Among a mountain of evidence released Thursday by prosecutors in the case against Michael Jones, the Marion County man accused of killing his wife and four children in September, was a video of his interrogation by detectives and photos of two scenes in Southeast Georgia where the bodies were found.
Authorities believe Jones killed Casei Jones, 32, with a baseball bat, then killed Cameron Bowers, 10, Preston Bowers, 5, Mercalli Jones, 2, and Aiyana Jones, 1, inside their home in Summerfield in late summer. Detectives believe he kept their bodies in his van for weeks until Sept. 16 when he drove north into Charlton County, Georgia, buried the bodies of the children off the side of a highway, then continued into Brantley County, where his wife’s body was discovered by deputies responding when Michael Jones got in a minor traffic crash detected “a foul odor” coming from the van.
After the bodies were found and Michael Jones was in custody, investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation questioned him. He was questioned again when he was returned to Marion County.
Jones admitted there had been marital issues and money problems, complaining that there was constant “nagging, poking and prodding” by his wife. He said she would bombard him with texts, calling him a terrible person who couldn’t do anything right.
While anything resembling a confession was redacted by law, when he was told he was going to be charged with multiple counts of murder, he nodded and appeared to understand.
“The strain of it all, I guess it just caught up with me,” Michael Jones told detectives. “It was just building up, building up, building up. Before I knew it, it was too much.”
Jones is heard accusing his wife of being verbally abusive, describing a time he was trying to sleep.
“I’m laying on the floor, on my belly, and she’s got her phone with the flashlight in my face, like right in my face, and I just, it just wouldn’t stop. It was several hour of that kind of stuff,” Jones said. “It was just building up, building up, building up. Before I knew it, it was too much.”
The evidence released includes video from body cameras worn by investigators as they searched the Jones home in Marion County after the family had moved out. Detectives were told the home smelled badly before it was cleaned by a cleaning crew. Detectives who processing evidence in the home as asked which cleaning chemicals were used by the housekeeping crew so they might know what product Michael Jones used to clean the crime scene.
Also released was a voicemail from Jones’ ex-wife and biological mother of two of the children, Sarah Jones, who now lives in Jacksonville, when she heard Casei was missing.
“It was really quick ... visit with the kids, so I only can confirm I saw Michael. But it’s actually been a while since I saw Casei in person. For what it’s worth, a lot of drama comes along with her, so I would be very surprised if this were not just some sort of stunt, if I may say so," Jones said.