Trial pending for Fort Worth man who police say killed roommates, then stabbed himself
The murder case against a man who Fort Worth police said killed his roommates and then stabbed himself in an attempt to claim self-defense is proceeding toward a trial, according to Tarrant County court records. The case is on the trial docket for Jan. 27.
Jacoby McCloud, 23, is accused of killing 26-year-old Darion Deen and 22-year-old Shelby Amerson on the afternoon of Jan. 2, 2022, before stabbing himself and planting the knife in Deen’s open hand, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The double homicide occurred at a home in the 300 block of Cromwell Street.
Police wrote in the affidavit that McCloud called 911 and reported that he shot his friend because his friend had stabbed him. When officers arrived, McCloud was detained and taken to the hospital for medical attention for stab wounds.
At the home, police found Deen and Amerson dead in separate rooms and a living witness who had hidden during the shooting, according to the affidavit. Deen was found with a knife in his right hand, unclenched, and Amerson was found in a bedroom with a stab would.
After he was treated for his injuries, McCloud told police in an initial interview that he had heard Deen and Amerson arguing in a bedroom they shared at the home, then he saw Deen leave the room, according to the affidavit. McCloud told police he shot Deen because “the look in his eyes” scared him but that he hadn’t seen a weapon. He told police he went to check on Amerson but that when he went into the bedroom she was dead.
But McCloud later told police that Deen did not have a weapon and didn’t threaten McCloud or make any threatening movements before McCloud shot him four times, according to the affidavit.
Police said that after shooting Deen, McCloud pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed himself multiple times in the left bicep. He told police he was stabbing himself when he saw Amerson come into the living room. He followed her back into the bedroom and stabbed her with the knife, he said.
According to the affidavit, McCloud told police he left Amerson lying on the floor of the bedroom and stabbed himself more in the left shoulder before he returned to the living room, where Deen was already dead, and put the knife in Deen’s hand.
The witness who was found alive in the house told police Deen owned the house and was dating Amerson, according to the affidavit. The two shared a bedroom in the house and McCloud and the witness also lived there. On Jan. 1, 2022, the day before the killings, the witness told police Deen broke into McCloud’s room and damaged some of his property before taking two puppies.
The witness said Deen then told him to tell McCloud that Deen would be “waiting for him,” according to the affidavit.
The witness said he left the house that night because he felt uncomfortable there and did not return until about 1 p.m. Jan. 2, 2022. He was packing some of his belongings in his bedroom when around 4:20 p.m. he heard gunshots from upstairs but was not sure how many shots were fired or by whom.
Both deaths were ruled homicides, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. Deen’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and Amerson died from sharp force injuries.
McCloud is charged with capital murder of multiple persons and faces life in prison if convicted.
This story includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.