Man charged with killing 3 says 1 was an accident, other 2 weren’t him – NJ.com

Taking the stand as the sole defense witness in his triple murder trial, Jeffrey Holland told an Essex County jury he didn’t mean to kill Tiniquah Rouse.

Rouse, he told jurors in Newark Thursday, suffered what appeared to be a seizure during consensual sex. And he certainly never shot Ashley Jones and Jarrell Marshall, the other two victims in the state’s case, the 30-year-old East Orange resident said.

But under cross examination by a county assistant prosecutor, Holland, clad in a dress shirt and tie, responded cautiously and at times inconsistently, admitting he told detectives a very different story after his arrest than the one he was telling from the witness stand.

Authorities allege that over course of two days in Newark in January 2016, Holland strangled and drowned Rouse, 21, in her bathtub before fatally shooting Jones, 23, and Marshall, 28.

Among evidence gathered by investigators are surveillance video appearing to place him at the crime scenes, internet searches for New Jersey’s laws regarding murder and numerous threatening text messages.

Holland, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, told defense attorney Sterling Kinsale he and Rouse had a “strictly sexual relationship,” and that he went to her apartment on Jan. 29, 2016, because he “wanted to have a good time.”

When she started making gurgling noises during sex and stopped moving, Holland said he became concerned and tried to resuscitate her. When he couldn’t, he told the jury, “I completely panicked.” He admitted removing items from the home and attempting to remove his DNA from her body in the bathroom, placing Rouse’s infant child in a closet before leaving.

Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, on cross examination, noted investigators searching Holland’s cellphone found two photos of Rouse’s naked body in her bathtub, apparently posed with a bag on her head. The medical examiner, Edwab said, found water in her sinuses, consistent with being drowned.

Investigators found Holland’s phone earlier that evening had been used to search for New Jersey’s laws regarding murder, and the evidence needed for a conviction.

Holland acknowledged having disputes with Jones about the couple’s children and their relationship, describing the arguments to Kinsale as “baby mama drama.”

“We’d go back and forth,” Holland said. “Being with each other, not being with each other.”

He found out she and Marshall were dead, he testified, after the state Department of Children and Families called him to the hospital to pick up their children. The kids had been in Jones’ apartment when she and Marshall were killed.

When Holland arrived at the hospital, police officers hospital arrested him on an outstanding warrant for municipal charges.

Cellphone messages between Holland and Jones, as well as to Holland’s friends, show the couple and Holland’s anger at them had been a frequent topic of conversation.

“The way I move, I’d rather just eliminate both of them out of the picture,” read one message to a friend noted by Edwab.

Holland’s own cellphone, the assistant prosecutor said, connected to cell towers in the area of Jones’ apartment the night she and Marshall were killed on Jan. 30, 2016.

On the stand, Holland denied ever possessing or having fired a gun. Edwab, however, said investigators found a holster, live ammunition and magazines for a handgun when they searched his home.

And just days prior to the killings, Holland admitted, he had used his phone to search for where to purchase .40-caliber ammunition — the same caliber of firearm used to kill Jones and Marshall.

When investigators searched Holland’s home, he acknowledged, they recovered a pair of green cargo pants and a pair of red gloves.

Faced with surveillance footage from Jones’ apartment building, Holland would not confirm the same gloves and cargo pants could be seen on the suspected killer captured by the camera.

“The evidence speaks for itself,” Edwab said.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler, who is presiding over the trial at the county’s Veterans Courthouse, has scheduled closing arguments for Tuesday morning.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.