The Smith County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday it will seek the death penalty for a 20-year-old man accused of violently killing a young Tyler woman in September 2023.

Jamaurea Jermaine Britton, of Tyler, is charged with capital murder in the death of 18-year-old Dejah Hood. Documents show he admitted to beating Hood with a hammer, strangling and stabbing her before throwing her body into ravine behind the Hollytree Apartments in Tyler.

During a pre-trial hearing Thursday in the 114th District Court, the prosecution announced the DA’s office filed a notice to seek the death sentence for Britton. 

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