Wife Accused of Husband’s Cold Case Murder, Arrested 22 Years to the Day
NEED TO KNOW
- Just days before Christmas in 2003, Jerry Humphrey, 40, of Texas, was found dead in his bed of gunshot wounds to the head
- His father-in-law found him unresponsive when he went to wake him up, police said
- His wife, Jody Johnston, now 51, was arrested 22 years to the day he was allegedly murdered, police said
A Texas woman has been arrested for allegedly arranging to have her husband murdered just days before Christmas — 22 years ago to the day of her apprehension.
On Monday, Dec. 22, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Jody Johnston for capital murder in connection with the Dec. 22, 2003, death of her husband, Jerry Don Humphrey, 40, the Stafford Police Department said in a statement.
“After more than two decades, and on the 22nd anniversary of a Christmas Cold Case, detectives have made an arrest in a capital murder investigation,” police said in the statement.
Humphrey, who ran a vehicle repossession business with Johnston, his wife of ten years, was found dead of three gunshot wounds to the head in his bedroom, police said, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
Johnston is not the first person to be arrested in connection with Humphrey’s death.
On March 24, 2020, Angel Amescua Jr., a former employee of Humphrey’s whom Humphrey had fired, was arrested and charged, police said in a statement at that time.
He has pleaded not guilty. His trial is expected to begin on April 7, 2026, according to online court records.
Authorities continued to investigate, leading them to apprehend Johnston in connection with her husband’s alleged shooting death, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit alleges that in 2003, Johnston employed “Amescua or other unknown individual to murder Jerry Humphrey for remuneration or the promise of remuneration, namely money belonging to Jody Humphrey.”
The alleged murder came to light when John Dewitt Gray, Johnston’s father, called 911 at 3:21 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2003, to report that he had found Humphrey in bed and not breathing after his daughter asked him to wake him up, according to the affidavit.
Gray, who said he initially suspected that Humphrey’s home may have been burglarized, told a detective that while he got along well with Humphrey, his son-in-law was “really bad to his daughter,” explaining that Humphrey allegedly physically abused her, the affidavit alleges.
The detective spoke to a family friend who said a few days before Humphrey was killed Johnston told him he had “beaten her up again,” the affidavit alleges. “She also told him that the only way out of the marriage was in a body bag and that (Humphrey) had told her that multiple times.”
The detective also spoke to Amescua’s ex-girlfriend, who said he and Johnston “were close,” the affidavit alleges.
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Johnston told authorities she and her husband had no life insurance policies other than one for $100,000 they had taken out to secure a business loan, according to the affidavit.
But then the detective discovered four policies listing her as the beneficiary totaling nearly $400,000, the affidavit alleges.
Johnston was ordered to be held on a $750,000 bond.
It is unclear whether she has retained an attorney who can speak on her behalf. She is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 2, 2026.
Amescua’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
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