CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A Clarksville man who confessed to murdering his family will stand trial this month after several motions asking for his case to be stayed and his trial continued were denied.
Jordan Hazel, 30, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his 23-year-old wife, Keara Hazel, and their two children, Kayden Hazel, 3, and Jaylynn Hazel, 9 months old.
On Sept. 14, 2017, Clarksville Police responded to the family’s home on Mills Drive, where they discovered the woman and two children shot to death. During the investigation, Hazel admitted to Detective Fred McClintock that he had murdered his family.
On June 9, Hazel’s attorney, Public Defender Roger Nell, argued in a competency hearing that his client was not mentally stable to stand trial. Judge William Goodman ruled Hazel was mentally capable to participate in his defense but had decided not to.
At his trial conference on Wednesday, Aug. 12, Nell filed several motions surrounding the ruling on Hazel’s competency and asked that the trial, scheduled to begin Aug. 24, be stayed or continued.
He also asked for a continuance based on COVID-19 related issues.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Lund said the state is ready for trial and has witnesses ready to move forward.
Goodman said the case has been pending for a substantial amount of time and denied all requests for stays and continuance.
Additionally, he said several provisions have been put in place to meet COVID-19 state regulations including social distancing when seating jurors, plexiglass installments at the witness box and podium, and masks requirements.
