The jury trial continues next week with more defense witnesses. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ As a result, an inmate's release date may not be up-to-date. Photo: As of Wednesday,302people only three of whom arewomen are currently on the state's death row, according to the Department of Corrections website. All rights reserved. Michael Wayne Jones Jr., 38, is facing a charge of second-degree homicide for the death of his wife, 32-year-old Casei Jones, who was reported missing along with the four children Saturday night after family members said they had not been seen for six weeks. The 41-year-old Summerfield man was charged with first-degree murder for each of the children, while given a second-degree charge for his wife,Casei Jones. The suspect was arrested after he crashed his car. Scheming to make it appear that she was still alive, he used her cell phone to post items to her social media accounts, according to the Ocala Star Banner. Casei Jones (left) and the four children. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. In Florida, defendants convicted of first-degree murder can be put to death if the jury unanimously recommends such an outcome, while the maximum penalty for second-degree murder is life in prison. },false) hitType: 'event', When police arrived he admitted killing his wife and told them the body was in the vehicle he was driving. The following day, Jones took his two stepchildren, Preston Bowers, 4, and Cameron Bowers, 8, to stay with their father as he frantically devised a plan to cover up his wifes murder. But he eventually backed out of the plan, instead opting to drown both tots in a bathtub and putting both of their bodies into a single tote bag. A second request from jurors was to see if an interpreter could be with them during deliberations. ga('ads.send', { Jones allegedly told authorities with the Brantley County Sheriffs Office that he'd concealed the bodies of the children in the woods shortly before the crash. He knew he could face the death penalty for those charges. Will Ocala jurors recommend the death penalty for family killer Michael Wayne Jones? Preston was choked with a zip tie the following day. This comes five months after vile Michael Wayne Jones Jr. pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the childrens deaths and one count of second-degree murder in wife Casei Jones death. At 11:05 a.m., the jury had two questions. The next day, Jones said, he choked Preston with a zip tie before drowning him in a bathtub and then putting his corpse into a suitcase. Aseparate hearing would then be held for each side to make their arguments before a judge makes the ultimate decision. The victim's remains were in a tote, authorities said. }); [I]n the following weeks, detectives believe he killed the two oldest children by strangulation and his two youngest children by drowning them, the sheriffs office wrote in a news release following the arrest. She also described their two sisters as princesses., 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, NFL linebackers 2-year-old daughter drowns in pool, Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes possible along East Coast, including I-95 corridor, on Sunday, Golfers get chippy over foursomes slow pace of play, throwing wild kicks and punches on Florida course, Tornado flips cars as it touches down in South Florida. He then began devising plans by dropping the boys, his two stepchildren Preston and Cameron at their father's place and dropping his two daughters Mercalli Jones and Aiyana Jones, two children he shared with his wife Casei at her mother's home. Contact Stephanie K. Baer at stephanie.baer@buzzfeed.com. Thanks for contacting us. Stephanie Baer is a reporter with BuzzFeed News and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rather than dealing with them then he kept them in the van for two weeks before taking them to Brantley County, Georgia. School principal Chris Christensen jumped to death to end 'toxic' marriage to 'abusive' wife, says daughter, Who was Andrei Kisliak? DOC records show 27.4 years is the average age at the time of the offense for executed inmates, and for execution, the average age is 44.9 years. }); }); Michael Wayne Jones . The older twowere his wifes sons from another relationship, authorities said. Jones wrapped his wifes body in blankets, placed it in a large tote bag and put in a closet. Summerfield man pleads guilty to killing wife, 4 children, may face death penalty, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. When he was interviewed by sheriffs detectives, Jones admitted tokillinghis wife with a metal baseball bat by hitting herrepeatedly. Casei Jones and her four children; Cameron Bowers , Preston Bowers, Mercalli Jones, Aiyana Jones were last seen approximately six weeks ago in the local Ocala, FL area. As a sheriff it angers me," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told reporters on Monday. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Locate the whereabouts of a federal inmate incarcerated from 1982 to the present. Life or death? Prosecutors went on to say that Jones got his G.E.D. RELATED: Prosecution rests in death penalty case against Marion County man who killed wife, four children. Nikki reportedly told the deputy that she suspected Jones had harmed the family. Jones was arrested on September 15, 2019, after a deputy officer detected the stench of a decaying body when he arrived at a scene where Jones was involved in a single-car accident. