On Saturday, a slew of Jed Allen’s friends got a text from the troubled young man, imploring them to take care of his Jack Russell Terrier, Tetley, and to call the police. He said he’d done something bad. On Monday, he was found hanging in an Oxford park.
“I know what I have done is wrong, but I love you all and I will soon be in a better place. I need your help. I need you to call the police.”
Allen, 21, was referring to a brutal triple murder of his mother, Janet Jordan, 48, boyfriend, Philip Howard, 44, and her 6-year-old daughter and Allen’s half-sister Derrin, at their home in Didcot, Oxfordshire, BBC reported.
Though the details of their violent deaths have not been revealed by authorities, they were all found with stab wounds. A murder weapon was also found at the scene and the police aren’t looking for any more suspects. Allen’s body was found 36 hours after his strange texts triggered a manhunt, but hasn’t been formally identified.
Now, social services officials are under pressure to reveal what interactions they may have had with Jed and the family prior to the murders. Janet, who was known an alcoholic , had put up two children for adoption at one point, the Telegraph reported. Two younger siblings may have also been removed from the home, however it’s not clear if these are the same children.
Nonetheless, the home Allen grew up in was reportedly troubled. His parents split when he was a child and his mother dated a series of men, changes the young man didn’t handle well, the Daily Mail added.
The question now is whether social services could’ve done something to protect Derrin, especially in light of some comments from friends of the family about Jordan, described as a “Jekyll and Hyde figure.”
“I imagine (Jed) snapped with his mother and couldn’t take her any more. But I’ll never understand why he killed his sister,” said former boyfriend Mark Cane.
Signs of this troubled life are now coming to light including a series of strange videos found online, in which Allen screams “this is a mad house. I can’t take it anymore.” Further, friends said he was lonely and felt unloved, was treated like “dirt,” went into violent rages, and had an obsession with the idea of being a movie villain and an interest in knives. Jed’s favorite character was Wolverine, from the X-Men films, and in one photo is seen posing with blades between his fingers to emulate the character.
Then there is this detail, from the Daily Mirror : His friends believe a “ dark family secret ” drove the murders.
“This was a very dysfunctional family and there were many, many problems. There was a particular specific issue which drove Jed to this. It was a desperate situation.”
A neighbor, Janet Ilott, seemed to corroborate these impressions, the Mail added.
“Nobody knows what Jed went through. He was one of those vulnerable little souls and such a nice little lad. His only problem was his mother – and her problem was alcohol – but he loved his mum ever so much. He would ring and say, ‘I’m frightened, mum’s drunk again and I’m worried about the babies but don’t tell mum I rang because she will be cross with me.’ He was just a little boy having to be a man: trying to keep secrets, trying to look after his little brother and sister and then they were taken away from him.”
[Photo Via Daily Mail]
