Snapped: Women Who Murder - Deborah Rudibaugh

Episode Date: January 15, 2023

The abrupt disappearance of a Colorado rancher prompts concerned friends to press investigators to dig up the truth hidden beneath his ranch's calm exterior.Season 29, Episode 09Originally aired: May 30, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. The sudden disappearance of a young rancher leaves a small Colorado town grasping for answers. He was not a, hey, let's go do this in the middle and I kind of person.

It was just very out of character. He had been gone way too long. You know, a mother wants nowhere or child is. Investigators must determine whether his departure was a spontaneous adventure or the result of a deadly scheme rooted in a twisted family tree. They were continually arguing about things on the ranch. He had come into her room and had threatened her.

I'm scared for my son, my wife, mine, everybody else's future. We knew that we would need to involve a cadaver search. If she did it, she did not do it along. This message is me. You're going to believe you were involved. For sure. No, it's not for sure that's the use. She made some implications that he had a pretty dark side.

It was all about property, all about the ranch. I got a wish I would have said so. On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, in the remote town of Gunnison, Colorado, Randy Martinez and Nate Lopez realized they haven't heard from their friend, 29-year-old rancher Jake Millison, in nearly five days. On May 15, he had gone out with some some friends and they had made plans for the next day. And Jacob never called, never reached out to them. Jake's mother, Deborah Rudaba, and his sister Stephanie Jackson, meet Jake's friends in the

Corral on the sprawling ranch where Jake and his family live. in the corral on the sprawling ranch where Jake and his family live. They approached Deborah and Stephanie asking if they had seen Jake or knew where Jake was, and that's when Deborah told him that he had gone to Reno, Nevada. Deb Rudebott told them that he had left to participate in MMA training or tournament. She did not know exactly when he would be returning.

Jacob is very involved in MMA, mixed martial arts. He was involved with a gym, here in Gunnison, in a group of individuals that enjoyed that activity and pursued it diligently. that enjoyed that activity and pursued it diligently. The friends are not understanding why Jacob would just pick up and leave without at least telling them he shared a lot with his friends. If he had been planning, especially a big trip, he would have let people know. With Deborah's information limited, Nate and Randy decide to check in at Jake's martial arts gym

to see when their friend might be back. The sparring partners explained that there was no tournament or training that they knew of and we know Nevada. They further found out a little bit more information that he was injured that week than was on crutches because he had heard his ankle and so he wouldn't have traveled to participate in that. This friends, they heard from him every day so when they stopped hearing from him it definitely bothered them. For Jake to miss a gathering with

friends if he said he was gonna there, he would be there. And if something had come up, he would make sure to contact people and say, OK, I can't make it. I think everyone, early on, was pretty nervous since something had happened. Jacob Millison was born on January 11, 1986 in Colorado, just a year or so after his older sister, Stephanie. Jacob's parents, Debra and Ray Millison, have left Ohio for Adventure Out West in Gunnison County, Colorado. Gunnison is an extremely remote mountain community. We're about three and a half hours from a major airport. A lot of our

community makes a living through ranching or farming. For Deborah, the home in Gunnison was a lifelong dream come true. My sister from the first time that we made a trip to Colorado with my parents when we were young, she fell in love with Colorado and ranches. And seeing horses run free, she was drawn to the old West Ideas. Once the family moved to Gunnison, Debra started work at the nearby 7-11 ranch, a 700-acre operation owned by Marion Rudy Rudibah, a widower nearly 20 years, Debra Senior. Rudy was one of the most interesting men that I've ever been around.

You meet him, you're not very tall, but he was tough as nails. They did a dude ranch operation and then, you know, outfitting, which is taking hunters into the backcountry to hunt. At that time, it was very profitable. Rudy had a fairly large lodge built on the property in addition to several cabins. As Rudy approached his 70s, Debra stepped in

to help her boss manage the ranch. In 1993, she divorced Ray and made a surprise announcement to her family. When Jake and Stephanie's mom and dad split, Deborah had moved to Mary Rudy. Stephanie and Jake moved up here to Rudy's ranch. They were both young. I would say Jake was probably six.

