Jessica Blackwell

Case record: Jessica Blackwell

Background

Jessica Francis Blackwell was a Roanoke woman accused of stabbing a Roanoke man to death. She was charged with murder in the death of Gary Lynn Saunders, 59, and later pleaded no contest to the charge.

Blackwell’s criminal history included four charges of prostitution from 2005 to 2010, and trespassing, according to online court records. She served several months in jail and was fined several hundred dollars on the prostitution charges.

The offence

Gary Lynn Saunders died from stab wounds. The body was found early May 25 on a sofa in the living room of the apartment they shared in the 1000 block of Campbell Avenue Southwest.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joshua Dietz told the court that Blackwell and Saunders were drinking heavily the night of the incident. He said Blackwell was drunkenly playing with a long-bladed knife, and that she told their apartment neighbors she intended to kill Saunders. Dietz said that during the evening Blackwell accidentally stabbed herself in the leg.

Dietz said that after Blackwell pushed Saunders backward off a porch railing, one of the neighbors took the knife away from her.

Police were called to the residence about 2 a.m. by Blackwell. Dietz said officers found Saunders dead from two stab wounds to the chest, and a blood-stained knife hanging on a magnetic rack in the kitchen.

Investigation

Investigators seized two knives, paper towels, and two sections of carpeting from the Campbell Avenue apartment. They also took swabs from Blackwell’s hands, according to court documents and reporting.

A search warrant filed in Roanoke City Circuit Court said the warrant sought to search Blackwell for hair, saliva, blood and clothing. The warrant also described the scene where officers located Jessica Blackwell in apartment “A” and the body of a white male lying on a sofa in the living room.

Arrest

Blackwell was held at the Roanoke City Jail without bond and was locked in Roanoke City Jail on a murder charge.

Trial

Blackwell pleaded no contest on March 1, 2012. Judge Charlie Dorsey found her guilty and sentenced her to 40 years in prison, suspended after she serves half that. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder was 40 years.

Sentencing remarks and statements

Blackwell apologized to the four members of Saunders’ family who were present at the hearing. Her mother and her mother’s boyfriend were in court as well.

“He was my best friend,” Blackwell told Dorsey through tears. “If we hadn’t been drinking, none of this would’ve happened."

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Other details

Roanoke police released Saunders’ name after initially being unable to locate relatives to notify them of the death. Police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said Saunders and Blackwell were acquaintances and that it remained unclear whether Blackwell summoned police to the apartment.

Johnson said:

"From what detectives have learned to this point, they did not appear to have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship,"

During hearings prior to the plea, Roanoke Circuit Court Judge Charlie Dorsey approved Blackwell’s competency evaluation. Blackwell had been scheduled to go to trial Feb. 23.

One neighbor described the knife being taken away after Saunders was pushed backward off a porch railing. A woman summoned police to the house about 2:08 a.m. Wednesday, saying someone was dead, according to the search warrant.

A note from city animal control addressed to “Next of kin” hung on the storm door, saying the victim’s pet had been taken to the shelter.