Jurors watch video of Modesto suspect explaining incident

Jurors on Wednesday watched video of a Modesto man tell police investigators he punched his roommate, and left her injured and unconscious on a bathroom floor for several hours as he slept.

Russell Todd Jones awoke the next morning in October 1999 and found his roommate Dena Raley-McCluskey in the same position on the bathroom floor. Only now, Raley-McCluskey's skin was cold to the touch, she had no pulse and a pool of blood had accumulated near her body, Jones told the investigators in a Nov. 1, 2007 interview.

At that point, Jones had already led investigators to a Tuolumne County shallow grave where he buried her body eight years before and he had confessed he punched Raley-McCluskey during a fight over a $20 bar bill at the central Modesto home they shared.

Jones initially told investigators he panicked when he found Raley-McCluskey dead and didn't tell anyone because he was afraid police would not believe he didn't kill her.

Jones, 51, of Modesto, is on trial, accused of killing Raley-McCluskey.

In the video, Jones told the investigators about the final moments of Raley-McCluskey's life, including the argument that led to the punch. He said Raley- McCluskey was upset about spending her last $20 on their bar bill.

"She literally jumped towards me like she was trying to grab a hold of my hair or my face," Jones told the investigators.

Then Jones punched her once on the left side of her face, he said, "just a reflex."

"I didn't have time to think about it; I just wanted to get her off me," Jones told the investigators. "And she hit the ground hard."

He said Raley-McCluskey first fell on the dining room's hardwood floor after the punch. He propped her up and walked her to the bathroom to clean her up.

Jones told the investigators Raley-McCluskey told him to call the police and that she needed to go to a hospital, just moments before she collapsed on the bathroom floor. He tried to help her up again, but Raley-McCluskey was unconscious.

Instead of calling for help, Jones placed a blanket over Raley-McCluskey, thinking she had passed out, and went to bed.

The investigators asked Jones whether he had caused any fractures when he punched Raley-McCluskey.

"I must have broke something when I hit her; I just don't know what the hell it was," Jones told the investigators.

Jones said he grew more fearful and decided he would have to get rid of Raley-McCluskey's body and wait until nightfall before loading her onto his pickup. Raley-McCluskey's body remained on the bathroom floor for about 12 hours as Jones waited for the right time to remove it.

About 2 a.m., Jones drove to Groveland and buried her body near his parents' property, he told the investigators.

"Nobody needs to know about this," Jones told the investigators about his state of mind at the time. "Nobody is going to believe this story."

Frank Carson, Jones' defense attorney, has said his client had been questioned by police for a long period and was suffering from psychological stress on Oct. 31, 2007 when he gave investigators a phony story about punching Raley-McCluskey.

Modesto police Detective Craig Grogan questioned Jones on Nov. 1 and 3, 2007. In those police interviews, Jones never recanted his confession of punching Raley-McCluskey shortly before she died, Grogan testified Wednesday.

Carson will have an opportunity to cross-examine Grogan on the witness stand when the trial resumes today in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or (209)578-2394.

This story was originally published July 6, 2011 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Jurors watch video of Modesto suspect explaining incident."