It surprised the whole family and the fact that Rudy was so much older than Deb, but Debby seemed happy. Debra, Jake, and Stephanie all joined in to help Rudy manage the ranch. Debra even homeschooled the kids to give them more time to pitch in. Growing up on a ranch, Jake definitely had a strong work ethic. He was

being responsible for his chores and his jobs. There was a couple times I helped him on the ranch with haying and stuff and it's absolutely hard work. But Jake never complained about it. Stephanie helped pack hunters in and out. She did that with Rudy. She is very good with animals, and especially horses. She's right at home in the saddle. When Stephanie was just 18 years old, she met 19-year-old David Jackson, who worked on a traveling carnival

that had made a stop in Gunnison. When the carnival left just three days later, David stayed behind. My pressure of David when we first met him was that he was an odd guy. To make such a drastic change in life, I, you know, staying in a town with a girl that you just met three days ago was a little odd. After a few months of dating, the young couple married in 2003. To help start her new life, Stephanie's stepdad Rudy allowed her to access her inheritance.

Rudy and Deb gave Stephanie $80,000 so they could buy a home. They didn't stay in Gunnison. They did take part of their inheritance and use that money to buy a residence in Denver. With his sister gone, Jake was expected to take on more responsibility at the ranch. In 2009, Rudy's health fell into a quick decline. And on November 16th of that year, the 85-year-old rancher passed away, leaving the 7-Eleven property to Deborah.

When Rudy passed away, I know it was hard for everyone. It was hard for Jake. It was hard for Deb. My sister went into a pretty deep depression. She withdrew from everybody. That was her life, the ranch. And no matter what, she didn't want to let go of it. Managing the massive ranch with just two people wasn't easy.

The hunting guide didn't stop, but seemed like things were always kind of going downhill from that point on. It was a lot of trying to keep their head above water. and keep their head above water. By 2012, there were other big changes happening at the 7-Eleven Ranch when Stephanie announced that she, David and their young son, would be returning to town after being away for eight years. She wanted to move back to Gunnison because she didn't want her to raise her child in Denver.

Stephanie and David moved into an apartment in town. David began working mechanic shops. Stephanie, Jackson began giving rides and helping Debrutabab run the guest ranch. With another set of hands to help out at the ranch, it seemed like Debra and Jake finally had a chance to return 7-11 to its former glory. Jake had talked that he would probably end up staying on the ranch, and he'd probably end up working it. He wasn't always fond of that idea,

but it's what he knew, and it's what he did well. I think he always felt just strontized to the ranch. I think he always felt just strontized to the ranch. Which is why Jake's friends are worried when Jake vanishes from the 7-Eleven ranch in May of 2015. He was not a, certainly not a spontaneous kind of person. It was just very out of character for Jake. All of these things raised more suspicion in their mind that something sinister had happened to Jake. On May 20, five days since Jake's friends have heard from him,

Randy Martinez and Nate Lopez meet with a Gunnison County detective to file a missing persons report for their friend. This case started with his friends filing reports before the family had even acknowledged that he might have been missing. And that is odd for an investigation. It was a huge red flag for a lot of people. Coming up, a mother reveals details of her son's dark side.

She had found a marijuana grow on the ranch. She feared that he had fallen into a group of bad people. He's probably gotten in all above his head. MUSIC MUSIC On May 20, 2015, Randy Martinez and Nate Lopez have just filed a missing persons report for their friend and local rancher, 29-year-old Jake Millicent.

They reported to the sheriff's office that Jake had not been seen for about a week, and they were concerned about where he was at. Detectives agreed to go speak with Jake's mother, Deborah Rudaba, owner of the nearby 7-11 ranch. She didn't remember the last time that she'd seen Jake. She didn't remember what day it was. She informed law enforcement that Jacob had gone to Reno to participate in a training of some sort for MAA.

She had a good reason why his friends couldn't get a hold of him. She said he dropped his phone in an irrigation ditch and on the way out of the house. And so that's why he wasn't able to answer his phone. Debra showed them his phone. She had that N. in a plastic bag with rice to draw out the moisture in the phone. They are reassured by Debra that Jake is fine.

It's not unusual for Jake to take trips and be gone for a while. So at that point, that kind of puts law enforcement at ease that nothing unusual has happened to Jake. But with no trace of Jake over the next few weeks, concerns spreads, and two other groups of Jake's friends file their own missing persons reports. It was a very unusual situation. The family was like, no, no, no, he's fine.

He'll come back someday. He frequently leaves and comes back. That simply wasn't true. And the friends knew it. It was really his friends that were very concerned. And they're the ones that really pushed for more investigation. By August of 2015, now three months since Jake's disappearance, even Deborah Rudabah is beginning to express concern over her 29-year-old son's whereabouts.

