Henry Lee Jones was born on August 23, 1963, in Cleveland, Mississippi. During his teenage years, Jones moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was arrested multiple times and served time in prison for minor offenses. One notable incident happened when he was 18 years old. On October 3, 1981, Jones and a friend tried to steal a car. They held the salesman at gunpoint and eventually got caught by law enforcement.

Jones spent a long time in prison for robbery, kidnapping, and grand theft. While incarcerated, he showed violent behavior. He was reprimanded numerous times for fighting and other misconduct. One serious incident involved him inciting a prison riot in January 1991. Despite his troubling behavior and multiple infractions, he was released from prison on July 1, 1997, due to overcrowding.

Henry Lee Jones committed multiple murders in the early 2000s. His first known victim was 24-year-old Keith Gross. In September 2002, after spending time together, Gross was found dead in his apartment. He had been naked, hogtied, and had his throat slit. The police investigated, but the case quickly went cold.

On August 22, 2003, Jones and a man named Tevarus Young traveled to Bartlett, Tennessee. They stopped at the home of Clarence and Lillian James, an elderly couple. Jones tied them up and then brutally stabbed and strangled them before slitting their throats. After the murders, Jones and Young ransacked the couple's home, taking credit cards and jewelry.

Later, on August 26, 2003, Jones met 19-year-old Carlos Perez at a construction site. They became friends and decided to rent a motel room together. Inside the room, Jones hogtied, raped, and strangled Perez. He then slashed Perez's throat and left the body wrapped in a comforter. The next day, housekeeping found Perez's body.

After these murders, police began to connect the crimes when they noticed similarities and found Jones had used a stolen credit card in Florida. Upon being apprehended on September 17, 2003, evidence linked Jones to the murders. He faced multiple charges and was ultimately convicted for the murders committed in Tennessee and Florida.