Betty Sue Short murder case premiered on ID’s most recent real-crime sequence, ‘Murder in My House,’ on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The episode named No Remorse aired on the channel at 9 pm ET.

The episode outline states, “Police discover Betty Sue Short murdered in her own home; the killer has turned the air conditioning down low to preserve the body, and there’s no trace of a murder weapon; the scene shares similarities with a recent killing in the community.”

A 65-year-old woman’s dead body was found beaten to death in the flat that she shared with her son, Scott, in Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee, on October 17, 2011.

There were no signs of forced entry, pointing out that she knew the murderer. Eyewitnesses led investigators to arrest Jonathan Slemp, who was seen at the crime spot on the night of the Betty Sue Short murder.

Slemp claimed that he agreed with Betty to trade pills, which led him to her home that night.

Betty Sue Short murder case – How did she die?

Betty was born in February 1946 and was divorced when her children were young. She was a diabetic patient, with her kids being her utmost priority. 

Everything was going fine until one day, their journey took an ugly turn. 

On October 17, 2011, upon Scott’s return home, he found his mother’s dead body seated on the couch, her face covered with a sheet. 

Authorities discovered severe blunt force trauma to the right side of her head. The thermostat had been turned down to a shallow temperature, but nothing was stolen from the house.

Scott lived with his mother because he had recently been released from prison, but he was at his girlfriend’s house on the night of the murder.

Scott reported that a toolbox containing three firearms was missing from his bedroom.

Witness statements revealed that Jonathan Slemp was a frequent visitor to Betty’s apartment and was also present on the night of the murder.

Jonathan claimed that he agreed with Betty to exchange Percocets for Valium and had gone to her home to fulfill the agreement, but he left after 15 minutes.

According to Jonathan’s statement, at the time of the incident, he was living with his ex-wife and arrived home at around 9:15 pm.

However, a witness reported that Jonathan returned after 10:30 pm, displaying a gun that matched the description of one of the missing firearms from Scott’s toolbox.

Furthermore, Jonathan had a plastic bag similar to the one Betty used to keep her narcotics.

Despite inconsistencies in Jonathan’s statements, there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder.

Upon investigating, the authorities found that the murder of Gary Layon Jones in Kingsport in November 2010 was similar to Betty’s murder. 

Gary was stabbed more than 20 times, and his body was covered with a coffee table like Betty’s face was covered with a bed sheet.

Who was the culprit behind the Betty Sue Short murder? 

Chris West, a man in prison on drug charges, offered to help with the investigation and acted as an informant for the police. 

Chris knew Jonathan and hung out with him to gather information. Eventually, Jonathan confessed to killing Betty, leading to his arrest.

In September 2015, Jonathan Slemp was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and especially aggravated robbery concerning Betty’s case. He was sentenced to life in jail with the possibility of parole.

In October 2015, Jonathan pleaded guilty to killing Gary and received another life sentence. Jonathan Slemp’s death in prison has been recorded, but the cause of death has not been made public.

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