Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Manhunt Ends

Aired January 09, 2004 - 07:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The manhunt for a suspected murderer and kidnapper is over. It ended last night on the Georgia- Tennessee border after a dramatic police chase. The suspect, Jerry Williams Jones, is now hospitalized. Police say he shot himself. The three girls found with him were not physically harmed.
CNN's Martin Savidge broke the story last night. He joins us this morning live from Calhoun, Georgia.

Good morning -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

It hard to really say that this is a happy ending given the four murders that preceded the kidnapping, but for authorities it was the very best ending that they could have hoped for.

And it ended very much the way that it began, with a phone call. It was a phone call that led police to the gruesome discovery in Ranger, Georgia, of the four bodies, and it was a phone call last night that led authorities to the suspect.

Here's how it all played out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE (voice-over): A tip from a motorist, a highway chase, a crash and a self-inflicted gunshot wound, three children alive and well. For authorities, this wasn't the sort of ending that they had just hoped for, but in this part of Georgia, one they had prayed for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was apparently a gunshot heard, and we don't know any more than that. The kids apparently are fine, but he apparently is in bad condition.

SAVIDGE: Jerry Jones was not only a wanted man in Georgia, but by the end of the day had become the most desperately sought after man in America -- wanted not only for the murders authorities allege he committed, but also for the three young children he reportedly had taken with him.

It began late Wednesday night with a phone call that led police to this rural community in north Georgia and the discovery of the bodies of three adults and a 10-month-old infant. A number of the victims had been shot several times, the infant apparently strangled.

And then the discovery of three other children, all girls, 10, 4 and 3, were missing and believed kidnapped by the suspect. An Amber Alert was issued across the region. Authorities were gravely concerned for the children's safety.

SHERIFF JERRY DAVIS, GORDON COUNTY, GEORGIA: The statement was made, if you notify the officers, I will harm the children.

SAVIDGE: The dragnet for Jerry Jones not only spread across the southeast, but then went across the nation. For the sheriff of the small community in Gordon County the murders were not just a terrible crime, they became personal.

DAVIS: The way that he's treated these people, I want him bad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: The suspect, 31-year-old Jerry Jones, is in serious condition in a hospital in Tennessee. He is under the guard of sheriff's deputies. He'll have to go some -- undergo, that is, some sort of extradition to come back to Georgia. That will be handled later.

As for the three children, they were treated at a nearby hospital and then released. The eldest, the 10-year-old, suffered slight injuries in that accident. All of the children are now in the custody of state of Georgia, and they will remain there until their mother, who was out of town in Oregon, returns, and that's expected later today.

One other footnote. Ending that chase, it was a Georgia state patrol car that actually nudged the SUV that Jerry Jones was driving in, forcing it off the road. The driver of that Georgia state patrol car, he is the son of the sheriff here in Gordon County. His name is Jason Davis. The sheriff here is Jerry Davis.

There you have it.

O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Martin Savidge with that story. Martin, thanks.

The Amber Alert system may have been the key factor in preventing any further tragedy in this case. I spoke just a few moments ago with Vernon Keenan. He is the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and I asked about the three children who were rescued.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERNON KEENAN, DIRECTOR, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: They were not. They children were not injured. They were immediately sent to the hospital and examined. They have been released to Georgia, the Department of Family and Children Services, and are in the custody of them.

Jones is in the hospital in police custody. We have two armed officers with him. In the near future, he will be extradited back to Gordon County, Georgia, to face murder charges.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about his history. He did have a police record, but for relatively minor offenses, is that right?

KEENAN: That is correct. An arrest and conviction record for minor offenses. He had a negative reputation in the community for threats of violence.

O'BRIEN: In fact, his family members said that he seemed crazy at times, unpredictable, that his wife had said that he had made threats in the past. Did authorities know about those threats? Were those ever brought to the attention of authorities?

KEENAN: We were -- the law enforcement in this area was very familiar with Jones, because of information from the local law enforcement who had dealt with him in the past. That is one of the reasons why we were very, very concerned for the safety of the children. They were -- we were very, very concerned.

O'BRIEN: There was a delay in getting some of the information at the crime scene, because when the mother reported first that she thought her children might be in danger or the family might be in danger, they went to the scene and saw nothing amiss. He -- Jerry Jones apparently had hidden the bodies, cleaned up the crime scene, according to some of the reports that we've seen that the police have said. What exactly was the crime scene like? What had he done?

KEENAN: There were two separate crime scenes with two bodies at each residence. The bodies had been secreted, and obvious evidence at the scene had been cleaned up. The officers -- the sheriff's department did go to the scene, to the location. And upon initial report looked around, looked through the windows, did not see anything amiss.

