KWWL/Iowa News Now
The footage was shown during her trial, with the suspect saying she was high on meth when she made both the Snapchat video and a "to-do" list on which she wrote, "Kill Jodie."
An Iowa woman who boasted about killing someone on Snapchat has been found guilty of doing just that.
A jury found Samantha Bevans, 35, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her stepmother Jodie Bevans, 58. The suspect and boyfriend Tacoa Talley were accused of suffocating Jodie to death on June 14, 2022.
While Bevans will be sentenced in June, Iowa law says first-degree murder convictions carry a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
During the trial, Bevans claimed her boyfriend was the one who smothered her stepmother. Per KCRG, she testified that she saw Talley choking Jodie and attempted to minimize the woman's suffering by putting a pillow over her face instead.
"I put it over her face. And I went to push down on it, and I couldn't do it. I push down, and I stop. I walk out of the room again, Tacoa still on top of her," she said. "A couple minutes later I come back in and I'm like 'What are you doing? Like, why is she still laying here like this? Why is she still moving? Like, she's suffering at this point."
She claimed Talley told her that her stepmother was still alive after they left and, of a "to-do" list which had the words "Kill Jodie" on it, Bevans said she was trying to keep track of what she had seen her boyfriend do.
Her testimony was undermined by a Snapchat video she posted around 9:14 a.m. on July 16, 2022.
In the video, which was shown in court, she says, "I killed her. I killed her myself" -- before Talley adds, "And I knew this was going to happen, so good job." She then exclaims, "We killed her," as he says, "yeah we did," while Bevans sticks up her middle finger.
In court, Bevans said she was high on meth when she made the video and when she wrote the so-called "to-do" list. According to The Gazette, she also said she was angry with Talley when she made the video and was trying to get a reaction out of him; she also reportedly claimed she didn't know what was real at the time because he was manipulating her.
The prosecution reportedly argued the killing was for "pay back and pay out" -- with Bevans admitting they went to the home to rob a safe. Prosecutors said the two were also looking for revenge, after Jodie kicked Samantha out of the house -- and Jodie failed to support her stepdaughter at a child custody hearing the month she was killed.
Talley was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the case.
"Unfortunately, justice doesn't bring Jodie back," Samantha’s sister, Kellie Hughes, told KCRG after the verdict. "We don't get to see her, we don't get to talk to her anymore, but they did the right thing."
Monroe County Jail