She had filed a missing persons report because he had been gone way too long. You know, a mother wants to know where her child is. It's interesting, though, because he disappeared in May, and she didn't file it until August. During the meeting, Debra says that since joining the MMA gym in Gunnison, Jake had changed. Debra Debra began to describe Jacob as lazy on the ranch and not helping her as much. She makes it clear that the ranch is not doing as well. He would stay out all night.

She said that she had found a marijuana grow on the ranch. DeB thought perhaps he was selling drugs. Debra says that on May 24th, 2015, she and Jake had fought about his behavior. She reported that they had an argument over the direction that Jake was taking with his life. She felt like he was close to 30 years old and he needed to get out and get a real job because the ranch wasn't a money maker at that point.

Deborah says that Jake had stormed out, telling her he was going to an MMA match in Reno. But Deborah hadn't told deputies that Jake had come back on May 31st with a friend. She classified it as one of Jake's friends, but not a local friend. She classified it as one of Jake's friends, but not a local friend. She said that friend's name might have been Mike or Matt, but that's all she knew.

She said that Jake gathered up a lot of camping equipment. Deb Rudemop made it clear that the supplies that Jacob took with him were for an extended period of time, that she was not expecting him back anytime soon, nor did she have any idea where he was at. But now that he's been gone for three months, Debra says she fears the worst. She feared that he had fallen into a group of bad people.

When they were asking her, so what do you think happened to Jacob? And she said, well, I don't know. He's probably gotten in all above his head somewhere. Despite Deborah's suspicions, investigators have no solid leads to uncovering Jake's whereabouts. They did put out an all of temps to see if there any law enforcement agency had come in there. Jakes wear about. They did put out on all attempts to see if there any law enforcement agency had come into contact with Jake, either in the Nevada or nationwide. No indication of any use of any credit cards, social security numbers, or anything like that. They just could not find a hit on Jacob throughout the country. Two more months go by and there is still no sign of Jake.

Then, on October 15th, the Gunnison County Times runs an article about Jake's case written by journalist Chris Rorke. I shared with the community the friend's concern about Jake's case written by journalist Chris Rorke. I shared with the community the friend's concern about Jake's disappearance, but I also gave Deb's side of the story. And she claimed he was involved in drugs and had just run off in the middle of the night.

Deb made some implications that that would could have led to his disappearances and that he had a pretty dark side. that would could have led to his disappearances and that he had a pretty dark side. Shortly after the article's release, Jake's friends contact the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office. Jake's friends were pretty upset. They insisted that what Deb Rudeba was telling

was not the truth. The fact that Deb was portraying him as someone that's doing cocaine and drinking all the time, that's just that's ludicrous. Anyone that saw him at the bars knew that he just drank a coke. Jake's friends also tell investigators that when Jake first went missing, they created a Facebook group dedicated to finding him. Over the last few months, some disturbing stories about Jake's brother-in-law, David Jackson,

have trickled in online. A couple of weeks after Jacob's disappearance, David Jackson posted a picture of Jacob's Harley on Facebook. And that was a huge red flag. That Harley was his pride and joy. He did not let anyone else write it, touch it, do anything with it.

In this particular case, I think this is something that changed the direction of the investigation. We have facts like the motorcycle really make you think the family knows more than they're telling law enforcement. Coming up, detectives uncover a decade-long rivalry turned violent. Jake walked away from the altercation, but did follow restraining order. And a search warrant flushes an unlikely suspect out of the brush. It was at that point that she confessed.

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Don't let the summer of podcasts pass you by. Right now, new subscribers can enjoy two months free of Wondery Plus. Visit Wondery.com or download the Wondery app to get started. new suspect in the disappearance of Jake Millicen, his brother-in-law, David Jackson, who'd been spotted around town on Jake's cherished motorcycle. Given the information that had been provided to law enforcement that Jake had simply taken a trip,

it made no sense that David would be using Jake's vehicles. Nobody got to get near the sports sir. And that was kind of like his baby and his prize possession. He wouldn't even let me touch that bike, so I can't imagine the person that he gets a little, it doesn't get along with, would be a lot to ride it

and take pictures with it. Friends say that Jake and David's relationship only got worse when Stephanie and David moved back to Gunnison in 2012. Deb was gonna leave that ranch to her grandson. So she wanted to hang on to it at all cost. And that's what drew Stephanie to move back on to the ranch, I believe. There was always a lot of tension between Dave That's what drew Stephanie to move back onto the ranch, I believe.

