Jerry William Jones still critical; girls, mother to reunite
Anne Warfield
Jones still critical; girls, mother to reunite
State welfare agents take custody of kidnapped children
01/09/04
From staff reports
2 p.m. update
Jerry William Jones remained in critical condition and under armed
guard Friday morning at a Chattanooga hospital but is expected to
survive, authorities said.
The three girls he's accused of kidnapping - his 10-year-old former
stepdaughter and two of his daughters, ages 3 and 4 - are now in the
custody of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services,
said GBI Director Vernon Keenan.
Relatives and case officials expect the girls to be reunited Friday
with their mother, Melissa Peeler, who was flown back to Georgia by
the FBI early Friday after being stranded for two days in Oregon by an
ice storm.
The girls' ultimate fate remains unknown since both Peeler and Jones
lost custody of them. Peeler's parents, Tom and Nola Blaylock, had
custody. Both were among the four victims Jones is accused of killing
on Wednesday.
``They are beautiful little girls,'' the girls' aunt, Kathy O'Donnell,
told The Associated Press at her home in Ellijay. ``Brittany, the
oldest one, is very smart. I'm sure she did whatever she could to take
care of her sisters. She always does.''
O'Donnell, whose parents, sister and infant niece were killed, said
she wants Jones to survive the gunshot.
``I want to see him in the courtroom,'' she said. ``I want him to have
to live with this everyday. I would want to know why he did this and
what my mother did so bad that he had to put her through the hell he
did. And my 10-month-old niece. Why would he do that to her?''
Jones, who has a criminal history that includes convictions for
burglary and auto theft, is accused of shooting to death his ex-wife's
parents, the Blaylocks, and her sister Georgia Bradley, 36, and
strangling his infant daughter, then driving off with his other
daughters and stepdaughter in a stolen sport utility vehicle.
Authorities said the motive appeared to be jealousy.
Jones had called Peeler late Wednesday and told her of the killings,
said David O'Donnell, his former brother-in-law. Jones told her he
would ``start killing the kids one by one'' if she alerted
authorities, he said.
Peeler, who had left the children with her parents and sister before
leaving for Oregon to visit her boyfriend over the Christmas holidays,
called police, David O'Donnell said.
She tried to fly home immediately but her flight was delayed by an ice
storm, he said. Friday morning, she was flown back to Georgia aboard
an FBI plane, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said. She was expected to be
reunited with her surviving daughters later in the day.
After a public alert was issued for the missing girls Thursday, police
in Whitfield County got a tip that Jones' vehicle had been spotted
headed north on Interstate 75 toward Tennessee, about 50 miles north
of Ranger, where the slayings occurred.
Keenan said deputies spotted the car around 7:50 p.m. and saw the
children, but Jones refused to pull over. He drove a short way off the
interstate when a state trooper bumped the back of the car, forcing it
to spin and crash into a telephone pole.
Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers said once the suspect entered
Catoosa County on I-75, Catoosa authorities joined in the slow-speed
chase.
Five Catoosa patrol cars and approximately 15 other patrol vehicles
from the Georgia State Patrol and Whitfield County Sheriff's
Department were involved in the pursuit with speeds topping out near
60 mph, before the chase ended in East Ridge, Tenn., Summers said.
The 10-year-old got out and ran, and officers saw Jones slump in the
front seat, Keenan said. They pulled the other children out, one of
them covered in Jones' blood, he said.
The bullet went through Jones' chin and out his upper jaw, East Ridge
Police Lt. Tim Mullinax said.
``I foresee him being in the hospital probably two or three more
weeks,'' Mullinax said. ``His bottom jaw and the roof of his mouth
have got to be replaced. It was pretty well blown off.''
Bankhead said investigators would compare the weapon found with Jones
to determine if it was used in Wednesday's shootings.
The girls, Brandy Jones, 4, and Tammy Jones, 3, and Brittany Phelps,
10, were released from a Chattanooga hospital late Thursday. Brittany
apparently sustained a minor hip injury in the crash.
