Texas Rangers: Pepperdine Concealed Young Mother's Corpse

“Let the party begin. Lol New year new me. Have a safe and happy new yrs,” Jason Alan Pepperdine posted on his Facebook wall on Dec. 31 at 2:36 p.m.

Below the post was a photo depicting a full bottle of Evan Williams, a half bottle of Jägermeister, a half-bottle of Coke and a single Redbull.

Five hours later, Pepperdine, 37, was on his way to party with 22-year-old Jaclyn Proctor at his side and two friends following in a metallic blue pickup. New Year’s Eve was going to be anything but “safe and happy”.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., Brady 911 received a call from 25-year-old Derek Cox, who informed the operator that Jason Pepperdine had just been in a wreck on FM 422. His female passenger was bleeding from her throat.

According to two affidavits filed by Texas Ranger Joel Timms on Thursday in McCulloch County, Cox had been riding with 24-year-old Joseph Palacio that night, and when Pepperdine crashed, both had exited the vehicle to check on their friends.

“Cox observed Proctor sitting in the front seat with her head laid back on the seat shortly after the crash,” Timms wrote. “Palacio walked up to Pepperdine’s vehicle shortly after the crash and observed Proctor severely bleeding. Palacio walks back to his truck.”

Still on the phone with dispatch, Cox advised the operator that it appeared Pepperdine was starting his vehicle and attempting to leave the scene. He told the dispatcher that he would get back into Palacio’s truck and follow Pepperdine, keeping the operator abreast of his whereabouts. Palacio and Cox then followed Pepperdine to the Rochelle post office.

At the post office, the affidavit states, Palacio walked up to Pepperdine’s truck and realized that Proctor was no longer inside. Cox, still on the phone with dispatch, had also taken note of Proctor’s sudden absence, and notified the operator where they were. Whether or not he relayed that Proctor was no longer in the vehicle is not stated in the affidavits, nor is whether or not they had witnessed her exit.

When DPS Sgt. Steve Jones, who was dispatched to the crash, received information that Pepperdine had fled to the post office, he met Rochelle Volunteer fireman Michael Jordan in the parking lot.

Jordan knows Pepperdine personally and had spoken to him at the post office, questioning him about the crash and whether he’d had a passenger. Pepperdine denied that anyone was in the vehicle. He then got in his truck and drove away, “without notifying emergency personnel of the location of the crash and/or providing information of the injured party…” the affidavit states.

At his residence, Sgt. Jones located Pepperdine around back of the trailer near some horse stalls. Again, he denied having a passenger involved in the wreck and was arrested for DWI.

Meanwhile, personnel from the Rochelle Volunteer Fire Department returned to the scene of the crash and located Proctor’s body hidden in a bar ditch. Sgt. Jones later changed the charge from DWI to intoxication manslaughter and contacted Ranger Timms to assist with securing evidence from Pepperdine’s residence, the affidavit states.

The following morning, on Jan. 1, Jones and Timms conducted a jailhouse interview with Pepperdine in McCulloch County, during which he confessed that Proctor had been in the vehicle during the crash.

“Pepperdine notes that Proctor was not ejected from the vehicle,” Timms wrote in the affidavit. “Pepperdine reports Proctor was bleeding from her neck area. Instead of providing or seeking medical treatment for Proctor, Pepperdine disposes of and conceals Proctor’s body and departs the crash scene.”

As a result of the ongoing investigation, witness statements and Pepperdine’s own confession, two new felony charges were filed against him on Jan. 15, including failing to render aid in an accident involving death and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, both second-degree felonies.

Both charges are punishable by 2-20 years confinement and a fine not to exceed $10k. Intoxication manslaughter is also a second-degree felony.

Jason Pepperdine remains in custody at the Burnet County Jail. His recommended bond is set at $100k per charge, a total of $300k now. 

The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, and neither Joseph Palacio nor Derek Cox have been jailed or had charges filed against them with regards to the crash. Both are currently employed at Loadcraft Industries. Asked via Facebook if either would like to comment on why they failed to render aid to Proctor at the scene of the crash, neither Palacio nor Cox responded. 

Jaclyn Proctor was only 22 years old at the time of her death. She left behind a 3-year-old son and extensive family. She was a Grape Creek graduate, had many friends, and worked at the local Sam's Club.