There was a second report that came in several hours that was more specific that there had been people killed at the residence. At that time, the sheriff's office went back and kicked in the door and found the bodies of the victim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Vernon Keenan, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired January 9, 2004 - 07:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The manhunt for a suspected murderer and kidnapper is over. It ended last night on the Georgia- Tennessee border after a dramatic police chase. The suspect, Jerry Williams Jones, is now hospitalized. Police say he shot himself. The three girls found with him were not physically harmed.
CNN's Martin Savidge broke the story last night. He joins us this morning live from Calhoun, Georgia.

Good morning -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

It hard to really say that this is a happy ending given the four murders that preceded the kidnapping, but for authorities it was the very best ending that they could have hoped for.

And it ended very much the way that it began, with a phone call. It was a phone call that led police to the gruesome discovery in Ranger, Georgia, of the four bodies, and it was a phone call last night that led authorities to the suspect.

Here's how it all played out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE (voice-over): A tip from a motorist, a highway chase, a crash and a self-inflicted gunshot wound, three children alive and well. For authorities, this wasn't the sort of ending that they had just hoped for, but in this part of Georgia, one they had prayed for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was apparently a gunshot heard, and we don't know any more than that. The kids apparently are fine, but he apparently is in bad condition.

SAVIDGE: Jerry Jones was not only a wanted man in Georgia, but by the end of the day had become the most desperately sought after man in America -- wanted not only for the murders authorities allege he committed, but also for the three young children he reportedly had taken with him.

It began late Wednesday night with a phone call that led police to this rural community in north Georgia and the discovery of the bodies of three adults and a 10-month-old infant. A number of the victims had been shot several times, the infant apparently strangled.

And then the discovery of three other children, all girls, 10, 4 and 3, were missing and believed kidnapped by the suspect. An Amber Alert was issued across the region. Authorities were gravely concerned for the children's safety.

SHERIFF JERRY DAVIS, GORDON COUNTY, GEORGIA: The statement was made, if you notify the officers, I will harm the children.

SAVIDGE: The dragnet for Jerry Jones not only spread across the southeast, but then went across the nation. For the sheriff of the small community in Gordon County the murders were not just a terrible crime, they became personal.

DAVIS: The way that he's treated these people, I want him bad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: The suspect, 31-year-old Jerry Jones, is in serious condition in a hospital in Tennessee. He is under the guard of sheriff's deputies. He'll have to go some -- undergo, that is, some sort of extradition to come back to Georgia. That will be handled later.

As for the three children, they were treated at a nearby hospital and then released. The eldest, the 10-year-old, suffered slight injuries in that accident. All of the children are now in the custody of state of Georgia, and they will remain there until their mother, who was out of town in Oregon, returns, and that's expected later today.

One other footnote. Ending that chase, it was a Georgia state patrol car that actually nudged the SUV that Jerry Jones was driving in, forcing it off the road. The driver of that Georgia state patrol car, he is the son of the sheriff here in Gordon County. His name is Jason Davis. The sheriff here is Jerry Davis.

There you have it.

O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Martin Savidge with that story. Martin, thanks.

The Amber Alert system may have been the key factor in preventing any further tragedy in this case. I spoke just a few moments ago with Vernon Keenan. He is the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and I asked about the three children who were rescued.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERNON KEENAN, DIRECTOR, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: They were not. They children were not injured. They were immediately sent to the hospital and examined. They have been released to Georgia, the Department of Family and Children Services, and are in the custody of them.

Jones is in the hospital in police custody. We have two armed officers with him. In the near future, he will be extradited back to Gordon County, Georgia, to face murder charges.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about his history. He did have a police record, but for relatively minor offenses, is that right?

KEENAN: That is correct. An arrest and conviction record for minor offenses. He had a negative reputation in the community for threats of violence.

O'BRIEN: In fact, his family members said that he seemed crazy at times, unpredictable, that his wife had said that he had made threats in the past. Did authorities know about those threats? Were those ever brought to the attention of authorities?

KEENAN: We were -- the law enforcement in this area was very familiar with Jones, because of information from the local law enforcement who had dealt with him in the past. That is one of the reasons why we were very, very concerned for the safety of the children. They were -- we were very, very concerned.

O'BRIEN: There was a delay in getting some of the information at the crime scene, because when the mother reported first that she thought her children might be in danger or the family might be in danger, they went to the scene and saw nothing amiss. He -- Jerry Jones apparently had hidden the bodies, cleaned up the crime scene, according to some of the reports that we've seen that the police have said. What exactly was the crime scene like? What had he done?

KEENAN: There were two separate crime scenes with two bodies at each residence. The bodies had been secreted, and obvious evidence at the scene had been cleaned up. The officers -- the sheriff's department did go to the scene, to the location. And upon initial report looked around, looked through the windows, did not see anything amiss.

There was a second report that came in several hours that was more specific that there had been people killed at the residence. At that time, the sheriff's office went back and kicked in the door and found the bodies of the victim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Vernon Keenan, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.