David and Kathy O'Donnell both said Jones was constantly threatening
the family with violence and that Peeler had been trying to get away
from him.
David O'Donnell told CBS he believed Jones would have killed the girls
if he hadn't been caught so quickly.
``I was surprised that he didn't,'' he said Friday. ``He had a violent
history, a violent temper. And he's just an idiot. He's capable of
doing anything.''
Georgia Bradley's 16-year-old son, Terry Baker, was at a friend's
house when his mother was killed.
``I want him to sit and rot in jail,'' Baker said of Jones. ``Why'd he
killed my mama and my grandparents? They wouldn't hurt nobody.''
Officials say Peeler and Jones were never legally married but had a
common-law marriage.
Jones' mother and stepfather were killed in the 1996 ValuJet crash in
the Florida Everglades, and David O'Donnell said Jones got a
substantial settlement.
``He blew the money almost as fast as he got it, mostly on drugs,'' he
said.
--
Anne Warfield
indigoace at goodsol period com
http://www.goodsol.com/cats/
Anne Warfield
Girls rescued, suspect critical
01/08/04
Lauren Gregory
A massive manhunt for suspected quadruple murderer Jerry William Jones
ended outside Chattanooga Thursday evening in a crash followed by his
suicide attempt but more important, with the rescue of three scared
girls.
Jones was captured after a chase that started in north Gordon County
or south Whitfield County on Interstate 75 around 7:30 p.m. and ended
in East Ridge, Tenn., the GBI said.
The girls, two of whom were Jones’ daughters and one a former
stepdaughter, escaped serious injury, authorities said. Ten-year-old
Brittany Phelps received a minor hip injury. All three were being
examined at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital at Erlanger Medical
Center.
Jones shot himself in the jaw in an apparent suicide attempt just
after the crash and was in critical condition at Erlanger late
Thursday but was expected to survive, according to GBI reports.
State trooper Jason Davis — son of Gordon County Sheriff Jerry Davis —
helped stop the suspect, the GBI said. Amber Alerts in Georgia and
surrounding southeastern states had been issued for Brittany, Brandy
Jones, 4, and Tammy Jones, 3, whom authorities considered to be in
extreme danger.
Relatives of the murder and kidnapping victims were elated to hear
that the girls were found.
“The family’s relieved now,” said Hubert Pack of Ranger,
brother-in-law to one of the victims. “We’re glad it’s over. Now we
can lay this to rest and try to get over what happened.”
Relative Bryon Blaylock of Calhoun agreed. “It’s been a long day,” he
said. “We’re glad (the girls) are safe and that (Jones has) been
caught and will be dealt with accordingly.”
Authorities have accused Jones of murdering four people in Ranger —
among them his own 10-month-old daughter.
Both Pack and David O’Donnell — Jones’ former brother-in-law —
identified the victims as Jones’ in-laws, Tommy Blaylock, 59; his
wife, Nola Blaylock, 61; one of their daughters, Georgia Bradley, 36;
and Jones’ infant daughter, Jerri “Harley” Jones.
The victims were found late Wednesday in two separate homes in Ranger,
a rural community in eastern Gordon County. The GBI said the three
adults were shot and the child was strangled.
The twin murder scenes off Pack Road showed that the killer was “very
methodical,” said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.
“This wasn’t quick. He clearly took his time.” GBI director Vernon
Keenan said the crime scene was “very violent.”
The bodies were taken to the GBI crime lab in Summerville for
autopsies.
The motive for the murders and kidnapping appears to be jealousy,
authorities said. Melissa Peeler, Jones’ estranged common-law wife and
the mother of the murdered baby as well as the three kidnapped girls,
was visiting her new boyfriend in Oregon at the time.
Her parents and sister were caring for the children, O’Donnell said.
According to Doris Blaylock of Calhoun, Tommy Blaylock’s
sister-in-law, Jones and Peeler “were having domestic problems.... It
was an on-again, off-again thing for a long period of time. After she
had the last baby, she said she was going to move on with her life.