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Facing a possibledeath sentence, Michael Wayne Joneshas pleaded guilty to killing his wife and their four children. Detectives said Jones then admitted to the killing of the couples four children:Cameron Bowers, 8; Preston Bowers, 4;Mercalli Jones, 2;and her 11-month-old sister, Aiyana Jones. He was then drowned in a bathtub and his body was also put in a suitcase.Jones drove with his two young daughters a few days later after the first three heinous killings. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and New York Law School and previously worked in financial securities compliance and Civil Rights employment law. Producer: McQ. With a Spanish speaking juror on the panel, the judge wanted to find out from the foreman and the juror if there were any communication problems. A dad has been sentenced to death for beating his wife to death with a metal baseball bat before strangling his two stepsons and drowning his two biological daughters. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He was the eldest son of actor John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Saenz. If the jury decides to give Jones the death penalty,the decision must be unanimous. As of Thursday,302people were on the state's death row, according to the Department of Corrections website. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ His defense attorneys called neuropsychologist Dr. John Fabian to discuss Jones' mental illnesses. On Friday Marion County Circuit Court Judge Anthony Tatti ordered Jones be executed by the state. He was picking up their kids from school and hanging out with the kids? Woods described the deaths as an act of true evil.. He took them to where he left the children's remains. }); Once inside, deputies immediately detected the foul odor of decomposition, and the area was declared a crime scene. The sentencing comes in the wake of a jury unanimously recommending that Michael Wayne Jones be put to death in January 2023. Once inside though they detected the foul odour of decomposition and a crime scene was established. ga('ads.send', { Jones was sentenced to death for each of the four children's murders. Two defendants still await sentencing, Assistant State Attorneys Amy Berndt and Rich Buxman, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Marion County Sheriff's Office, Detectives believe he stored the bodies at his home and in his van for several weeks before transporting them to Brantley County, Georgia, the Marion County Sheriffs Office said in, "You may want to put me in handcuffs because there was a dead body (inside the vehicle)" he allegedly told deputies, according to, The sheriffs office confirmed the body of his 32-year-old wife Casei Jones was found inside. eventAction: 'render' Michael Wayne Jones Jr. (News4Jax screenshot) A state judge in Florida has sentenced a 41-year-old man to death for beating his wife to death with a metal baseball bat, then strangling his 9-year-old and 4-year-old stepsons to death and drowning his 2-year-old and 11-month-old biological daughters. Detectives believe Jones killed his family at their home in Summerfield, Florida, sometime in the last several weeks before moving the bodies to his van and driving north to Georgia. I don't know what I would do without any of them. His defense attorneys argue that his traumatic upbringing including molestation at the hands of his father and abuse from a violent stepfather damaged his mental health from an early age. We are one of the worlds fastest growing According to court documents, deputies with the Marion County Sheriffs Office responded to a welfare check on Casei and the children requested by Caseis mother, Nikki Jones, on Sept. 14, 2019. }); 86th Terrace but initially said the residence appeared to have been vacant for several weeks. Michael Wayne Jones Jr. A Summerfield man accused last month of killing his wife is now facing murder charges in the deaths of four children as well. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. pg.acq.push(function() { An interpreter was found and the documents were sent for certification. A week before they were due in class, Jones, dragged Cameron out of his bed and fatally strangled him on the floor, he told detectives. Without the need for a trial to adjudicate his guilt, jurors were only brought in during the penalty phase of the case to decide whether Jones should be sentenced to life in prison without parole or be sentenced to death. Ms Jones said she had not heard from her daughter or the grandchildren in weeks and was concerned that Michael Jones had done something to them.. gads_event = event; document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ "Casei is my baby, she was my last one. Questions flew while Jones walked from the sheriff's office to the cruiser which took him to jail, but he remained silent and barely looked up. As a sheriff, it angers me, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a press conference Monday afternoon. "All we need to know is thats evil, and evil did something, and evil needs to pay for what he did," the local sheriff said. He then put the childs body in a suitcase. At the same hearing, he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Casei. Follow the Mirror US News page on Facebook to make sure you're not missing out. This isnt justice, the family says its bittersweet. Casei Jones and her four children; Cameron Bowers , Preston Bowers, Mercalli Jones, Aiyana Jones were last seen approximately six weeks ago in the local Ocala, FL area. Casei Jones and her four kids were reported missing over the weekend. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. He recounted to police that she poked him with a baseball bat during an escalating argument in their Marion County home, and that he beat her to death with it in a rage.
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