On June 6, 1995, in Bald Knob, Arkansas, police arrived at the brutal rape and murder of Mary Phillips. She was strangled with an electric wire which was still around her neck. A CSI Investigator was asked to take pictures of the murder victims. He was snapping pictures of Mary's 11-year-old daughter, Lacy’s, badly beaten body--when she turned to face him (and the above picture was snapped). She was still alive! The police assumed it to be a double homicide until Lacy opened her eyes. Lacy gave such a detailed description of the killer, down to his tear drop tattoo, that police officers knew it was Jack Johnson Jr. Jack had been previously arrested for home break-ins. What they didn’t know was that Lacy had just put an end to the killing spree of a serial killer. Jack Jones stated the rape was an act of revenge for the police not prosecuting the man who had raped his wife. The truth is his wife refused to press charges. It is also significant to note that Jack Jones was in trouble long before the assault of his wife. As a child he killed animals and was placed in juvenile detention. In addition, they would later find out that Jones’ first rape and murder occurred years before the assault on his wife. On June 6, 1995, Jack Jones visited Mary Phillips at her workplace. He borrowed a few account books. However, he returned soon after and claimed he was given the wrong books. Enraged, he claimed he then decided to rob the place. At that moment, Mary and her youngest daughter, Lacy, were present. (It is important to note that this is the killer’s story. Jones already had a history of burglary, rape and murder. I’m inclined to believe his initial visit was a scouting mission for his next violent offense.) Jones made Mary Phillips lie on the floor and then forced Lacy to lie on her mother. After robbing the place of money, Jones took Lacy to an attached bathroom and tied her to a metal chair. When Lacey asked him not to hurt her mother, he responded, “I’m going to hurt you.” He left her for Mary and then returned and choked Lacey until she passed out. Jones’ hit the young girl in the head at least 8 times, which resulted in multiple lacerations and skull fractures. Jones believed Lacy was dead. Jones also abused, beat, and anally raped Mary before strangling her. He initially used his own hands to strangle her, but then made certain Mary was dead by using the electrical cord from a lamp. Jack Jones Jr. was born on August 10, 1964, in Toledo, Ohio. Jack had a sister who was close to him. Jack was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was reported to have symptoms of bipolar and antisocial behavior. He reported things happened in his childhood that he couldn’t talk about. He was in “a lot” of trouble as a child including placement at juvenile detention. He had tried to commit suicide twice. It was also reported that Jones was a previous resident of a psychiatric facility. It is believed that Jones was an active killer between 1983 and 1995. He was linked to his initial murders only after his arrest and conviction in Mary Phillips’ slaying. Gina Grimm (pictured above) was raised in Toledo, Ohio, by adoptive parents. A search for her birth father led her to Jack Jones Jr., on death row. Gina was given up for adoption and hadn’t come face to face with her birth parents until she was an adult. She came to know her father prior to his execution in 2017. An Arkansas State Police command post outside the Varner Unit as executions take place near Varner, Ark., on April 24, 2017. Photo: Stephen B. Thornton/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP Jack Jones Jr.’s sister tried to be a source of kindness for her brother. After Jack was serving time for Mary Phillips murder, investigators told her a cold case unit had entered DNA from an old murder into the system and it had linked Jack to another murder. Lorraine "Lori" Anne Barrett, a 32-year-old tourist from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania was last seen at the Elbo Room, a bar located at the corner of Las Olas Boulevard and A1A State Road in Florida. Lori was a customer service representative for Bell of Pennsylvania who was on vacation in Florida. Eyewitnesses had previously claimed that they saw a black-haired tattooed male accompanying Lori before she was discovered dead. At about noon on June 1, 1991, her body was found by a cleaning lady. Lori was raped before being strangled to death. Her body was found on June 1, 1991, at the Days Inn Lauderdale Surf Motel on Seabreeze Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Immediately following the body's discovery, police created a facial composite, complete with descriptions of the suspect's tattoos (barbed wire and hearts etched with names), and distributed it around Broward County. However, it was to no avail, and the case quickly went cold. (After the DNA match was made, they realized they matched Jack Jones’ tattoos.) When visiting her brother in prison, Jack’s sister asked him to tell her if there were any more victims. She didn’t want any families not knowing what had happened to their daughter. Jack told her, there was 1 more. Jones left a letter to his sister with instructions to open it after his execution. In the letter, Jones admitted to the brutal murder of Regina Harrison, which took place in May 1983. Surprisingly, Ronald Henry Stewart, a serial rapist, was convicted of the crime even though there was solid doubt about his involvement in the murder. Regina Harrison went missing May 2, 1983, shortly after her 20th birthday while on a bike ride. She was last seen walking Hollywood Boulevard (pictured below) in the company of a male cyclist in Florida. Regina was a student at Palm Beach Atlantic Junior College. Her body was found the next day in West Lake Park. The evidence showed she'd been sexually assaulted and strangled. Hollywood Police produced a composite sketch after one of Harrison's friends gave a description of a male who had been cycling with her. When the sketch was put in the media, Jack Jones Jr.’s sister recognized the sketch as looking a lot like her brother. She told her father about it. Her father put Jack on a bus out of town. She didn’t believe Jack was the killer. The case went unsolved for 5 months, before an investigator noticed the sketch looked like serial rapist Ronald Stewart. A witness later picked Ronald Stewart out of a photo lineup. Stewart denied any role in Harrison's murder, but inmates contacted investigators and said Stewart had confessed to killing the college student and even provided details of the crime. Even though several factors pointed towards his innocence, including the fact that his fingerprints did not match those found at the crime scene, Stewart confessed to the crime. In order to avoid the death penalty, Stewart entered a plea of no contest and was given 50 years imprisonment in January 1985, to run concurrently with his other sexual offenses. He never repudiated the confession nor claimed it was coerced while serving his time. Stewart died behind bars from cancer in 2008. Finally, on April 24, 2017, Jack Jones Jr. was put to death by lethal injection at the Cummins Unit in Lincoln County, Arkansas. Neither Jones’ daughter nor his sister was allowed to watch the execution. It is reported that Jones repented his actions toward the end of his life. Even though his sister requested to be there for him, at the time, Arkansas was the only state which did not allow families to witness executions. In the end, I am very thankful Lacy Phillips had the resilience to survive her attack and make a report that led to the conviction of Jones. Lacy is the ray of light in a tragedy. The person who brought an end to the reign of terror. Thank you, Lacy! Hug our kids! Thanks for listening, Frank Quote from Black and Blue by Frank F. Weber Upcoming Events
2 Comments
Leland Scott Jacobson
5/5/2023 01:09:17 pm
I am so Happy for Lacey to have survived this terrible Tragedy. Such a strong young Lady. Praise the Lord she is alive.
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5/5/2023 04:02:16 pm
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
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