After four years, the families of Mary Jackson, Aaron Byers, Tiffany Byers and Tiffany Byers’ unborn child will finally have closure.
Paul Oliver Brock, of Corbin, was sentenced Tuesday morning to life without the possibility of parole.
He was convicted of three counts of murder, one count of fetal homicide and one count of tampering with physical evidence Thursday by a 12-member jury.
The verdict was reached after nine days of testimony and nearly four years of pretrial hearings.
Jury selection in the case, which began March 1, marked the beginning of Brock’s second trial in the case. The first began in September 2021, but was abruptly ended when Brock pleaded guilty to the charges. Because of a technicality, Brock withdrew his plea and a new trial was set for March 2022.
Brock’s sentence was agreed upon by both the defendant and prosecution, so the jury was not required to deliberate on the matter.
“It is not uncommon to get to this phase,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling. “Of course, the presumption of innocence is done. He has been convicted by a jury of his peers.”
If the sentence had been decided by the jury, Bowling said the sentence could have ranged from 20 years to the death penalty.
“I was not willing to enter any agreement that entertained the possibility of parole,” said Bowling.
Bowling said the death penalty is essentially non-existent in Kentucky since there are individuals who have been on death row since the 1980s and the Commonwealth has executed relatively few individuals in that time.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington D.C., only three people in Kentucky have been executed since 1976.
Knowing that the appeal of a death penalty case can take decades, Bowling said that the appeals on those kinds of cases rip “the band aid off the wound the victims suffered.”
“That is something that I wasn’t really willing to do, especially when I have an agreement that he is spending the remainder of his natural life in prison,” Bowling said. “That is the death penalty to me.”
“To me, there is no functional difference between life without parole or death,” said Bowling.
“We are not able to get to this point without the jury,” said Bowling. “I reiterate, I am still grateful the jury made the findings they did that got us to this point and it lets this family put this to bed.”
“I am thrilled,” said Bowling. “I personally think, this was probably one of the two penalties this jury was going to really hone in on.”
“I am very happy because we know his fate for the remainder of his life.”
“I answer to the victims number one,” said Bowling. “Number two, the community is safer. The world is safer without Paul Brock in it. As long as he is behind bars, this community can breathe a little easier. I have accomplished both goals.”
Bowling said there will be an appeal on the issue of guilt or innocence since any case with a penalty greater than 20 years is automatically appealed.
The Kentucky Attorney General’s office will represent the Commonwealth during the appeal.
“They have always done a great job, so we are confident the verdict will stand on appeal.”
Lead investigator for the case, Corbin Police Major Coy Wilson, said, “I am glad it is over.”
“I am happy with the jury’s verdict and the sentence that Paul received. I think it was appropriate,” Wilson added. “I would like to thank all the witnesses who testified and came to court, Ronnie Bowling and his office for all the hard work they put in on this case, and I would like to thank the jurors for their service and their sacrifice for the last month.”
Despite the case having coming to an end, Wilson said he hopes people won’t forget what the victims’ families have gone through with both the murders and the court process over the last for years.
Near the end of the sentencing, family members of the victims had an opportunity to address the court and Brock through the form of witness impact statements.
Daughter of Mary Jackson
Jean Nolan, the daughter of Mary Jackson, spoke first.
Her statement began by expressing gratitude for the work put in by the court, Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling and his office, and Major Coy Wilson in bringing this case to completion.
Nolan then talked about her mom who was affectionately referred to as ‘Granny’.
Nolan described her mother as, “One of the kindest souls you will ever meet.”
She expressed her disbelief that someone would have killed, what Nolan described as, a ‘helpless’ woman.
Nolan told Brock and the court that her mother was legally blind and couldn’t walk without assistance. She told Brock that she believes the reason he killed her was because, “She could identify the person who was devastating her home that day.”
Jackson’s daughter recounted the day her mother was killed stating that it was the same day she had passed her nurse practitioner’s boards.
After being busy the week prior to Jackson’s death studying for her boards, Nolan had decided she would visit her mother that Saturday afternoon.
Having successfully passed her boards, she told Brock that she had decided to go get her mom some Chinese food and take it to her in celebration. On her way to retrieve the food, Nolan said she got the worst headache she had ever had and decided to head home.
Nolan told Brock and the court that she knows the headache was God’s way of keeping her from being at 102 Ellison Street that day during the time frame in which the murders occurred.
Her daughter called and told her to go to her mother’s house, Nolan recalled. She didn’t know why until she spoke to her son-in-law who informed her that her mother and Tiffany Byers had been shot.
Nolan said she never got the opportunity to tell her mother that she passed her boards.
On behalf of her family, Nolan shared sentiments from each of Jackson’s children, including Tiffany’s mother, Rita.
Nolan shared that Rita said her mother was her best friend. Brock took away Rita’s mother, daughter, son-in-law and grandchild in 2018. Nolan said that Rita got to hold her grandchild only one time before the baby’s body was placed in the casket for a final time.
“What you have done to our family, Paul Brock, is irreparable,” Nolan told Brock. “Maybe God will have mercy on you.”
Parents of Aaron Byers
Angela and J.C. Byers, Aaron Byers parents, also addressed Brock and the court.
Angela Byers said that she didn’t want a picture painted of her son that made it seem as if he grew up in a rough home life.
Angela Byers said she felt bad that he had got off on the wrong track, but he knew the Lord. Sher reminisced on her son’s many talents including music and art. She described her son as smart and funny.
She told Brock that her heart was to get justice and truth.
“I never held anything against you,” she told him.
In a like manner, J.C. Byers expressed a similar sentiment.
A pastor, he began by explaining that according to scripture Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy and he succeeded in stealing the dreams he had for his son.
J.C. Byers said it took four years, but on Tuesday, he stood before Brock with no remorse.
“I have to forgive you and I have to love you,” J.C. Byers told Brock. “You have an opportunity to ask God to forgive you.”
He told Brock that four years ago, he was so angry and unprepared for the news that his son had been killed. Over time though, he said he has worked towards forgiveness.
“God had to deal with me about you,” he said.
J.C. Byers said he was grateful for the opportunity to look Brock in the eyes and have Brock look him in the eyes.
“We forgive you,” J.C. Byers said on behalf of himself and his wife.
After witness impact statements were finished, Whitley Circuit Court Dan Ballou commended J.C. Byers on his testimony.
I have never seen or heard heartache and tragedy turned into that kind of a beautiful testimony, Ballou told him.
Remanded into custody
Brock was formally sentenced and remanded into custody.
Brock was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole for the three counts of murder, one life sentence with the possibility of parole for fetal homicide because it is not considered an aggravated offense, and five years for tampering with physical evidence.
The sentences will run concurrently, or at the same time.
