The Texas city of Quitman was shaken to its core in December 2007 by what appeared to be a grisly murder-suicide. A young mother named Nichole Payne and her adolescent son, Austin, were discovered dead in the same location. After conducting a thorough investigation, the authorities reached the conclusion that the scene had been fabricated. “Dateline: House of Horrors” on NBC News focuses on how the police were able to hone in on the actual perpetrator of the crime, as well as what happened after the police made their discovery. Then, shall we investigate this further, shall we?
How Did Nichole Payne Die?
In Columbus, Mississippi, in October of 1972, Nichole Hawthorne was brought into the world by her parents, Richard T. and Sherry Hawthorne. Doves have held her attention ever since she was a child, and she eventually made a living out of her passion for them. She was the owner and manager of a company called Wings of Love, which offered the service of releasing doves at ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. The woman, who was 35 years old at the time of the occurrence, was married to Jason Payne and had two children, Riley and Joseph, with him at the time of the incident.
In addition to that, Nichole was the mother of Austin, who was 15 years old and was the product of a prior relationship. On the morning of December 11, 2007, at approximately 9:09 in the AM, Jason dialled 911 to report that Nichole and Austin had been shot. Nichole was discovered by the authorities lying in bed in the downstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the back of her head shortly after their arrival. The next thing that happened was that Austin was discovered in the garage lying on his bed with a gun between his legs and his feet touching the floor. He had a wound to his top lip that appeared to have been caused by a gunshot.
Who is to Blame for Nichole Payne’s Death?
At first glance, it appeared as though it was a case of murder-suicide, with Austin shooting his mother and then turning the gun on himself. But as they probed deeper into the matter, the authorities began to suspect that something was amiss. In contrast to the scent of gunpowder that permeated the area where Nichole was discovered, there was no trace of the odour in the garage. In addition, Nichole was warm to the touch, whereas Austin appeared to have been dead for some time already. At the time, the circumstances surrounding Austin’s passing were classified as being unknown.
Jason stated to the authorities that he woke up on that particular day at approximately 7 a.m. in order to drive Joseph and Austin to school. After that, he was sitting in the car with Riley and Joseph, and they were all waiting for Austin to join them there. After the adolescent failed to appear, Jason claimed that he departed the house, saying that he and Riley drove back around 8:15 in the morning after taking Joseph to school. When Riley mentioned that she wanted to go to the park, Jason stated that he went inside the home to notify Nichole about it, and that it was around that time that he found Riley’s body in the garage.
After that, the authorities found out that Nichole had an insurance policy in her name for $100,000, and Jason was the beneficiary of the policy. This led to even greater suspicion. In addition, there was no evidence to suggest that Austin had entertained the idea of taking his own life or that of his mother. A more in-depth analysis of the family’s finances indicated that their cash resources were limited, which leaves the door open for the possibility that Jason was motivated financially. As a direct consequence of this, the authorities had the impression that the crime scene had been fabricated. That was backed up by the evidence presented.
Because there were no fingerprints on the gun, it is possible that it had been cleaned before being discovered by the police. In the trunk of Jason’s car, there was a washcloth covered in Nichole’s blood and the traces of a gunshot. Accordingly, the investigators thought that Jason had wiped the blood off of himself and also wiped off the revolver. An expert stated during his trial that the gun was around 10–12 inches away from Austin when he was shot, and that it was highly impossible that Austin shot himself given the length of the barrel of the rifle. A blood spatter expert also testified that the blood that was found on Austin’s hand was not there because of the fact that he was holding the barrel.
The testimony provided by Nichole’s friends and family offered a gloomy picture of the state of her relationship with Jason. An ex-boyfriend of Nichole’s claimed that in August of 2007, she expressed to him her want to leave her life because she was unhappy with it. Andrea Scott, a friend of Jason’s, testified that he would frequently beg Riley to tell Nichole that she despised her, and he would even ask the young child to hit her own mother. Jennifer Morton, another one of Nichole’s close friends, asserted that the 35-year-old woman discussed her desire to dissolve her marriage to Jason.
In yet another tragic turn of events, Riley revealed during a session of therapy that she had overheard her mother and brother being murdered by their father. As a direct consequence of this, Jason was found guilty of the killings. For the acts he committed in 2010, he was given a sentence of life in prison without the chance of release; however, in 2013, the verdict against him was reversed. On the other hand, Jason was given the same sentence in March of 2016, which will keep him incarcerated for the remainder of his natural life.
