Bio

Anzel Keon Jones was born on February 4, 1978, in Texas. He grew up in Paris, Texas, living with his mother and sister in what was described as a middle-income neighborhood. Jones attended North Lamar High School, where he participated in athletics. He played football as both a receiver and running back and also competed in track and field events, including hurdles, sprint relays, and the high jump. Academically, he later described himself as an average student whose grades varied considerably.

According to defense attorneys and family members, Jones had no significant history of violent criminal behavior before the offense that would place him on death row. His only documented juvenile offense involved the theft of cigarettes with a friend approximately one year before the murder. He completed the community service ordered by the juvenile court in that matter.

Those who knew Jones described him as capable of being sociable and personable. However, his defense attorney later stated that Jones could also be immature, impulsive, and difficult to manage. During his trial, Jones reportedly displayed disruptive behavior in court, including making inappropriate gestures toward spectators and drawing caricatures of the judge.

Following his arrest, Jones eventually acknowledged responsibility for the crimes. In later interviews conducted while incarcerated, he admitted that he struggled to explain why he committed the attack. He stated that he had spent years trying to understand his own actions but could not identify a clear reason for what happened.

Murder Story

During the early morning hours of May 2, 1995, Anzel Keon Jones entered the home of Sherry Kay Jones and her mother, Edith Jones, in Lamar County, Texas. Despite sharing the same surname, Anzel Jones was not related to either victim. The women lived across the street from him, and he knew them only casually.

According to trial testimony, Edith and Sherry were awakened after hearing dogs barking outside their residence. When Sherry investigated the disturbance, Anzel Jones appeared at the back door.

Rather than resist, Sherry attempted to protect herself and her mother by cooperating with the intruder. She reportedly handed Jones approximately $125 in cash and offered him the keys to two vehicles parked in the garage if he agreed not to harm them.

Despite receiving the money, Jones attacked. Using a kitchen knife obtained from inside the home, he stabbed forty-year-old Sherry Kay Jones multiple times. Medical evidence established that she suffered eight stab wounds and fatal injuries to her throat and chest. She died at the scene.

Edith Jones attempted to escape but was also brutally assaulted. Jones cut her throat and sexually assaulted her using various objects found inside the residence. Although critically injured, Edith survived the attack.

After assaulting both women, Jones attempted to destroy evidence by setting the house on fire. Investigators later determined that nail polish remover had been poured around portions of the home to accelerate the blaze. Neighbors noticed smoke coming from the residence and alerted authorities. Firefighters rescued Edith before the fire could claim another life.

The investigation quickly focused on Jones. Fingerprint evidence linked him to a bottle of nail polish remover recovered from the scene. Investigators also developed witness testimony connecting him to the offense.

Ten days after the attack, on May 12, 1995, police arrested Jones at school. He was formally charged with capital murder on June 27, 1995. During the trial, prosecutors presented extensive physical evidence connecting Jones to the assault on Edith Jones. Additional testimony came from Jones's friend, Joe Dollins, who testified that Jones had confessed to committing the crimes.

The proceedings included disturbing testimony describing the nature of the attacks. The evidence was so graphic that one juror reportedly became physically ill and had to be replaced during the trial.

Jones pleaded not guilty. On June 3, 1996, a Lamar County jury convicted him of capital murder. The following day, June 4, 1996, the jury sentenced him to death. Jones became one of several juvenile offenders on Texas death row whose cases attracted national attention. His appeals argued, among other issues, that executing individuals for crimes committed before the age of eighteen violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Jones was granted stays of execution on multiple occasions. A scheduled execution date of January 26, 2000, did not proceed. Another execution date was set for April 29, 2004, but the United States Supreme Court issued a stay while considering the case of Christopher Simmons.

On March 1, 2005, in the landmark case of Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of offenders who were younger than eighteen at the time of their crimes violated the United States Constitution.

As a result of that decision, Jones's death sentence could no longer be carried out. On June 24, 2005, his sentence was formally commuted to life imprisonment. Under Texas law applicable to juvenile capital offenders at the time, he became eligible for parole consideration after serving forty calendar years.

Jones was transferred from death row and incarcerated within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He has been housed at the Telford Unit and is scheduled to become eligible for parole in June 2036.