Where is Nichole Payne’s Killer Husband Jason Payne Today? – Austin Wages, 16, and Nichole Payne, 32, were discovered dead at Jason Payne’s home in Quitman, Texas, in 2007. Nichole had a bullet wound in the back of her skull, and her kid had one in his face.
Jason was charged with double homicide and taken into custody in September 2008 despite calling 911 after discovering his wife and stepson dead. Following a thorough investigation, gathering information, and producing forensic results, the initial notion of murder-suicide was refuted.
Jason is currently incarcerated at the Mark W. Stiles Unit outside of Beaumont, Texas, serving a life sentence for a deadly crime.
On Saturday, September 17, the forthcoming House of Horrors episode on NBC Dateline will revisit the killing of Nichole and Austin. It will follow the Payne family and include individual interviews with Riley and Joseph, Jason’s kids. Continue reading to learn more about the case before the House of Horrors.
Recommended: Nichole Payne Murder: Who Killed Her and Why?
Who Is Jason Payne and How Did He Kill His Wife and Stepson?
Jason Payne hastily called 911 on December 11, 2007, to report that he had discovered his wife and stepson dead in their bedrooms in their Quitman, Texas, home. When the responding officers got on the scene, they saw that Austin had a bullet wound on the front of his face and Nichole had a bullet wound straight to the back of her head, with the weapon used in both shootings resting between Austin’s legs. Since the two were meant to be the only people in their house and there were no indications of a forced entry, it initially appeared to be a straightforward murder-suicide.
However, as investigations progressed, contradictions started to appear. Austin killed his mother and then killed himself, so why was his body cold while hers was still warm? In addition, the weapon had been thoroughly cleaned. Around this time, Jason voluntarily took part in a five-hour questioning by the police without seeking legal representation to uphold his pretense of being an innocent outsider. But that was destroyed when investigators discovered that he had purchased a $100,000 life insurance policy on Nichole, 35, just before she passed away. Additionally, Austin never seemed anxious.
Jason was detained and accused of two murders in 2008, around eight months after the incident. A jury found him guilty of all charges against him after his 2010 trial, although the evidence against him was primarily circumstantial and forensic. The prosecution did disclose that there were two grave-like-looking dug holes in the backyard and that a rag found in his truck had Nichole’s blood on it. However, the appeals court had to vacate Jason’s conviction in 2013 after a suitable motion because additional pieces of evidence were also presented.
Where is Jason Payne Today?
In September 2008, Jason was accused of killing Nichole and Austin Wages twice. In 2010, he was adjudicated guilty and given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
When Nichole died, it was initially determined that Austin Wages had shot his mother before killing himself. The stories of the investigators, the forensic findings, the discrepancies in Jason’s assertions, and Riley’s statement completely turned the tables and pointed the finger at Jason.
As a result, Jason was accused of two murders and was captured eight months later, in September 2008.
First, according to the testimony of the investigating police, when they first arrived at Jason’s home on the morning of December 11, 2007, they discovered Nichole’s corpse to be dead and Austin’s body cold and stiff.
This suggested that Nichole had passed away before Austin’s death. Furthermore, according to specialists’ testimony, the gun’s placement and the bullets’ trajectory that caused the wound on his face was inconsistent with the principles of blood-spatter analysis. The theory that he committed suicide was disproved as a result.
Jason said that he went back and found the bodies, but he didn’t check to see if one was still alive or touched them. But when he called 911, he reported that his son and wife had both been shot. Since Jason claimed not to have touched the bodies, the detectives questioned how he could be so positive that they had been shot.
In addition to the preceding, the rifle found at the crime scene lacked any fingerprints, suggesting that it had been cleaned before being put close to Austin’s body. This had to do with the discovery of a bloody washcloth in Jason’s car with gunpowder residue.
Additionally, working against Jason was a discussion he had with his mother in which he begged her to delete two cassettes.
Also in doubt was Nichole’s insurance plan. According to the court filing in the case, Jason was the only beneficiary of the $100,000 coverage. When she passed away, and the insurance company could not get Jason to state the passing of his wife, the proceeds were sent to Payne’s mother.
All stories have two sides… And now after 14 years, Jackson and Remington Payne will tell theirs publicly for the first time.
Tonight, on a new #Dateline at 10/9c. pic.twitter.com/0t0yhE5eGX
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) July 9, 2021
According to a KLTV story, the therapy session with a young Riley, who had seen his father kill Nichole, served as conclusive proof.
Although his 2013 conviction was overturned, he was also found guilty in his second trial. Payne was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2016 because neither the defence nor the prosecution sought the death penalty.
The Texas Court of Appeals rejected the appeal that Payne’s attorneys had submitted, and that decision was made in 2017. At the Mark W. Stiles Unit in the vicinity of Texas, Jason Payne is now serving his sentence.
On September 17, 2022, Dateline NBC will telecast House of Horrors.
