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American Morning
Man Made Repeated Threats Against Family Members of Common Law Wife
Aired January 09, 2004 - 08:10 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Three children are safe today and a suspected murderer and kidnapper now in custody. Jerry William Jones, suspected of killing his in-laws and his infant daughter in a jealous rage yesterday. Acting on a tip from an amber alert, Georgia police last night cornered Jones along the Tennessee border. The three girls with him escaped without any physical harm.
David O'Donnell, a son-in-law of the victims, live with us this morning in northern Georgia, in the town of Elijay.
And we certainly appreciate your time this morning, David, especially given the circumstances you're now dealing with.
Tell us a little bit about Jerry Jones.
Did he ever threaten anyone in the family?
DAVID O'DONNELL, FORMER BROTHER-IN-LAW OF JERRY JONES, SON-IN-LAW OF VICTIMS: He, Jerry Jones has been making idle threats to our whole family for at least two years and he finally went through with some of his threats.
HEMMER: What were his threats, David?
O'DONNELL: He made threats that he would kill family members if things didn't go his way. He made threats that he would harm the children if it ever came down to him and his wife Melissa breaking up. And he's made personal threats to me and to my wife over the years.
HEMMER: Yes. Did you take these threats seriously?
O'DONNELL: I didn't take them seriously. You know, Jerry is not a large person. He's a small man and I just figured he had a short man's ego.
HEMMER: What do you think set him off this time, David?
O'DONNELL: I think it was jealousy. I think he went into a jealous rage when his wife left him and she found -- and he found out that she was visiting another man in Oregon.
HEMMER: So he -- she went to the West Coast. I believe this was over Christmas time, is that right?
O'DONNELL: Yes, sir, that's correct.
HEMMER: Yes.
When you heard the news yesterday and when it broke across the country, your reaction was, what, David?
O'DONNELL: Oh, I just couldn't believe that I was involved right in the middle of it with my family. My wife Cathy, who is Melissa's oldest sister, when we first found out about it yesterday morning, I woke her up. She was hysterical so I had to calm her down and then, you know, carrying on with the day.
HEMMER: How are the girls?
O'DONNELL: The three girls?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'DONNELL: From what I understand, they're OK. They, they're not in our custody as of yet. The Georgia Department of Family and Children's Services had them right now. But we're hoping to hear from them soon.
HEMMER: Have they been reunited with their mother yet?
O'DONNELL: No, the mother is not back from Oregon at this time.
HEMMER: The threats that you talked about, did you ever go to police with this?
O'DONNELL: My mother-in-law did, because he made threats, you know, directly to kill her. And she went to the Gordon County Sheriff's Department several times with these threats and there was nothing done, because they were just considered to be idle threats.
HEMMER: So the reported threats never went anywhere, you say?
O'DONNELL: Right.
HEMMER: Does Jerry Jones use guns, do you know?
O'DONNELL: Yes. I was talking with one of the lieutenants from the Gordon County Sheriff's Department yesterday and he said he had been out to Jerry Jones' resident in Gordon County several times with threats of automatic weapons being there and threats that Jones would make with his automatic weapons.
HEMMER: David, thanks for your time and best of luck to you and the rest of the family there in Elijay, Georgia, in the northern part of that state.
O'DONNELL: Thank you.
HEMMER: David O'Donnell, brother-in-law of Jerry Jones.
O'DONNELL: Thanks very much.
Thank you. HEMMER: Thank you.
O'DONNELL: A pleasure.
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 - 08:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Three children are safe today and a suspected murderer and kidnapper now in custody. Jerry William Jones, suspected of killing his in-laws and his infant daughter in a jealous rage yesterday. Acting on a tip from an amber alert, Georgia police last night cornered Jones along the Tennessee border. The three girls with him escaped without any physical harm.
David O'Donnell, a son-in-law of the victims, live with us this morning in northern Georgia, in the town of Elijay.
And we certainly appreciate your time this morning, David, especially given the circumstances you're now dealing with.
Tell us a little bit about Jerry Jones.
Did he ever threaten anyone in the family?
DAVID O'DONNELL, FORMER BROTHER-IN-LAW OF JERRY JONES, SON-IN-LAW OF VICTIMS: He, Jerry Jones has been making idle threats to our whole family for at least two years and he finally went through with some of his threats.
HEMMER: What were his threats, David?
O'DONNELL: He made threats that he would kill family members if things didn't go his way. He made threats that he would harm the children if it ever came down to him and his wife Melissa breaking up. And he's made personal threats to me and to my wife over the years.
HEMMER: Yes. Did you take these threats seriously?
O'DONNELL: I didn't take them seriously. You know, Jerry is not a large person. He's a small man and I just figured he had a short man's ego.
HEMMER: What do you think set him off this time, David?
O'DONNELL: I think it was jealousy. I think he went into a jealous rage when his wife left him and she found -- and he found out that she was visiting another man in Oregon.
HEMMER: So he -- she went to the West Coast. I believe this was over Christmas time, is that right?
O'DONNELL: Yes, sir, that's correct.
HEMMER: Yes.
When you heard the news yesterday and when it broke across the country, your reaction was, what, David?
O'DONNELL: Oh, I just couldn't believe that I was involved right in the middle of it with my family. My wife Cathy, who is Melissa's oldest sister, when we first found out about it yesterday morning, I woke her up. She was hysterical so I had to calm her down and then, you know, carrying on with the day.
HEMMER: How are the girls?
O'DONNELL: The three girls?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'DONNELL: From what I understand, they're OK. They, they're not in our custody as of yet. The Georgia Department of Family and Children's Services had them right now. But we're hoping to hear from them soon.
HEMMER: Have they been reunited with their mother yet?
O'DONNELL: No, the mother is not back from Oregon at this time.
HEMMER: The threats that you talked about, did you ever go to police with this?
O'DONNELL: My mother-in-law did, because he made threats, you know, directly to kill her. And she went to the Gordon County Sheriff's Department several times with these threats and there was nothing done, because they were just considered to be idle threats.
HEMMER: So the reported threats never went anywhere, you say?
O'DONNELL: Right.
HEMMER: Does Jerry Jones use guns, do you know?
O'DONNELL: Yes. I was talking with one of the lieutenants from the Gordon County Sheriff's Department yesterday and he said he had been out to Jerry Jones' resident in Gordon County several times with threats of automatic weapons being there and threats that Jones would make with his automatic weapons.
HEMMER: David, thanks for your time and best of luck to you and the rest of the family there in Elijay, Georgia, in the northern part of that state.
O'DONNELL: Thank you.
HEMMER: David O'Donnell, brother-in-law of Jerry Jones.
O'DONNELL: Thanks very much.
Thank you. HEMMER: Thank you.
O'DONNELL: A pleasure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
