FORT WORTH, Texas — A nude man who beat a man delivering wood to death with a piece of firewood in North Texas was found not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday.
Tarrant County Judge Vincent Giardino acquitted Chrisantus Omondi, 29, of murder under an agreement reached between prosecutors and the defendant’s attorneys, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Giardino ordered Omondi transferred from jail to the state hospital system, according to the newspaper.
Omondi had been accused in the January 2024 killing of Scott Jackson, 51, a grandfather who was delivering firewood to a Fort Worth residence, WFAA reported.
Antoinette McGarrahan, a clinical psychologist, concluded that severe mental disease or defect caused Omondi not to comprehend that his conduct was wrong, according to the Star-Telegram. McGarrahan’s February 2026 insanity evaluation report was filed under seal, the newspaper reported.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Jackson was unloading the wood from a U-Haul with the homeowner when a naked man, later identified as Omondi, approached them, KDFW reported.
“This naked man is three inches from my face, holding a key up to me yelling at me that I was on his property. He never wants to see me again. I should leave,” the homeowner told the television station. “Scott then replied, ‘No, this is his property and his house. Just let us unload firewood because it’s cold outside.’”
Jackson and the homeowner told Omondi to leave, but the suspect allegedly picked up a piece of wood and struck Jackson in the head, court records state. Omondi also hit the homeowner, who tried to block the blow with his arm.
According to the affidavit, Omondi chased the homeowner into the residence, then returned and bludgeoned Jackson to death with the firewood.
Officers noted in the affidavit that other witnesses confirmed the homeowner’s story, which was also corroborated by video surveillance at the scene, KDFW reported.
An autopsy report stated that Jackson’s death was caused by blunt force injuries to the head and neck, WFAA reported.
Omondi, who was still naked, was “non-compliant and aggressive” when police detained him at a nearby Airbnb, court records state.
Jackson’s daughter said she was angry after the judge’s ruling.
“I catch myself crying every single time, just because I was a daddy’s girl,” Kasey DeLeon told KDFW. “I feel like it’s not fair, like at the end of the day, whether he was sane or not, his hands still have blood on them.”
Giardino accepted Omondi’s guilty plea in a separate misdemeanor terroristic threat case, according to the Star-Telegram.
© 2026 Cox Media Group
