https://katv.com/news/local/conway-walmart-killing-suspect-claimed-victim-was-a-demon

Conway Walmart killing: Suspect claimed victim was a 'Demon’

CONWAY, Ark. (KATV) — Newly released court documents are shedding disturbing light on the killing of a Conway Walmart employee, as the suspect’s own mother says she believes her son had been unraveling for years — and should never have been left on his own.

According to a probable cause affidavit, 37-year-old Zeddrick Ross told Conway police he believed he was trying to kill a “demon” when he fatally stabbed 32-year-old Jordanne Drinkwater inside the Walmart on Skyline Drive Tuesday night.

Investigators say Ross admitted he had stolen a large knife from Walgreens before going into Walmart because he believed he needed protection. Once inside the store, the affidavit says, Ross armed himself with a machete, telling detectives he thought it would protect him better from the “demon” he believed had been following him.

That “demon,” according to the affidavit, was described by Ross as a light-skinned Black woman with brown eyes and a weave.

Police say Ross told detectives that while inside Walmart, the woman he believed was the “demon” got close enough for him to grab.

Instead, investigators say, the person he attacked was Jordanne Drinkwater, a Walmart employee who was simply working her normal shift.

According to the affidavit, Ross told detectives he grabbed Drinkwater and stabbed her multiple times in the neck and shoulder area. He then allegedly admitted that after the stabbing, he looked down and realized the woman on the ground “was not the demon” and “looked nothing like the demon he thought he was killing.”

By then, it was too late.

Drinkwater died after the attack.

In an emotional interview, Ross’s mother, Michelle, said she was horrified to learn the details laid out in the affidavit — and devastated for Drinkwater’s family.

“I feel very disappointed in him. I’m very surprised that he did this. I never expected him to ever do anything like this. Never,” she said. “That’s not the son that I used to know. That’s not him. He’s a totally different person now. I don’t even recognize him anymore.”

When told investigators say her son claimed he was trying to kill a demon, Michelle reacted with shock.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “Now I know he’s really not well. He’s definitely not sane talking like that.”

She said Ross had never told her he was seeing demons or having hallucinations.

“He never mentioned that to me,” she said. “Had he said that, I would have put him in the hospital. I would have done it.”

Michelle said Ross had a history of mental health struggles and that she had helped him get SSI benefits because of what she described as ongoing issues.

She said he had been prescribed Zoloft for depression, but claims he stopped taking it.

“He was very depressed. Very lonely,” she said. “He should have stayed on his medication. I’m sure that would have helped.”

Michelle said the last time she spoke with her son was in the summer of 2019, shortly after he moved to Arkansas.

She said during that final phone call, he sounded paranoid and began talking about the government.

“He acted really weird on the phone one day,” she said. “He said something about, ‘You shouldn’t be watching television. Television is the government watching you.’”

After that argument, she says they never spoke again.

“That’s when I knew he was just a loose cannon, ready to snap,” she said. “But I never imagined he would do this.”

As Michelle heard more of the affidavit, she said she became convinced her son’s condition had worsened far beyond depression.

“He was hearing voices,” she said. “Definitely hearing voices telling him to do that.”

She said if she had known he was experiencing delusions or hallucinations, she believes she would have tried to have him institutionalized years ago.

“He needs more than medication. He needs to be in a mental institution,” she said. “Had he been institutionalized since 2019, none of this would have happened.”

Still, Michelle made it clear that while she believes her son is mentally ill, she also believes he should face punishment.

“He belongs in prison now, and I agree with that,” she said.

Michelle repeatedly returned to the same point: another family is now grieving a daughter who should still be alive.

“My heart goes out to the family,” she said. “I’m very sorry for that. I really feel sorry for them, that she lost a daughter.”

She said she hopes Drinkwater’s loved ones see justice.

“I would actually want justice to be done against my own son,” Michelle said. “He shouldn’t have done that.”

And in one of her most sobering comments, she said she fears what could happen if he is ever released.

“I just hope they never let him out,” she said. “Because if they let him out, he might do it again.”

Police say the attack happened just before 11 p.m. Tuesday at the Walmart on Skyline Drive in Conway.

Officers were dispatched after receiving reports that a man was stabbing a female employee. According to police, officers arrived within about a minute and encountered Ross still armed with a knife.

When Ross allegedly refused commands to drop the weapon, one officer fired a shot and another used a Taser before he was taken into custody.

But for Jordanne Drinkwater, police say the attack had already turned fatal.

She was 32 years old.

And according to investigators, she was simply working her shift when Ross — convinced he was confronting something evil — instead took the life of an innocent woman.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5853304&forum_id=2).#49792563)

"Ross told detectives that while inside Walmart, the woman he believed was the “demon” got close enough for him to grab.

Instead, investigators say, the person he attacked was Jordanne Drinkwater, a Walmart employee."

Kinda sounds like he made a mistake and the demon somehow escaped unscathed.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5853304&forum_id=2).#49792584)