The remains of four Summerfield children who were reported missing along with their mother also have been found in Georgia and the woman’s husband has been arrested.
A somber Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods made the announcement late Monday afternoon. Sheriff’s officials had announced earlier Monday that the children’s mother, 32-year-old Casei Jones, already had been found dead outside Brantley, Ga.
Michael Wayne Jones Jr., 38, was taken into custody and has been charged with second degree homicide in connection with his wife’s death. Woods said his detectives are working with the State Attorney’s Office to determine the other charges related to the deaths of the children – 10-year-old Cameron Bowers, 5-year-old Preston Bowers, 2-year-old Mercalli Jones and 1-year-old Aiyana Jones.
Michael Jones reportedly was involved in a vehicle crash in Georgia on Sunday and told sheriff’s deputies there that his wife’s body was inside his van. She and her children were last been seen in the Ocala area about six weeks ago and they were reported missing by a relative Saturday.
Sheriff’s officials believe Michael Jones killed his wife and the children at their Summerfield home at 14680 SE 86th Terr. and stored the bodies there and in his van for several weeks before transporting them to Georgia, a sheriff’s office report states.
“As a father, as a parent, it breaks my heart,” Woods said. “As a sheriff, it angers me. Our hopes were to find them somewhere that he left them alive.”
Woods said the direction for his detectives now is a homicide investigation and he and his staff will do everything possible to make sure Michael Jones is brought to justice.
“What I am going to ensure is the integrity of this case is to its highest, so that when we do go to trial on this individual, no one can poke holes into this case whatsoever,” Woods said during the press conference.
The sheriff added that his detectives don’t yet have a motive for the murders but are diligently continuing to investigate the crimes.
“We may not know why, but we will do our damndest to find out how it was done,” he said. “All we need to know is that’s evil and evil needs to pay for what he did – plain and simple as that.”
