David Conley, alleged killer of 6 children, says they were becoming 'monsters'

Inside a segregation cell in a Houston jail, David Conley waits, passing the time talking to reporters about the tumultuous relationship he had with his on-again, off-again girlfriend over more than a decade. Earlier this week, he was charged with numerous counts of capital murder after he allegedly slipped through an unlocked window at her home and fatally shot her, her common-law husband and her six children - one by one - in the back of the head.

Authorities said Conley, 49, killed Valerie Jackson, 40, her husband, Dwayne Jackson, and the six children, including his son, 13-year-old Nathaniel.

"I love Nate. I love Nate to death," he told KPRC-TV earlier this week. Though, he said, he has questioned for years whether he is the child's biological father.

Conley spoke Wednesday about the children who were growing into "monsters" and Jackson whom he blamed for letting them run wild "like they were gangsters".

"I understand how it looks, but it's not like that," he told the Houston Chronicle. "The Bible says, 'Thou shall respect your mother and father or your days shall be short. I'm not God, but you know, then, I'm the man of the house."

Conley said his attorney advised him not to talk about the allegations against him but in an interview he told a KHOU-TV reporter: "I'm only human."

In jailhouse interviews, Conley has instead focused on his relationship with Jackson who, over the years, bounced back and forth between him and Dwayne Jackson. He claimed Valerie Jackson had cheated on him with Dwayne - a "demon" and a "monster" who was "harassing" him.

"He tried to pimp out over me and take everything, rule over my house. How would you feel?" he told KPRC-TV. "Dwayne was a monster and Valerie, she was no Good Samaritan either. They did evil things all the time."

Conley also said Jackson wouldn't discipline the children so they were "growing up to be monsters," talking back and refusing to clean up after themselves.

"They were disrespectful, rude in school," he told the TV news station. "I'm not saying they're dead because of that. I'm not even saying I killed them."

When Conley met Jackson in 1999, he said, he was "trying to do the right thing in life". He had been in trouble for auto theft, cocaine possession and evading arrest, according to court records. The next year, the two had a daughter.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Man kills family of eight in Texas home

Jackson's mother has reportedly had custody of the daughter for years.

Around that time, Conley was arrested and charged in a domestic violence dispute. Jackson told police Conley had cut her neck, punched her in the face and wrapped an electrical cord around the baby's neck. The handling of that case became an issue this week after he was charged in the murders when local media reported that, given Conley's previous felony convictions, the prosecutor in that case could have sought the maximum sentence - 25 years to life - but op ted in 2002 to accept a plea deal instead for five years behind bars.

Conley said the domestic abuse allegations against him "were all lies".

"Basically what happened to that case is what happens with so many domestic violence cases: The victim recanted her story," Jeff McShan with the Harris County District Attorney's Office told KHOU-TV.

McShan said Jackson then blamed the alleged abuse on an ex-boyfriend.

"We went all the way up to the trial date hoping she would tell the truth about what happened, show up for court , but we couldn't even locate her," he said.

Conley and Jackson then reportedly had a son, Nathaniel, though Conley said paternity was never proven.

For years, Jackson went back and forth between Conley and Dwayne Jackson. "I never tried to hold her back," Conley told the Houston Chronicle, "but then she would always try to run off and be with him". Conley had five children with Dwayne Jackson.

Early on, Conley was reportedly married to another woman. His estranged wife, Vernessa Conley, told Fox News that Conley had abused her years ago.

"He grabbed me by my hair and dragged me out of the bed and he drug me over the floor and he took an extension cord, the orange ones that you use," she said, "and he wrapped it around my neck and I blacked out."

"If I hadn't left he probably would have killed me," she added.

These children were growing up to be "monsters", the man who massacred them claims. Photo: Gofundme

JUDGE DEFENDS DECISION

In 2013, Child Protective Services filed a lawsuit and removed the children from their home amid allegations of neglect and a history of domestic violence.

CPS noted Conley's history of domestic violence against Valerie Jackson and stated that the "mother's lack of control and parenting skills places the children in immediate danger."

CPS said the children told authorities they were often left alone. On at least two occasions, then-7-year-old Caleb left the home and wandered around the family's neighbourhood unsupervised.

The lawsuit also listed other cases in Conley's long criminal history, including arrests for aggravated robbery and drug possession, and how he was twice arrested for threatening Jackson with a knife.

The agency sought to keep the children in foster care, but Juvenile Court Judge Glenn Devlin returned them home a month later, after Jackson and Conley agreed to counselling , among other things.

The judge took the unusual step of defending his decision, issuing a statement Wednesday saying that he couldn't base removal of the children on the adults' criminal histories and that CPS never stated there was "a current or immediate threat of violence from anyone."

"While the tragic events that occurred some 18 months after the CPS case is horrific, neither CPS nor any attorney or the Court could have prevented it based upon the case presented in court," Devlin said.

Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which includes CPS, said his agency didn't have any immediate comment on Devlin's statement.

David Conley with the children he's accused of killing.

ABUSE CONTINUED

Conley and Jackson's troubles came to a head last month when Conley allegedly attempted to discipline Jackson's 10-year-old with a belt. Police said she tried to grab the belt from him but he slammed her head into a refrigerator. Police issued a warrant for his arrest.

Conley told the Houston Chronicle he left the house that he claims he shared with Jackson and went to a motel. Ultimately, he decided to move out but, when he realised he didn't have anywhere else to go, he went back, according to KPRC-TV.

On Saturday morning, Conley discovered Jackson had changed the locks, police said, so he slipped through an unlocked window. At some point that morning, Jackson's brother, Earl Yanske , who was in Montana, said he heard Conley was in the house. He tried to call Conley. No answer. Then a family member phoned police .

Deputies went to the home several times throughout the day but nothing seemed amiss. Finally, about 11 pm, Yanske said, his cellphone rang. It was Conley, returning his call.

" 'I need to ask you a question,' " Conley said, according to the Houston Chronicle. " 'Did you kill my sister?' "

"He said, 'Yes, I did.' . . . There was totally no emotion in his voice."

Outside the home, authorities saw a body through the window.

"Deputies on scene forced entry into the home and were immediately met with gunfire," Harris County Chief Deputy Tim Cannon told the Associated Press. "The deputies withdrew from the home."

Authorities waited for the sheriff's office SWAT team to arrive and, after an hours-long standoff with police, negotiators finally got Conley to emerge.

Inside the home, police found the victims. The children were identified as Nathaniel, 13, Dwayne, 10, Honesty, 11, Caleb, 9, Trinity, 7, and Jonah, 6.

Now the prosecutor who gave Conley a plea deal in 2002 will face him again and could seek the death penalty, KHOU-TV reported.

"We're talking about a span of three to four months before that decision will be made," Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson told reporters.

Conley is set to appear in court again September 15.