There was always a lot of tension between Dave maybe not doing his share of the work, or Dave not feeling that Jake was doing his share of the work. I know they were continually arguing about things on the ranch. Dave was trying to just take control and do whatever he wanted, and Jake was supposed to be in charge of it. According to friends, the feud finally came to a head in the winter of 2012. Jacob Millison was plowing the snow on the ranch, and it somehow blocked in David's vehicle

and an argument between the two of them started. Jacob describes the incident at that point. As it got heated, the David Jackson brandished a firearm to him in a threatening manner. Jake walked away from the altercation, but did follow restraining order on David. Jake had told his friends, if anything ever happens to me, look at my brother-in-law.

Jake definitely thought he was in danger. It tells you that he was concerned. For Jacob to make the statement if anything happens to me, it was David. That's a very powerful statement. But with that point, we had no evidence to, it was David. That's a very powerful statement, but with that point, we had no evidence to point directly at David. In April of 2016, nearly a year after Jake's disappearance,

David's friend, Jeremy McDonald, moves to the ranch to help out. I met Dave when we were like nine years old. We just ended up being good friends. Dave sent me a message around end of 2015. He started telling me, hey, you should move on out here, help us take over the ranch and get it going again. So I drove to Gunnison, Colorado,

on the hope that we were gonna be able to make something great. That same year, Deborah Rudabaw receives a grim diagnosis. Deb had stage four breast cancer. The chances of her living a long life were not good. As the 7-11 ranch prepares for a future without its matriarch, investigators work to ensure that Jake's whereabouts are uncovered in Debs lifetime. Investigations like this take a great deal of time. The last time that Jacob Millison was seen alive was on the 7-11 ranch.

And when we got to the point that we were ready to search the property and we knew that that's what needed to be done, there was a search warrant that was created and we knew that the chances of finding Jacob alive were just not great at that point. That's that point. On July 17, 2017, over two years since Jake was last seen alive, a team of local and state law enforcement arrives at the 7-11 ranch. I'd say there's probably seven different officers there as we're walking out, I see investigators questioning Dad. The sheriff's office in CBI met with Deborah to advise her that we had a search warrant for

the property. She first denies in the knowledge that Jake is on the ranch. At that point they explained to her that the cadaver dog teams would be brought in and that a false search would be done And it was at that point that she confessed to killing Jacob That was devastating. I just didn't know What to say what to think it's my nephew and that's my sister It took me out of the knees What to say, what to think. It's my nephew and it's my sister.

It took me out of the knees. Debra tells law enforcement that in the months before Jake's death, she and her son had fought about who would inherit the ranch. Debra had described that Jacob felt that the ranch was supposed to be left to him when Deb passed away. Jake felt he had more of a claim to the ranch, especially since Rudy had given already a bunch of money to Dave and Stephanie to buy a house and continue to work on the ranch you when stuff was gone. Debra says that by mid-May of 2015, their dispute took a turn in a terrifying new direction. They had gotten into some argument and Jacob was upset with her.

He had come into her room and had threatened her. And then Ed turned and left and went to bed. She had decided that night that it was either her or him. So she took her lady Smith, 357, maged him, walked up the stairs when he was asleep, shot him in the head, and killed him. Debra says that after killing Jake, she started planning how she was going to dispose of her son's body. She said she went upstairs and that she rolled him onto plastic, wrapped him in plastic,

sent him up in a fetal position with a rope, used a winch to drag his body to the head of the stairs, slid him down the stairs, and then drug him out of the lodge by use of the ATV and the winch and buried the body in the manure pile. She just points over from the coral fence and says, that's where he's at. They found Jacob's body about six feet deep in the Carral. He was wrapped in plastic and a tarp. CBI agents and the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office

continue their search of the property without arresting Deborah. Because of the speedy trial rule in Colorado, once a person's arrested, the time starts ticking in terms of discovery issues to defense, et cetera. We had more to gain by not arresting her and continuing to investigate then we did by arresting her and then having the speedy trial

clock start running. It was unclear to us the extent of other people's involvement in both the murder of Jacob but also the cover-up of evidence, we were highly suspicious of any and all information coming from Deb Rudabaugh. Although Debra claims that she threw the murder weapon into a nearby lake, detectives find a gun under her bed that matches her earlier description.

