Bio 

Joshua Jenkins was born in 1980. He was an adopted child who lived with his family in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time of the murders, he was 15 years old and had been sent to Vista Del Mar School in West Los Angeles, a residential school for emotionally troubled youths.

Before the killings, Jenkins had a history of emotional and behavioral problems. Court testimony later showed that he had received mental health treatment from childhood. His defense attorneys argued that he suffered from serious mental illness and was legally insane at the time of the crimes.

Prosecutors argued that Jenkins understood what he was doing and planned the killings. They said he was angry about being sent to boarding school and wanted revenge against his family.

Murder Story

On February 2, 1996, Joshua Jenkins’s adoptive parents, George and Alene Jenkins, picked him up from Vista Del Mar School for a weekend visit to his grandparents’ condominium in Vista, California, in San Diego County.

During the visit, Jenkins got into an argument with his mother. He then attacked his adoptive parents and grandparents inside the condominium. His victims were George Jenkins, Alene Jenkins, William Grossman, and Evelyn Grossman. They were killed with a hammer and a kitchen knife.

Jenkins did not immediately kill his 10-year-old sister, Megan Jenkins. The next day, February 3, 1996, he took Megan with him to buy an axe. After returning to the condominium, he killed her with the axe.

After the murders, Jenkins set several fires inside the condominium in an attempt to destroy evidence. He then fled in the family’s silver Mercedes-Benz. He was arrested the next day after stopping at a convenience store and asking for directions to Las Vegas. A clerk recognized him from news reports and called police.

Jenkins initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. On April 16, 1997, one day before trial was scheduled to begin, he pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson.

A jury later considered whether Jenkins was legally sane at the time of the murders. The defense presented expert testimony about his mental illness, while prosecutors argued that his actions before, during, and after the killings showed planning and awareness. The jury rejected the insanity defense.

On June 30, 1997, Jenkins was sentenced to 112 years to life in prison. He was not sentenced to death because he was a juvenile at the time of the crimes. Joshua Jenkins remains imprisoned. In December 2025, he appeared before the parole board and was denied parole.