Affidavit: 'I know what I did', suspect says Police datail last momemts of veteran's life, arrest in case
A motorist confronted by police after the hit-andrun death on a hospital parking lot of a Taylor veteran and Cold War spy told officers, “I know what I did,” according to a probable- cause affidavit.
Once the man was in the custody of Taylor police, he also made “random nonsensical comments” including a statement about staying in a hotel on a river, the court document obtained by the Taylor Press notes.
James Killough, 81, died of his injuries July 24 after being struck by a vehicle on the parking lot at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, 305 Mallard Lane, police said. The vehicle sped away.
Hospital personnel attempted to save Killough, but the injuries were too grave, investigators said.
Jesse Don Jackson, 43, of Spring, remains in the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown charged with murder. Bond is set at $1 million.
Killough’s death has left the community in shock. Friends and relatives have recalled him as a kind soul, a committed churchgoer and a dedicated community member. According to relatives, he enlisted in the Army “fresh out of high school” during the Vietnam War and served in the Signal Corps.
He also worked for military intelligence in Europe, friends recount.
Killough’s death has been attributed to road rage, friends and relatives have said.
According to the affidavit, an eyewitness said a Dodge Ram pickup followed Killough’s 2019 Nissan truck into the hospital parking lot. Killough, who parked in a handicap spot, got out of his vehicle.
He had gone to the hospital for physical therapy, friends and relatives said.
After a brief interaction with the other motorist, the Dodge Ram pickup accelerated and deliberately struck Killough, according to the affidavit, which was filed by Taylor police Detective Aaron Koch and affirmed by Magistrate Kathryn Scales.
“It was a senseless act,” Killough’s son Nathan Killough said in a previous statement.
The Dodge sped away as medical staff rushed to give aid, but Killough died minutes later inside the hospital. Williamson County Precinct 4 Death Investigator Ruben Leal noted in a statement that Killough’s injuries were consistent with a collision and his demise resulted from the event.
Not 15 minutes after the tragedy, while responding to a reckless-driver call, Taylor police Sgt. Mike Culp located a man inside the Dodge pickup in the 2700 block of North Drive, less than a mile from the hospital.
According to a police report, the truck was inoperable with “damage to the front right corner and a flat front left tire.”
The motorist was brought to the Taylor Police Department and questioned, but would not answer, according to the court document.
However, before he could be read his Miranda Warning, the man “turned his back and stated, ‘I know what I did,’” according to the affidavit.
Family and friends continue to mourn the loss of Killough, a man they describe as “a shining light” to all who knew him.
A former code enforcement officer for Taylor, Killough later served as a commissioner on the Planning and Zoning Commission with resident Annette Maruska, who described Killough as her mentor.
“(Killough) was a steady hand guiding and maneuvering decisions that would benefit the people of Taylor, yet still allow the progress Taylor needed,” Maruska said.
Killough was also a deacon at First Baptist Church in Taylor and involved in the Community Bible Study program.
He was married to Rhonda Killough for 58 years and had three sons, two of whom are deceased.
Maruska added, “I will always think of Jim as a cowboy movie star, rugged and tough, strong character and always a godly man. My heart is broken, but I am indeed blessed with the grand memories I have of him.”