She talked about how she alone had removed Jacob's body from his bedroom where she had shot him. Things aren't adding up. Coming up, with Deborah's story falling short, detective suspect there's more to be uncovered. Where's the fast-out of that coat? Didn't kill. July 17, 2017.

Debra Routibos' confession of her son's murder has left investigators with lingering questions over whether or not she acted alone. He was in an upstairs loft of the lodge and she was a very petite woman weighing less than 90 pounds. So it was clear to us there was no way that Deborah could roll a hundred and eighty five, nine-pound body off of the mattress and drag it out.

If she did it, she did not do it alone. While teams continue to search the massive ranch for clues, detectives separate and interview Deb's daughter daughter Stephanie Jackson and her husband, David. By the time they interviewed David, Deb had already confessed. He described being shocked. He couldn't believe that Jacob was on the ranch. He denied any knowledge of knowing anything about Jake's murder.

David Jackson had described that he was not in town the evening that Jacob went missing, that he was in Denver. When detectives ask about Jake's restraining order filed in 2012, David insists the incident was a misunderstanding. He refuted the allegation that he had pulled a gun on Jake, saying only that he was wearing a gun and that Jake had sold a gun. It is his statement that he never meant to intimidate or threaten

Jacob with the gun during that incident. In a nearby room, detectives break the news of Deborah's confession to Stephanie. She began to cry and got very upset and was very, very emotional. Stephanie says that although the siblings disagreed about the ranch, she would never want Jake hurt. But detectives are taken aback when Stephanie asks an unusual question. At one point, she responded with confusion or, I guess, bewilderment at how mom got

Jake up out of the house. And at that point in time, no one had told her where Jacob had been killed. So that really took out in their mind that she knew a lot more than she was telling at that point and that we would definitely have to do some further investigation. Detectives start by issuing subpoenas for David and Stephanie's cell phone and social media records.

Law enforcement did learn fairly early on that David had an alibi, so we were able to confirm that, yeah, he was in Denver at the time of the disappearance. Stephanie's phone records aren't so clear cut. So out at the ranch, there is no cell service. It's one of the few places, I think, left that you cannot do a cell phone pain to figure out where people are. Detectives turn to Stephanie's social media accounts

and something in May of 2015 catches their attention. On the 19th, Stephanie posted, have you ever been walking up with such awesome news that you wanted to run outside screaming? It was just within hours after Jake went missing, which we later found out was when he died. It's very suspicious. In my opinion, it indicates that all of a sudden, life got better for her because Jake was gone.

They do ultimately find a will. It leaves the ranch solely to Stephanie Jackson, and it was dated late April, just within two weeks of Jacob's murder. That will was posted by Stephanie at the end of April to some of her social friends, where she was acclaiming that she was now the sole heir to the ranch. In search of hard evidence linking Stephanie to the ranch.

In search of hard evidence linking Stephanie to the murder, detectives turn to Jake's autopsy. The autopsy was consistent with the death story that he was shot while he was sleep laying in his bed. And the bullet did not exit, it remained in the skull. After the autopsy, we were able to retrieve the bullet from Jacob's skull and was able to do a ballistic test with the Smith & Wesson that was found at the root of our home. We determined it was the murder weapon. In July 2017, detectives asked Stephanie and David to take a polygraph, both of them agree.

Like his wife, David also denies involvement. Let me just ask you, did you kill? No. Did you help dispose of the body, wrap it up, anything, and what's so weird? I'll take over if you'd. But the couple's united front has no bearing on the results of the polygraph test.

Both David and Stephanie were found to be deceptive. Detectives confront them with the results. Why did you subsequently not pass the test? Honestly, I don't know. I should have passed it because I didn't do anything. He stayed adamant the entire time though. He had no idea that Jacob was going to be killed or exactly what took place. But he admits that he did know Jake was dead.

In June 2017, he and his farmhand, Jeremy McDonald, had been working in the corral when they made a gruesome discovery. We were just cleaning out some of the corrals, and Dave was out on a skid loader, moving some manure, and Steph was back there with him, and well, I heard the skid loader shut down, and walked back there. And there was Dave and Steph standing over the pilot manure. And I could see basically the upper torso and ribcage

wrapped in plastic. Steph turned to instant panic and started just kind of screaming, yelling, just covered up, Dave covered up, and I'm going to call Mom and she took off running into the house. And Steph comes back out maybe 10 minutes later. Just leave it alone, just leave it alone. Mom said it's a legal wild game, the Jake shot, like a bear. It's a legal wild game that Jake shot, like a bear.

