Harold Jones was born on January 11, 1906, in the coal mining town of Abertillery, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was the eldest of four children in a working-class family. His father, Phillip, worked as a coal miner, and his mother stayed home to care for the children. Despite their modest background, Harold was seen as a well-mannered and intelligent child. He excelled in school, was athletic, and even played the organ at local church events. He dreamed of becoming a professional boxer and was known to be a voracious reader.

At the age of 14, he left school to help support his family financially and got a job at Mortimer's Stores, a local oil and seed shop. He quickly gained a reputation as a dependable and polite shop assistant, even managing the store alone at times. Locals and customers liked him, and he was trusted enough to hold a key to a shed behind the store. From the outside, Harold seemed like a model teenager—ambitious, helpful, and bright. But what no one suspected was that behind that image was a deeply disturbed desire that would soon shatter the peace of the entire town.

On the morning of February 5, 1921, 8-year-old Freda Burnell was sent by her father to Mortimer's Stores to buy poultry feed. She never returned. A frantic search led to the discovery of her body the next day in a sack hidden in a nearby alleyway. She had been bludgeoned, strangled with a cord, bound, gagged, and there were signs of attempted sexual assault. The investigation quickly centered on 15-year-old Harold Jones, the shop assistant who had been the last to see her. A shed behind the store, to which only Jones and his employer had keys, was found to have evidence linking it to the murder: corn chaff, Freda’s handkerchief, and the murder weapon—a bloodstained axe handle.

Despite the circumstantial evidence, Jones was put on trial in June 1921 and was shockingly acquitted. His calm courtroom demeanor, his employer’s alibi, and the public’s disbelief that a 15-year-old could commit such a crime helped sway the jury. He returned home to a hero’s welcome—cheers, gifts, even a gold pocket watch. But only 17 days later, the town’s faith in Harold Jones would be destroyed forever.

On July 8, 1921, Jones lured his 11-year-old neighbor, Florence Little, into his house under the pretense of running an errand. Once inside, he attacked her—first strangling her, then beating her with a wooden plank, and finally slashing her throat with his father's pocketknife over the kitchen sink. He wrapped her head in an army shirt and hid her body in the attic. He then cleaned up the blood, bathed himself, and calmly joined the search party that night.

The next morning, police found Florence’s body in the attic. They also discovered damning evidence: the bloody knife, plank, and even a saucepan filled with blood and water. Harold’s own father, after learning of the discovery, performed a citizen’s arrest on his son.

Jones was tried again in November 1921. This time, he confessed—not just to killing Florence, but also to murdering Freda. His motive? A chilling and simple one: “a desire to kill.” Because he was under 16, he was spared the death penalty and was sentenced to be detained at His Majesty’s pleasure.

He served 20 years, was released in 1941, and even served in the British Army during World War II. After the war, he lived quietly under the name Harry Stevens, married, and had a child. He died of bone cancer on January 2, 1971. It was only before his death that he asked his wife to use his real name on his death certificate.

Today, some believe Jones may have also been involved in the 1960s Hammersmith nude murders, though no evidence ever linked him officially. His victims, Freda Burnell and Florence Little, are buried in Brynithel Cemetery. Their graves were restored in 2018 thanks to a community-led fundraiser, finally giving them the respect and remembrance they deserved.