TEXARKANA -- Richard York's family sobbed Tuesday as photos of his remains, partially unearthed from beneath a backyard shed where they had been hidden for more than a year, were shown to a jury.
Chad Allen Jernigan, 42, pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse Tuesday before testimony began in his punishment-only trial before a jury of four men and eight women. Jernigan, who did not testify, received a maximum 10-year sentence, a maximum $10,000 fine and agreed to pay $1,000 in restitution to the York family for York's final expenses.
York died of a methamphetamine overdose while on Jernigan's property July 4, 2017, witnesses testified. York had been helping Jernigan move furniture on the day of his death. Rather than call 911, Jernigan bound York's hands and feet with old electrical cables, wrapped his body in plastic and tore up a section of flooring in his two-story, backyard shed.
Jernigan cut out some joists to make room for York's remains, Texarkana investigator Josh Jones testified. Jernigan then covered the body of his best friend with dirt, poured concrete over it, replaced the flooring and moved a shelf stacked with miscellaneous items on top of it.
Texarkana, Texas, detective Tabitha Smith testified that she worked the missing persons case after York's family reported him missing in July 2017. Smith said that based on information provided by Jernigan, roughly 50 police and volunteers searched a wooded area of town.
Texarkana, Ark., detectives Jason Haak and Wayne Easley testified that their Police Department spent countless man-hours on the case after hearing that Jernigan may have buried the body in his backyard. They also said Jernigan led officers on a short high-speed chase the day of his arrest. Easley testified that Jernigan confessed after his arrest and gave them instructions on where to find the corpse.
"He said he'd just had the house appraised for $180,000, and he didn't want us busting it up," Easley said.
Will Guyton, a friend of Jernigan's, testified that a few months before the police unearthed York's body, Jernigan solicited his help to move the body to a location where it would be found. Guyton said he told his wife and that she told others after their marriage became troubled. In July 2018, someone told police.
Guyton testified that Jernigan sent him an email that read, "Rat, rat, rat," after his arrest.
Guyton said Jernigan sold methamphetamine and had a "grow room" on the upper floor of his outdoor shed. Guyton testified that Jernigan told him he panicked when York died because he didn't want his illicit dealings exposed.
"Shame on you, Chad. Shame on you," York's mother, Cynthia Hughes, said from the witness stand as she turned her gaze to the defense table. "I asked you. I begged you to tell me where he was."
Hughes turned back toward the jury.
"He never answered me," she said.
York's sister, Angela York, was formerly married to Jernigan, and the two have a teenage daughter together. Angela York testified that her daughter now has vivid and terrifying nightmares about being buried by her father.
In her closing argument, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson read a victim impact statement written by Jernigan's daughter in which she recalled how she searched "relentlessly" for her uncle and how she consoled Jernigan when he cried over the loss of his friend.
Assistant Public Defender Kerry Wood reminded the jury in her closing argument that Jernigan pleaded guilty and that he wanted Richard York's body to be found.
Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black told the jury that if Jernigan receives the maximum 10-year sentence allowed for the offense of abuse of a corpse, he will be eligible for parole in a little more than a year with credit for the time he has already spent in jail awaiting trial.
Robertson said that with Jernigan now on his way to an Arkansas prison, she hopes York's family can find some peace.
"Not knowing where your son, father, brother or uncle is, not knowing if he is alive, is the greatest suffering a family can experience," Robertson said. "Richard York's family, which includes the defendant's own daughter, experienced that suffering at the hands of Chad Jernigan far too long."
State Desk on 02/27/2019