David Conley, Accused of Murdering 8 in Houston, Gives Jailhouse Interview: 'I'm Only Human'

"God says in the Bible do not disrespect your mother and father or your days will be short," he tells local TV reporters

Photo: David J. Phillip/AP

David Conley, the Texas man charged with killing eight people on Saturday including his ex-girlfriend and his own son, spoke publicly for the first time on Tuesday to Houston television reporters.

In an interview with KPRC Houston, Conley, 48, by turns cried, evoked God and said he felt society and women treated him unfairly because he’s an ex-con. Police have said Conley told them he broke into the home of ex-girlfriend Valerie Jackson, 40, which he used to share with her, after he noticed that Jackson had changed the locks.

He told KPRC he promised his lawyers he would not go into specific details of the case. But when asked if he had said anything to his son, Nathaniel, 13, before he allegedly murdered him, Conley said, “I love Nate. I love Nate to death.”

“Nate didn’t give me any respect because of what his mother was doing to me,” he added. “She was cheating on me.”

He said he was worried about what he called his son’s “behavioral problems,” and said of the six children in the house, “They were growing up to be monsters, they were disrespectful, rude in school. I’m not saying they’re dead because of that. I’m not even saying I killed them.”

“God says in the Bible do not disrespect your mother and father or your days will be short,” he added. “But I’m not saying that’s what happened.”

When asked about Dwayne Jackson, 50, the slain husband of Valerie, Conley said he believed Jackson was “harassing” him.

“He tried to pimp out over me and take everything, rule over my house. How would you feel?” Conley said, adding, “Dwayne was a monster and Valerie, she was no Good Samaritan either, they did evil things all the time.”

Previous Charges

Conley has a history of criminal complaints against him dating back two decades, KHOU previously reported, including multiple incidents of family violence, drugs and driving while under the influence. He was charged last month with assaulting a family member after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend’s head against a refrigerator repeatedly, according to court documents obtained by KHOU.

When asked about reported charges of domestic violence against Valerie Jackson, Conley said, “They were all lies.”

Conley said he had an “on-and-off” relationship with Jackson for a decade and a half, which began when they met through a phone dating service. He said he had recently moved out of the house where the murders took place, but he had no place to live, and he went back because he had paid his rent and felt he should be allowed to stay in one room.

In a separate interview with KHOU, Conley repeatedly told the interviewer, “I’m only human,” according to the report.

‘You Didn’t Have to Kill the Kids’

On Sunday, Vernessa Conley, Conley’s estranged wife, told reporters that he’s “the devil. He’s very abusive towards me. He would beat me up every day.”

She added, “I was pregnant with my daughter and he would threaten me. He would threaten to kill me and the baby.”

Conley’s daughter, Quatasha Conley, addressed her father’s alleged actions, saying, “You could have let the kids go. You didn’t have to kill the kids.”

According to reports, Valerie Jackson desperately texted her mother on Saturday night before the murders. But cops said that when they arrived at the house on the 2200 block of Falling Oaks, they found eight people had been shot dead, and said they arrested Conley after a tense standoff and an hour of negotiations.

The dead were identified as parents Dwayne Jackson, 50, his wife Valerie Jackson, 40, and children Nathaniel, 13, Dwayne, 10, Honesty, 11, Caleb, 9, Trinity, 7, and Jonah, 6. Doctors said they had all been shot in the head.

Conley is due back in court Sept. 15.

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