Bryan Maurice Jones was born on March 14, 1962, in San Diego County, California. He was the eldest of two children in a family connected to the military—his father served in the United States Marine Corps, stationed primarily in Okinawa, Japan, during Bryan’s early years. The family later settled in Barstow, California, where they lived in a modest neighborhood marked by economic instability.

Following his father's resignation from the Marines in the early 1970s, the household descended into turmoil. Jones’ father developed alcohol and gambling addictions, which depleted the family’s savings and introduced a pattern of domestic abuse. Jones himself was reportedly physically assaulted and had his arm broken by his father on one occasion.

By his early teens, Jones disengaged from school and spent most of his time on the streets. A deeply troubling allegation later emerged from his sister, who claimed she had been sexually abused by Bryan between 1973 and 1974. The claim was never legally confirmed, but it highlighted early signs of deeply disturbed behavior. In 1975, he was arrested for theft and sent to juvenile detention. 

After relocating with his mother and sister to San Diego following his parents' divorce, Jones enrolled at a local school but eventually dropped out due to chronic truancy and poor academic performance. His mother later encouraged him to enroll in the San Diego Job Corps, where he trained as a welder and gained employment in the trades. Colleagues from this period generally described him as competent and well-mannered.

At age 17, Jones entered a relationship with 15-year-old Tracy Davison, which resulted in the birth of a son in 1980. Despite moving in together, the couple never married. Over time, Jones’ behavior reportedly became volatile. According to Davison, he developed a compulsive obsession with pornography and turned physically abusive, including one instance where he allegedly attempted to strangle her. The relationship ended in the early 1980s, and Davison later remarried.

Following the breakup, Jones spent increasing amounts of time on El Cajon Boulevard, an area notorious for prostitution and drug activity. This environment would become the focal point of his future criminal acts.

Bryan Maurice Jones was arrested in late October 1986 for the kidnapping and rape of a woman named Bertha R. On October 16, Bertha was in a phone booth looking for a check-cashing office when Jones offered to help her. They ended up going to his house, where he threatened her with a knife and assaulted her. After taking $65, he drove her to the outskirts of San Diego and forced her to perform sexual acts before releasing her. Bertha later identified Jones, and evidence linked him to the crime.

After being imprisoned for this crime, Jones was visited by representatives from the San Diego County District Attorney's Office in June 1992. They intended to charge him with four murders. The first victim was 19-year-old Tara Mia Simpson, whose body was found in a dumpster on August 29, 1985. An autopsy revealed she had been stabbed, asphyxiated, and raped. The second victim was 23-year-old Trina Carpenter, whose body was discovered on February 11, 1986, stuffed inside a duffel bag. She had been beaten, strangled, and also found to have ingested drugs.

The third victim, JoAnn Sweets, was found on May 9, 1986, in a dumpster. She had been strangled, battered, and had injuries consistent with drug use. The fourth victim was Sophia Glover, whose body was discovered on August 15, 1986. She had suffered similar treatment as the other victims, including strangulation and blunt force trauma.

In addition to these murders, Jones faced charges for the sexual assault and attempted murder of two other women. After a thorough investigation, he was indicted for the four murders. In March 1994, Jones was found guilty of the murders of Sweets and Glover, as well as the sexual assaults of the two other women. His attorneys argued that the women's testimonies were unreliable due to their backgrounds.

The jury could not reach a decision on the murders of Carpenter and Simpson, leading to a retrial. On September 19, 1994, Jones was sentenced to death. He has remained on death row in California since his conviction, awaiting execution.