: But when you did have the opportunity to communicate with him, he always appeared to understand those communications, right?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, ma'am.
SUZANNE MAYES: He was able to converse with you in a clear and rational manner, right?
JODIE DURNEY: Yes, ma'am.
SUZANNE MAYES: And he never appeared to be afraid of the children, correct?
JODIE DURNEY: No.
SUZANNE MAYES: You never had any reason to believe that he was mental, unstable, right?
JODIE DURNEY: No, ma'am.
SUZANNE MAYES: Nothing further.
ROBERT MADSEN: We call Ruby Durney.