Bryan Maurice Jones was born on May 14, 1962, in San Diego County, California. He was the older of two children in his family. His father was a Marine and spent much of the 1960s stationed at various military bases in Okinawa, Japan. When Jones was a child, his family lived in a poor neighborhood in Barstow. In the early 1970s, his father left the Marine Corps. After leaving the military, he developed a gambling and alcohol addiction. This caused him to lose the family’s life savings. When drunk, he became abusive towards his family, and it was reported that he broke Bryan's arm on at least one occasion.

As Jones grew up, he became less interested in school and started spending more time on the streets. Around this time, his sister later claimed that he had sexually abused her between 1973 and 1974, but this was never confirmed. In the mid-1970s, his parents divorced. After the divorce, their mother moved Bryan and his sister to San Diego. They lived in a housing estate on 51st Street, which was near El Cajon Boulevard, a well-known red-light district.

In 1975, Jones stole something and was arrested for it. He was sent to a juvenile detention facility. After moving to San Diego, he started attending a local school but soon had to drop out because he was not doing well academically and was often absent. In 1979, his mother encouraged him to join the San Diego Job Corps program.

That same year, Jones met a girl named Tracy Davison, who was 15 years old. They began an intimate relationship, and Tracy became pregnant. She gave birth to their son the following year and moved into Bryan's apartment, but they never married. In the early 1980s, Jones completed his time at the Job Corps and trained as a welder. He worked for various local businesses and was seen positively by his employers and friends.

In 1983, Jones and Davison separated. Tracy eventually married a man named David Entzminger. She later stated that one reason for leaving Jones was his growing addiction to watching and collecting pornographic videos. She also reported instances of physical violence from him, including an episode where he attempted to strangle her. After their separation, Jones began spending a lot of time on El Cajon Boulevard, where he interacted with sex workers and pimps.

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.