But he just couldn’t comprehend it.”
Jones and Peeler lost custody of their daughters two or three months
ago, Pack said. The Blaylocks had custody of the children, he said,
adding that Tom Blaylock was Peeler’s stepfather.
Jones had been calling Peeler repeatedly to threaten violence, Pack
said. A worried Peeler called Gordon County authorities while she was
in Oregon Wednesday, telling the sheriff’s office to check on her
family.
The sheriff’s office complied, but didn’t seem to find anything wrong
Wednesday afternoon.
Peeler told authorities Jones called her in Elliott, Ore., later that
night to tell her what he had done. He threatened to “start killing
the kids one by one” if Peeler were to notify authorities, O’Donnell
said.
Sheriff’s deputies returned to the two residences around 11 p.m. and
discovered the bodies, two hidden in each home. GBI authorities
declined to elaborate on the location of the bodies but said the
Blaylocks were found in one residence and Bradley and baby Harley were
found in the other.
Authorities said Jones fled with the children in a 1991 red or maroon
Ford Explorer registered to Tommy Blaylock.
At one point, agents believed Jones and the girls could have switched
to an early model silver or gray Pontiac LeMans with Paulding County
tags, said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.
O’Donnell speculated that Jones would be headed to south Florida,
where his brother lives. The manhunt expanded to surrounding
southeastern states after a vehicle matching the description of the
Explorer was identified in Shreveport, La., around noon.
Meanwhile, Rome police assisted Gordon County officers in an early
morning search of the public housing unit in Rome where Jones had been
staying before the murders, Rome police Lt. Gary Clayton said.
“We sent three officers over to help them go through the house to make
sure nobody was there,” Clayton said. “We’ve also notified all our
divisions.”
The murders, kidnappings and manhunt drew international interest, with
media as far away as the United Kingdom following the story.
“It’s a big case, a sad case,” Clayton said, adding that the spotlight
is to be expected. “When you start killing babies, you’re going to
have a lot of attention on you.”
Staff members of the Calhoun Times and Catoosa County News, Rome
News-Tribune staff writers Diane Wagner, Matt Tuck and Kristin Smith
and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=730&NewsID=517863&CategoryID=11576&on=0
Anne Warfield
Jerry William Jones has a long criminal record
01/08/04
Lauren Gregory
Jerry William Jones’ trail of crimes starts in the late 1980s and
includes convictions in Floyd, Gordon, Clayton, Fulton and Henry
counties.
Most were theft or shoplifting or traffic charges that ended with some
time in prison and decades of probation.
Jones also lost his mother and stepfather in the ValuJet crash in the
Florida Everglades in 1996 which left him with a sizable settlement
that relatives said disappeared in no time.
And while relatives say they saw hints of violence and heard his
threats over the years, they never imagined the nightmare unfolding in
Ranger.
Jones’ former neighbors on Reservoir Street in Rome were stunned to
hear of his latest charges.
Eletha Caldwell’s mother lives in the public housing unit next to the
one Jones shared with his children and an unidentified woman. Caldwell
said her 9-year-old daughter used to play with Jones’ oldest daughter,
and she was stunned by Thursday’s news.
“He’s real nice. I used to see him around, playing with the kids in
the yard,” Caldwell said, adding that she once drove his children to
school when they missed the bus.
“It’s a shame,” she said, clicking her teeth. “They’d be out there in
the front, playing ball and riding bikes and having fun.”
But relatives tell a far different story.
Hubert Pack, the brother-in-law of Tom Blaylock, one of the four
people Jones is accused of killing, said Jones and his ex-wife,
Melissa Peeler, lost custody of their three daughters two or three
months ago.
The care of Brandy, 4, Tammy, 3, and Jerri “Harley” Jones, 10 months,
was transferred to Peeler’s parents, Tom and Nola Blaylock of Ranger,
he said. The Blaylocks — both found murdered — also had custody of
Peeler’s daughter from another relationship, Brittney Phelps, 10.
