Affidavit: Tyler man said he beat woman to death in ‘fit of rage’
TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - An arrest affidavit reveals a Tyler man charged with murder killed a woman as part of a “fit of rage” while thinking about another woman.
Deja Shanece Hood, 18, of Tyler was found dead behind the Hollytree Apartments complex on Tuesday.
According to the affidavit, authorities were notified to the seeming disappearance of Hood when her mother, Lakeeta Jordan, contacted Tyler police on Tuesday. Jordan reported she had not been able to contact her daughter since Monday when Hood went out with friends. Jordan told investigators that Hood may have been with a friend named Jamaurea Britton. According to investigators, Jordan said it was very “out of character” for her daughter to disappear without responding to calls or letting people know where she was.
Britton was later contacted by police, at which point the affidavit states he told them that on Monday he picked Hood, and a 1-year-old child Hood was caring for, up at her Tyler apartment so that she could help Britton pack up his apartment in preparation for a move.
The affidavit states Britton told investigators that while she was at his apartment, Hood walked out to talk to someone in a black Chevrolet pickup before returning and informing Britton she was leaving. Britton then claimed that Hood left with the child. After Hood left, Britton claimed that he returned to work and later received a phone call from Hood to come pick her up again. The affidavit states Britton returned to his apartment at Hollytree Drive and found the child under the stairwell of his building but never saw Hood. He also claims he returned the child back to Hood’s apartment.
After talking again with investigators, the affidavit states Britton admitted to going into a “fit of rage” and beating Hood with an object and strangling her. Britton allegedly told investigators he became angry after he said Hood pulled at his ear in a playful manner the way his ex-girlfriend used to. Believing Hood to now be dead, Britton said he nearly completed suicide with a gun in hand when a knock at the door interrupted him. Britton allegedly disguised the scene to cover up Hood’s body and explained to the person knocking that he was fine. Britton said he then drove the child back to Hood’s mother’s apartment before returning to his own apartment.
The affidavit states that upon return, Britton saw that Hood was still alive and stabbed her with a kitchen knife before wrapping her in trash bags, tape and a large bedsheet. Britton then allegedly tossed Hood’s body over a fence and later covered it with leaves in an attempt to hide it.
Investigators said after observing where Britton’s vehicle was parked, they saw in plain sight a muddy shoe, as well as latex gloves that were the same color of glove found in the ravine behind Britton’s apartment where Hood’s body was discovered by a Tyler police officer who looked behind the safety fence.
Britton has since been booked into the Smith County Jail on a charge of murder with a $1 million bond.
Previous reporting:
Police identify man arrested after body of missing 18-year-old found near Tyler apartments
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