Salem man pleads guilty to manslaughter for killing 70-year-old Stayton man

A Salem man arrested on murder charges following the fatal stabbing of a Stayton man pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter Thursday. 

Samuel Greenwell Taylor, 26, was arrested on Oct. 23, 2017, at the home of 70-year-old Jere Moody.

According to court records, Moody's wife called 911 after finding Taylor standing over her husband, covered in blood. 

She told investigators she'd never met Taylor before that night. A mutual friend had reached out to her husband and asked if Taylor could sleep in his vehicle on their property in exchange for doing some work. 

She told investigators Taylor didn't talk much except when he "just sat there babbling on about his girlfriend."

She said Moody and Taylor smoked marijuana inside the house before going outside. When they came back in, she heard her husband say, "Call 911."

She arrived in the living room to find her husband bleeding and Taylor in a "meth daze, totally zoned." 

She then stabbed Taylor multiple times, later telling deputies that he remained silent and the stabbing didn't seem to affect him. 

When Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at the home on the 18000 block of North Santiam Highway, Taylor refused to comply with their commands, staring blankly at first then kicking and thrashing as they tried to handcuff him.

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After using tasers and a K-9 dog, four deputies were finally able to subdue Taylor. 

He was taken to Salem Hospital in an "excited delirium," according to court records. 

Moody died from multiple stab wounds after arriving at the hospital.

Taylor was later taken to the Marion County jail on charges of murder, interfering with a law enforcement animal and resisting arrest. 

Self-defense claim disputed

Taylor's attorneys filed a motion of their intent to use self-defense as a defense. 

According to court records, his attorneys also tried to introduce evidence of Moody's "prior bad acts," including allegations of domestic violence assault, sexual harassment and at least two restraining order petitions taken out against him. 

At the time of the attack, Moody was on probation for assaulting a man. According to court records, Moody was accused of burglarizing a residence and assaulting a man who once lived on his property and assisted him with his marijuana operation. 

Moody allegedly believed the man stole $10,000 in marijuana plants from him.

Taylor's attorney's argued that these instances made it "more probable than not that Mr. Moody had the same intentions of subjecting Mr. Taylor to the same treatment as he has to many other people, and therefore more probable than not that he was the first aggressor."

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Prosecutors contended that the defense failed to connect Moody's prior bad acts, which were instances of violence towards roommates and domestic partners, to a motive to assault Taylor.  

Unlike Moody's other alleged victims, Taylor was neither a short-term or long-term tenant of his home, but "merely an overnight guest with no prior connection or relationship to the victim."

Idaho manslaughter case pending

Taylor is also facing vehicular manslaughter charges for his role in a fatal car crash in Idaho. 

According to a news report by the Idaho State Journal, Taylor was involved in a fatal car crash in June 2017. While driving along Interstate 84 in Cassia County in southern Idaho, he crossed the highway median. Taylor over corrected, causing the car to roll over. 

His passenger, Megan Erickson, 29, of Boise, was ejected from the car and died at the scene. 

Vehicular manslaughter charges were filed against Taylor about a week after his arrest in Oregon. According to the fugitive complaint, Taylor "fled from justice in the county" and was found while in custody in Oregon. 

Court proceedings for the vehicular manslaughter charge remain ongoing. 

In a plea petition filed Thursday, Taylor admitted to causing Moody's death "under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life."

First-degree manslaughter is a Measure 11 offense requiring a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years.

Taylor's sentencing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Feb. 6 in Marion County Circuit Court. 

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth

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