Both Brittney Phelps and Brandy Jones attended Main Elementary in Rome
until a few weeks ago, said school principal Marvin Bynes. “They were
well-behaved children,” he added. “We had no problems with them.”
David O’Donnell, Jones’ former brother-in-law, said the girls’ parents
had had problems in the past and were in an ongoing dispute.
O’Donnell, who lives in Ellijay, called Jones “crazy,” recalling a
heated argument between himself and Jones five years ago that resulted
in Jones shooting one of his horses.
Jones had been threatening Peeler for some time, constantly calling
and threatening to set fire to her mobile home, Pack said.
Jones is no stranger to tragedy himself, losing his parents in the
1996 ValuJet crash in the Everglades. He received a settlement after
the crash but blew the money on drugs, O’Donnell said.
Jones, released from Hardwick’s Scott State Prison in August 1997, has
served two terms for crimes committed in metro Atlanta counties during
the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Jones was sentenced in Fulton County to serve two years for theft by
receiving stolen property. He also was sentenced in Clayton County to
serve a total of 14 years: three for theft of a motor vehicle in 1989,
one for shoplifting in 1992, five for theft by receiving stolen
property in 1992 and five for theft of a motor vehicle in 1992.
He stole another car in Henry County in 1990 and was sentenced to
three years.
In addition, he was convicted of a misdemeanor theft charge in Orange
County, Fla., in 1998.
Jones’ probation was revoked Aug. 15, 2001, after he was found to be
in possession of a .22-caliber firearm on Oct. 17, 2000. He was
sentenced in Gordon County Superior Court to serve six months in
prison and four-and-a-half more years on probation, and was fined
$1,000.
On Aug. 13, 2002, Jones was stopped by Floyd County police after
traveling at 68 mph in a 45-mph zone, and was cited for no insurance,
driving on a revoked license and felony obstruction of a police
officer.
He pled guilty to all charges in Floyd County Superior Court in
October 2003 and was sentenced to four years probation, fines totaling
$2,000 plus surcharges and 250 hours community service.
His probation officer filed a petition to revoke his probation in
Gordon County on Dec. 4, 2002. Gordon County Superior Court Judge
Shephard Howell gave Jones credit for time served and sentenced him to
intensive probation for four to six months last Feb. 12.
A warrant for Jones’ probation violation in Floyd County was filed
Thursday.
Gordon County Sheriff Jerry Davis said he can’t wait to get Jones
behind bars once again. “I’ve had him in the Gordon County jail for
traffic violations. I need him back in the jail for murder.”
Staff Writers Diane Wagner and Kristin Smith, Roman Record Editor Amy
Knowles and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=730&NewsID=517860&CategoryID=11576&on=0
Anne Warfield
Chronology of a nightmare
01/08/04
Late 2003: Jerry William Jones and his former wife, Melissa Peeler,
both lose custody of their three daughters, a relative says. Peeler’s
parents, Nola and Tom Blaylock, are awarded custody. They already had
custody of Peeler’s older daughter from an earlier relationship.
Christmas time: Peeler leaves for Oregon to spend the holidays with
her boyfriend.
WEDNESDAY:
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. —The murders likely take place in the Pack Road
mobile homes, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
2:30 p.m. — One of the girls gets off the bus after attending classes.
Sometime that afternoon — Jones and the three girls are seen in a red
1991 Ford Explorer registered to Tom Blaylock, heading west on Ga.
156.
3:48 p.m. — Two Gordon County deputies look in the windows of the home
of Nola and Tom Blaylock after Peeler calls from Oregon and asks if
they could check on her family. They report finding nothing out of the
ordinary.
11:08 p.m. — A sheriff's captain returns and finds the bodies after
Peeler calls again to say that Jones has admitted killing her parents,
sister and youngest daughter.
THURSDAY
Early Thursday — An Amber Alert is issued for the missing children and
a red or maroon 1991 Ford Explorer. Also, Rome police search 216
Reservoir St. public housing unit where Jones had been staying.
