He’s accused of killing his wife. Deputies say he also drowned and strangled her 4 kids
A Florida man accused of killing his wife is facing new charges in the death of her four children. Police say they now know how and when he did it.
Casei Jones, 32, and her four children — Cameron Bowers, 10, Preston Bowers, 5, Mercalli Jones, 2, and Aiyana Jones, 1, — were missing for more than a month. Casei’s body was found in her husband’s van and the remains of her four children were found in the woods of Georgia.
Five weeks later, the medical examiner’s office has confirmed the identities of her children and their cause of death.
Michael Wayne Jones Jr., 38, strangled the two oldest, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. The two youngest — his biological children — were drowned. His wife was killed by brunt force trauma.
The family was reported missing on Sept. 14 by the children’s grandmother. She told Marion deputies she hadn’t seen or heard from her daughter or grandchildren for several weeks and “was concerned that Michael Jones had done something to them.”
Based on evidence and interviews with Michael Jones, the sheriff’s office believes the murders happened at the couple’s home in Summerfield, near Ocala.
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The autopsy reports have also helped deputies form a timeline of events:
▪ Casei Jones was killed by blunt-force trauma on July 10 at the couple’s home in Summerfield. She was reportedly beaten to death by a baseball bat.
▪ A day later, her two oldest were strangled.
▪ About two weeks after that, her two youngest were drowned.
Deputies say the bodies were kept in the home for a few weeks before being moved to his van, where they remained for another two weeks. He then took them to Brantley County, Georgia, where he was later found and arrested on Sept. 16.
Jones, who was charged with the death of his wife last month, is now facing four additional counts of homicide, according to the sheriff’s office. He is being held without bail at the Marion County Jail.
This story was originally published October 8, 2019 at 8:27 AM.
