Bio

William Robert Jones Jr. was born on December 9, 1964, in the United States. He was raised in the Kansas City area and was the second child in his family. Available records and later defense filings described his childhood as unstable, with claims of domestic conflict, physical abuse, and exposure to drug use at an early age. These details were later raised by his post-conviction attorneys as mitigating evidence, although they did not prevent his conviction or death sentence from being upheld.

Jones’s parents divorced when he was young. After the divorce, he lived at different times with family members and later described his teenage years as unsettled. In his own writings and in clemency-related materials, Jones said he struggled with family conflict, school problems, and drug use. He also stated that he joined the United States military at 17 and received an honorable discharge after a brief period of service.

As a young adult, Jones worked different jobs and was sometimes employed as a male stripper. Court records described him as bisexual and stated that he became acquainted with Stanley Albert in late 1985. Albert was older than Jones and had recently purchased a white 1985 Camaro Z28. According to trial evidence, Jones began telling people in December 1985 that his father was helping him obtain a white Camaro, even though Albert owned the vehicle.

Several months before the murder, in July 1985, Jones was reportedly assaulted by two men at the Liberty Memorial area in Kansas City. Later defense claims stated that he suffered a skull fracture and brain injuries from that attack. These claims became part of his post-conviction and clemency arguments, with his lawyers arguing that his trial attorneys should have investigated his mental health and medical history more fully. The courts ultimately rejected those claims and upheld the conviction and sentence.

Murder Story

William Robert Jones Jr. was convicted of murdering Stanley Albert on January 16, 1986. Albert was 49 years old and lived in the Kansas City, Missouri, area. The Missouri Supreme Court later summarized the case as one built largely on circumstantial evidence, supported by Jones’s own statements to other people.

In late 1985, Jones met Stanley Albert. Albert had recently bought a white 1985 Camaro Z28. Trial evidence showed that Jones became interested in the car and told others that he expected to get a white Camaro himself. Prosecutors argued that the car was the motive for the killing.

On January 16, 1986, Albert arrived at Jones’s apartment in his Camaro at around 4:30 p.m. Jones borrowed a blanket from his roommate and left with Albert in the vehicle. According to court records, Jones told his roommate that his “new car” had arrived and said he was going to pick up tires and did not want the car to get dirty.

Later that evening, Jones returned with the Camaro but without Albert. He took his roommate for a ride in the car. During that ride, he crushed a pair of sunglasses and made a remark that the owner would no longer need them. The next day, Jones bought a shovel using his roommate’s credit card. He also had the license plates that had been on Albert’s Camaro and gave an explanation that he needed to return them to the man who had sold him the car. According to the Missouri Supreme Court opinion, Jones also made a statement about being tired from dragging a dead man through the woods.

Albert failed to report to work on January 17, 1986, and was not seen again. On January 19, 1986, Jones picked up a female acquaintance in Topeka, Kansas, and drove away in Albert’s Camaro. Missouri Highway Patrol officers later pursued the vehicle after a speeding incident. Jones fled during a high-speed chase through Lafayette and Saline counties. He eventually abandoned the Camaro near Malta Bend, Missouri, and was arrested about three and a half hours later. The car had stolen Kansas license plates on it.

Stanley Albert’s body was discovered on March 2, 1986, in a wooded area near Independence, Missouri. His body was wrapped in a blanket that matched the one Jones had borrowed from his roommate. Albert had been shot five times in the neck and chest. Three bullets were determined to have been fired from the same weapon, and the other two may also have come from that weapon. The murder weapon was never recovered. Investigators also found Albert’s license plates, a watch belonging to Albert, and ammunition-related evidence in Jones’s apartment.

Jones was charged with first-degree murder. His trial began in November 1986 in Jackson County, Missouri. On November 12, 1986, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and recommended a death sentence. On February 9, 1987, the court formally sentenced him to death.

Jones appealed his conviction and sentence. On April 19, 1988, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed both the conviction and the death sentence. The court found that the jury could reasonably conclude that Jones killed Albert to take possession of the Camaro. The court also upheld the aggravating circumstances connected to monetary value and robbery.

Jones later pursued post-conviction and federal habeas appeals. His lawyers argued that his trial attorneys had failed to investigate his background, mental condition, childhood abuse claims, and alleged brain injury. These arguments were rejected by the courts. His federal habeas appeal was denied, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial in 2001.

In the years before his execution, Jones’s case drew international attention because he had married an Austrian woman while imprisoned. The Austrian government, the Council of Europe, and death penalty opponents asked Missouri officials to grant clemency. Governor Bob Holden denied clemency, and the United States Supreme Court rejected Jones’s final appeal. Amnesty International reported that Jones was executed in Missouri on November 20, 2002, after being sentenced to death for Stanley Albert’s murder.

William Robert Jones Jr. was executed by lethal injection at the Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri on November 20, 2002. He was 37 years old. His official status is executed.