Convicted Wife Killer Released on Parole
Santa Barbara Resident Served More than 30 Years for 1994 Murder of Wife in Front of Their Two Children
Jason Alan Page was ordered released from state custody by the state parole board late last month after having served more than 30 years in custody for beating his wife, DeDe Page, with a baseball bat on November 9,1994, and then stabbing her 20 times with an X-acto knife in front of the couple’s two children.
Page, then a Santa Barbara resident, was a habitual abuser of methamphetamines at the time of the killing, and his wife was threatening to leave him because of chronic abuse. They’d been married 13 years. DeDe Page had initiated the process of taking out a restraining order but did not finish it. She sought space in the women’s shelter, but there was no room.
Page’s defense attorney argued Page lacked the capacity for premeditation at the time because of his meth-induced psychosis. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years. During the trial, Page mugged for a friend in the back of the courtroom, pantomiming that he was swinging a baseball bat.
Page first came up for a parole suitability hearing last September; at that time, prosecuting attorney Marguerite Charles opposed his release. “I was concerned he still poses a risk to public safety,” Charles stated based on the nature of the crime, the facts leading up to the murder, his conduct in prison, and responses to questions asked by parole commissioners.
The parole board disagreed with Charles and found Page suitable for release. The Governor’s office reviewed their decision and referred it back to the full parole board for what’s known as an en banc review. In February, the full board affirmed his release.
Speaking on Page’s behalf was one of his sons and his attorney. Aside from Charles, no one spoke against Page’s release.