Well, it just says it's a dead animal. And Jake's covered it up. So it's exactly what it did. I just covered it up. You do it with Jake in the newer pile. We were pretty dang sure of it. I don't know why I didn't say nothing. I knew I was sure of it. I don't know why I didn't say nothing. I knew I should have. I've had that gut feeling.

I should just say something. I'm scared for my son, my wife, mine, everybody else's future. I got over somewhere to set something on. Now David would not commit to who he thought killed Jacob. However, he was highly suspicious that Stephanie may thought killed Jacob. However, he was highly suspicious that Stephanie may have killed Jacob. It's very quickly to me became a parent that's definitely a lot more than she was letting me

or Dave or anybody else know. Coming up is Deborah taking the fall for her daughter. It was Stephanie. Who was in charge? Stephanie is the one who gave the orders. She was really the controlling force. I didn't know what to think. It was definitely uncomfortable. [♪ Music playing in background, sounds of a

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I remember you believed you were involved. Fortunately, no, it's unfortunate for you. Because it's right now, you failed to follow the paragraph regarding whether you shot him or whether you helped move that body on the house. She never said anything to me about it. And I did not help her drag him out of the house.

So your DNA should be on the gun that's held in the home. I don't think I shot her. Was there in life the out? A person who had nothing to do is who does this. I've never shot that gun. I don't want to cry for a night. I won't be on that gun.

I like lawyers since you don't seem to want to talk to me. With Stephanie's stonewalling, detectives turned to the final resident of the ranch they haven't spoken to. Farmhand Jeremy McDonald. During our interview, McDonald was the one that gave us the dynamic of the family and basically told us that it was Stephanie, who was in charge.

Stephanie is the one who gave the orders. Steph would sit inside and tell everybody what to do. She wanted everybody else to do everything for her. So she was pretty controlling. Jeremy also confirms David's story about discovering Jake's body in the manure pile. Law enforcement asked him why he didn't come forward sooner with his belief that that was Jacob.

The staff said, you know, you can't ever leave now, right? And still, I mean, I didn't know what to think. It was definitely unnerving, uncomfortable. He was afraid of Stephanie, and so was David. David was afraid of Stephanie. In March 2018, with Jeremy's testimony, detectives arrest Stephanie, David, and Deborah, charging them with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and destruction of evidence.

I think that they probably had this grand plan that, with Debi and Diagnos with cancer, that she would be the one that did it, and she would just die in prison, and, you know, stuff any day without the ranch. Jake's murder happened because of greed, and because of all the, who was going to own the ranch. It was all about property, all about the range. Rather than face a trial, all three defendants agree to plea deals.

David enters an Alfred plea and receives 10 years in prison for tampering with a human body. We just could not prove that he had much involvement in the actual killing of Jacob, but he was very involved with the cover up. Deb Rudebaugh pleaded guilty to murdering Jacob. She also, of course, restated that Stephanie didn't have anything to do with the murder.

Deb's sentencing was very cold. She never really talked about Jacob and who he was or that she was remorseful. She was sentenced to 40 years. It's unbearable and unthinkable to think about someone killing her own child in such a cold and in Calis way. killing your own child in such a cold and in Calis way. Stephanie Jackson pleads guilty to tampering with a body. As part of her plea agreement, all other charges are dropped,

including first degree murder. She was sentenced to 24 years. Stephanie's sentence was a surprise because it was at the maximum level. As the dust settles in Gunnison, the murder of Jake Millison is not a case the town and especially Jake's close-knit circle of friends will ever forget.

The fact that it was family members doing it, the family members is just even more heart-wrenching and disgusting. Jake is always going to be remembered as gentle, soft-spoken, and caring. Jake's friends were the reason that the investigation happened. If it hadn't been for them, who knows? Who knows how long it would have taken

before somebody realized that he was gone? Jacob's friends, they couldn't save his life, but they found him some justice. Debra Died in prison on October 30, 2019. Just days before her daughter sentencing, David Jackson became eligible for parole in October 2022. David and Stephanie's son is being raised by David's family. The 7-Eleven Ranch is currently owned by Debra's ex-husband, Ray Millicent.

Melissa.