Later Thursday—The alert spreads across the Southeast as the manhunt
broadens. There are reports of some connections to Louisiana;
authorities also speculate that Jones might be traveling to see a
brother in South Florida.
6:30 p.m. Thursday evening — Jones is spotted on I-75 in North
Georgia. He eventually wrecks in East Ridge, Tenn., on Old Ringgold
Road, according to Whitfield County 911. The kidnapped victims are
found unharmed. Jones shoots himself and is listed in critical
condition.
Sources: Rome News-Tribune and Calhoun Times reporters as well as the
Associated Press.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=730&NewsID=517869&CategoryID=11576&on=0
Cliff and Linda Griffith
anything about shack-ups, common-law marriages, etc.
Everything simply goes so much easier if the parents are civilly or
religiously married, if the in-laws know each other, if everyone works
toward the best interests of the entire family.
Linda
tinydancer
connection. Glad to see this guy lived, so he can waste away in prison the
next 50 years or so.
td
"Anne Warfield" <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote in message
news:40000f45...@news.prodigy.net...
lyon_wonder
>religiously married, if the in-laws know each other, if everyone works
>toward the best interests of the entire family.
And even if they were legally married the traditional way, that
worthless piece-of-shit who murdered his inlaws wouldn't have been any
different.
And as for coupling alternatives to traditional marriage, the
religious right wants to do away with common law marriage (along with
recognized same-sex couples, which would give businesses a strong
excuse to not include live-in parters with benefits like heath
insurance) if their version of a proposed Marriage Amendment is added
to the US Constitution, which has a snow ball's chance in Hell since
it requires passage by 3/4 of the states. I would be surprised if it
even makes it as far as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
proudmari
>grif...@charter.net
> (Cliff and Linda Griffith)
>Linda
Just as organized religion has been one of the largest justifications
behind the brutalization and deaths of 100,000s since it's inception,
the "sanctity of marriage" has ALSO been the justification of killing
hundreds of thousands of innocents as well.
Having a piece of paper in hand that proves a wife is in effect
'chattel' leads to more death and misery in the long run than common-law
arrangements where couples are free to stay by choice, NOT trapped in
potentially deadly contract mandated by God's edict.
The only one's who can work toward the interests of the family are those
who have immediate ACCESS to the family. Since ANY BOZO can take out a
marriage license, using THAT as a guarantee of harmonious family
interaction (or eventual dissolution) is nothing but a joke. If
anything, it keeps dangerous situations together LONG after the first
signs of violence MIGHT have been avoided had the "sanctity of marriage"
NOT have been a part of the equation.
When dealing with a PSYCHOTIC personality, thinking everything will "Go
much easier if the couple is civilly or religiously married" is as
bright as thinking Michael Jackson's pedophile tendencies 'vanished'
during his legally binding marriage to Elvis Presley's daughter. It's a
piece of PAPER. Nothing more when it comes to the actions of nut cases
who are predisposed to dangerous aberrant behavior to begin with.
This ISN'T a FLAME, it's just a gut reaction to a totally ridiculous
statement I found in a horrendous thread about a dangerous man who would
have eventually destroyed this family one way or the other, possibly
even _sooner_ if he had it in _writing_ that the mother of his children
BELONGED to him.
Why do you think LE ALWAYS suspect a spouse FIRST when a murder occurs?
Because that little piece of paper speaks VOLUMES about the REAL
sanctity of marriage in regards to the violence that very often goes
along with it, no matter how "CIVILLY or RELIGIOUSLY" (sic)
it began.
To me, this was a positively outlandish post about a possible 'way the
situation might have been avoided' if GOD had been invited to the party.
It sickens me that someone could believe a man capable of strangling his
_own_ baby would have been a 'better' person had he taken the vows of
"Holy Wedlock".
Nope, the sentiments contained in this post were not even _worthy_ of
striking a match over.
JMO,
proudmari