Earlier today, a jury found Blake Jefferson not guilty by reason of insanity in connection to the murder of his mother.
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However, after the murderous stabbing of Dedre Jefferson, his family is standing by his side.
“He was brilliant and a humble young man, very smart and he was all around individual,” Mitzie Johnson, Blake Jefferson’s cousin, said in an interview with ABC 13. “Good at sports. He was always respectful, still is respectful.”
The 2016 incident reportedly happened inside the family’s town home.
Before the murder, records show Dedre began to recognize a change in her honors-student’s behavior; Blake went to a church seeking help about spiritual visions he claimed to be seeing.
A few days later, a witness claimed Blake began stabbing Dedre as she made a phone call to her mother.
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Blake said the incident left him in a state of shock, reportedly found by his grandmother after the stabbing and later admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital after his arrest.
BREAKING: Judge finds Blake Jefferson not guilty by reason of insanity. He was charged with the murder of mother Dedre last year. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/yhjKNtFLTT
— KPRC Cathy Hernandez (@KPRC2Cathy) November 8, 2017