April 3, 2018
Witness: Charles Stacks admitted he slammed child's head several times, said he felt was demon-possessed
By Michael Hewlett
Winston Salem-Journal
A Forsyth County man testified Wednesday that Charles Stacks said he felt demon-possessed when he grabbed a 2-year-old boy and slammed the boy’s head several times.
The man, Joshua Daniel Justice, told jurors in Stacks’ first-degree murder trial that Stacks made that confession while the two men were in adjacent cells at the Forsyth County Jail in 2015.
Stacks told Justice he was angry because he believed the boy’s mother had ripped him off on money she owed him and left him and his wife without enough heroin to use and a 2-year-old boy who would not stop crying, Justice said Wednesday in Forsyth Superior Court.
Charles Thomas Stacks, 33, is on trial this week for first-degree murder and felony child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swain in August 2015. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces the possibility of getting the death penalty. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.
Charles Stacks was taking care of Jaxson at the house at 5450 Grubbs St., that he shared with his wife, Megin Stacks, and their four children. Candace Swain, according to prosecutors, had stayed at the Stackses’ house off and on the last few weeks of Jaxson’s life. She was a heroin addict who worked as a prostitute in exchange for money and drugs, prosecutors said.
In opening statements, prosecutors said Charles Stacks sold Candace Swain drugs and acted as her pimp.
Jaxson was found unconscious at the house on Aug. 16, 2015, and died three days later at Brenner Children’s Hospital. According to testimony, Jaxson had bruises all over his body along with human bite marks. He died from bleeding in his brain caused by blunt-force trauma. A part of his skull had to be removed to relieve brain swelling and he would have had severe cognitive and physical challenges if he had survived, Dr. Daniel E. Couture, a neurosurgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, testified Wednesday.
Justice said in court that in 2015, he was awaiting trial on armed robbery and other charges and was placed in a cell next door to Charles Stacks. He said he first met Charles Stacks in May 2015 and had gone to 5450 Grubbs St., five to six times to buy heroin and prescription drugs.
Justice said one day while he was in his jail cell, he heard a voice he immediately recognized as belonging to Stacks. He called out, and Stacks confirmed that it was him. The two men then started talking, Justice said. He and Stacks, he said, were suffering from drug withdrawal.
Justice said he had managed to get suboxone, a drug sometimes used to treat opioid addiction, into the Forsyth County Jail, which is against the rules. He gave the suboxone to Stacks, but Stacks initially didn’t want to talk about his criminal case.
But early one morning, Stacks was yelling and screaming, waking Justice up. Stacks asked if he could trust Justice, and Justice said Stacks could.
And that’s when, according to Justice, Stacks began confessing.
Justice said Stacks believed Candace Swain had ripped him off. Charles Stacks and Megin Stacks were both “dope sick,” which means they were experiencing withdrawal symptoms from heroin. Candace Swain had left the house, and the Stackses were caring for Jaxson. Candace Swain had gone to the Days Inn on Germanton Road, where she would pay for a room and work as a prostitute.
Charles and Megin Stacks had repeatedly called Candace Swain, but she would not answer her phone, leaving Charles Stacks to believe Candace Swain might not be returning. He was angry, Justice said, that Candace Swain owed him money and also might not be coming back with more drugs. Jaxson was crying and Stacks told him to shut up and that his mother was not coming back, Justice said.
According to Justice, Stacks said he grabbed Jaxson by the waist and slammed the boy’s head into something several times. Stacks didn’t tell Justice whether that was the floor or a table or some other surface area, Justice said.
Stacks also didn’t tell him how many times he banged the child’s head, Justice said.
“I felt like I was demon-possessed,” Stacks said, according to Justice.
Charles Stacks told Justice he didn’t intend to kill Jaxson, Justice said. Justice also said that in a later conversation, Stacks called Candace Swain a “piece of (expletive),” and said that Jaxson was better off in heaven.
That, Justice said, appalled him and after that, he cut off contact with Charles Stacks. He also contacted a jail official about what Stacks told him, which led him to an interview with Winston-Salem police detectives.
Stephen Ball, one of Stacks’ attorneys, will vehemently challenge Justice’s credibility and motives in cross-examination Thursday. In opening arguments, Ball said Justice asked police detectives what kind of consideration he might get for the information he was providing about Stacks.
He pointed out that Justice was initially charged with armed robbery but pleaded guilty to common-law robbery and larceny of a motor vehicle. In direct testimony, Justice denied that he had gotten any deal in exchange for his testimony. He told the jury that the plea arrangement required that he plead guilty to the lower charges and that prosecutors would not indict him for being a habitual felon.
Ball also said Stacks and Justice didn’t know each other and there is no way Justice could have gone to the Stackses’ house in May 2015 because the Stackses did not move into the house until July of that year.
When asked why he was testifying, Justice said, “I’m doing this for justice for Jaxson and to tell the truth.”
https://www.journalnow.com/news/crim...0f50208d6.html
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