No Bond for Butts Co. Murder Suspect Herman Jackson, III

BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. - A man accused of killing his wife and her daughter in Butts County is being held without bond after making his first appearance in court on Monday moing. Police say 43-year-old Herman Jackson, III tued himself in to authorities on Sunday.

Investigators say the killing spree happened over the weekend inside Jackson’s home. First, they say, he allegedly murdered his wife, Penny Philips, a 40-year-old mother of nine children. Then, they say, he walked into the next bedroom and stabbed her 10-year-old adopted daughter while the girl slept.

Detectives said they think the other four children in the home would have been attacked if one of them had not woken up. They say one of the children had a brief conversation with Jackson before going back to sleep, not knowing his mother was dead. That’s when investigators say the suspect fled the home in a pickup truck, which was ditched at a Henry County gas station.

For the next day and a half, investigators say Jackson hid on foot. Eventually, detectives tell FOX 5 he called his pastor in the middle of Easter Sunday services, and the pastor says he urged Jackson to tu himself in before calling authorities.

Neighbors told FOX 5 News the family had moved into the neighborhood about six months ago. They said they have heard fighting and shouting coming from the house in the past.

Jackson's family spoke with FOX 5 early Sunday moing to plead for him to surrender to police peacefully.