A man admits to a 6th killing, while he is already serving a life sentence in a Tennessee prison. On March 8, the Miami Herald reported that 33-year-old Jacob Shaffer -- who admitted to killing his wife and four others in 2009 -- has now admitted that he killed a 50-year-old man named Sidney Dempsey in Alabama.
"He admitted he killed Sidney Dempsey to see if he had the mettle to go kill his wife and the others. It was a test. He was just seeing if he could do it," said Jay Town, a Madison County prosecutor. Shaffer avoided the death penalty by reaching plea deals in both states according to the Miami Herald.
While the man admits to the 6th killing, his punishment doesn't really change. He will still go on trial, but because of his plea deal, the maximum sentence he can receive is "life in prison without parole."
"Shaffer's estranged wife, Tracie, her teenage son, her father and brother and a 16-year-old neighbor were found dead in two homes in rural Fayetteville, Tenn., on July 18, 2009. Authorities alleged he hitchhiked there after killing Dempsey, an acquaintance, about 30 miles away in Huntsville," the Miami Herald reported. Authorities believe that Tracie was the primary target in this case. The others were killed so that they wouldn't be in the way of Shaffer's master plan. He reportedly called police on himself.
The man who admits to this 6th killing will be in court on April 29.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
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