CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Charged when he was only 17, now 21-year-old Jacob Lee Carney has pleaded guilty to the 2020 murder of his grandmother, who was found stabbed 114 times.

In May 2020, police responded to the home of 67-year-old Mary Carney on Ellsworth Drive. Inside, police found two victims who had sustained multiple stab wounds. The other family member survived, but Mary died from her injuries.

On March 1, Jacob Carney pleaded guilty before Judge William Goodman III to first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

Stabbed 114 times

At around 1 a.m. on May 11, 2020, James Wilyard, the fiancé of Mary Carney, was sitting in the living room watching TV when he heard a noise from the kitchen, according to Deputy District Attorney Michael Pugh. Wilyard, who was recovering from a recent heart surgery, got up to investigate, believing that Mary and her grandson, Jacob, were in their rooms asleep.

“There were no lights on in the house,” Pugh told Clarksville Now. “Normally, he (Wilyard) could hear music coming out of Jacob’s room, but he didn’t hear any music.”

It was silent as Wilyard entered the kitchen, and nothing seemed out of place. He called out for Jacob, but there was no response. Just as he called Jacob’s name a second time, a light flicked on, revealing the teen standing nearby wearing an all-black outfit, a mask, gloves and, according to Pugh, holding what Wilyard called “the biggest knife in the kitchen.”

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As Wilyard tried to get the knife from the 17-year-old, they fell to the ground, and Jacob stabbed him in the back.

The commotion woke up Mary, who rushed out to see Jacob attacking Wilyard. She raced over but she slipped in the blood and fell. In the fight, she managed to grab Jacob’s wrist and told Wilyard to call 911. Wilyard got away, ran to the bedroom, locked the door and called 911 while Jacob beat on the door, trying to break in.

When police arrived, they kicked down the front door to get inside. They found Mary Carney on the floor, deceased, and Wilyard in the bedroom with stab wounds to his back, legs, arms, neck, and sides of his head. Jacob was lying in his bedroom, his clothes covered in blood.

Later, an autopsy report would state that Mary Carney had 114 stab and incision wounds.

Maternal grandmother, adoption pending

Mary Carney was the maternal grandparent of the defendant and, according to Pugh, was in the process of adopting him. According to her obituary, she was born on Oct. 8, 1952 and is survived by her longtime partner, Wilyard, and three adult children.

At the time of his arrest, since he was a juvenile, the domestic relationship between Carney and the victims was not released, and court paperwork was not originally available due to this initially being a juvenile case.

As for the motive in the case, “we don’t know why,” Pugh told Clarksville Now. “He never did say why he did it.”

Jacob Carney pleaded guilty in exchange for life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder of his grandmother, plus 15 years for the attempted murder of Wilyard to be served concurrently.

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