Bio

Terry M. Jones was born in 1946 in the United States. At the time of the incident, Jones was 53 years old and lived with his family in a rural area near Frankton, Indiana, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Reports described him as a retired employee of General Motors' Muncie plant. Neighbors recalled that he enjoyed outdoor activities, particularly hunting and fishing, and often discussed future plans involving those hobbies.

Jones had been married previously. Court records revealed that in February 1997, police responded to an incident involving his former wife, Donna Jones, who reported that her telephone line had been cut and that both her husband and several firearms were missing from the home. Donna stated that she had recently filed for divorce and believed the actions were retaliatory after Jones had been served with divorce papers.

As a result of that earlier incident, Jones was convicted of misdemeanor battery. The conviction later became relevant when he applied for a handgun permit. Records indicate that his application for a permit was denied on September 20, 1998, due to the battery conviction. Despite this denial, Jones was still able to obtain firearms through other means.

By early 1999, Jones was married to Jennifer Jones, who was 34 years old. Together, they were raising their two children, Jesse, age eight, and Tessa, age four. Family acquaintances described Jones as appearing close to his children, and neighbors later expressed shock at the violence that unfolded inside the family's home.

Investigators later learned that Jones had become convinced that Jennifer was involved in an Internet affair. Sheriff Terry Richwine stated that authorities found no independent evidence confirming that Jennifer had actually engaged in such a relationship. Whether the suspected affair existed remains unknown. What is clear from the available evidence is that Jones believed it to be true and repeatedly referenced it during the events that followed.

Murder Story

During the evening of January 12, 1999, Terry Jones was at his family's rural home located near Frankton in Madison County, Indiana. Earlier that day, neighbors recalled nothing unusual about his behavior. According to one neighbor, Jones had spent part of the afternoon shoveling snow and discussing plans to go ice fishing later that week.

At some point during the night, however, events inside the Jones household turned deadly. According to investigators, Jones armed himself with a .22-caliber rifle and first attacked his wife, Jennifer Jones. The 34-year-old mother was shot once in the head and once in the chest. She died on the kitchen floor of the family home while dressed in her nightclothes.

Jones then turned the weapon on the couple's children. Their daughter, Tessa Jones, who was just weeks away from celebrating her fifth birthday, suffered a fatal gunshot wound when a .22-caliber bullet struck her in the right eye. She died at the scene.

Their son, Jesse Jones, age eight, was shot in the forehead. Although emergency responders transported him to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, he later died from his injuries during the early morning hours of January 13, 1999. After shooting his family, Jones dialed 911.During the call, he first asked the dispatcher whether the conversation was being recorded. He then admitted responsibility for the shootings.

He stated, "I just killed my wife. I just killed both my kids." Moments later, he added, "My boy's dead. My wife's dead. My daughter's dead. And now I'm going to be dead on account of this goddamned computer." Authorities later interpreted the statement as a reference to Jones' belief that Jennifer had been conducting an affair through the Internet.

While still connected to the dispatcher, Jones used a .44-caliber handgun to shoot himself three times in the chest. The dispatcher heard a gunshot followed by moaning before officers arrived at the residence approximately eight minutes later.

When deputies entered the home, they found Jennifer and Tessa dead. Jesse was critically injured but still alive. Terry Jones was conscious when officers reached him, but he did not speak to investigators. He was transported to Community Hospital in Anderson, where he died shortly after arrival from his self-inflicted injuries.

Madison County Sheriff Terry Richwine later stated that investigators could not determine whether Jennifer had actually been involved in an online affair. No evidence confirming such a relationship was publicly disclosed. The only direct indication of Jones' belief came from his own statements during the 911 call.

Because Jones died from suicide shortly after the shootings, no criminal charges were filed, and the case never proceeded through the court system. The murders remain one of Indiana's most widely publicized family annihilation cases of the late 1990s, drawing national attention because of Jones' claim that suspicions of an Internet affair had motivated the killings.