May 2nd

On This Day

May 2nd

1995

On this day in 1995, Sherry Kay Jones is at her home in Paris, Texas. Sherry is 40 years old and lives in a home with her mother, Edith Jones. During the early morning, Sherry and Edith reportedly hear a dog barking outside. Sherry decided to go investigate; it probably wasn't much that set the dog off. As she opened the door, Anzel Keon Jones appeared. 

Jones is a 17 year old who attends North Lamar High, a local high school in Paris. He was the receiver and running back on the football team and competed in many events on the track team. He had average grades; he kept them up enough to participate in school sports. His mother provided a middle class lifestyle for Anzel and his sister.

Jones catches the door as it swings open, before Sherry can figure out what is happening, he pushes her back into the house. He puts a knife up to her throat and Sherry and her mother quickly offer Jones their material belongings. Jones had his choice between two cars, as well as 125 dollars offered to him in exchange for their safety. He took the money, but that was not the reason he entered the home. Sherry and Edith would soon find out the reason for the visit.

Using a kitchen knife, Jones stabbed Sherry 8 times and slit her throat. Then, he quickly turned his attention to Edith. He sexually assaulted her, and slit her throat as well. Anzel found a bottle of nail polish remover in the home, dumped the contents of the bottle around the house and ignited a flame. He tossed the bottle in the home and returned back to his house. Upon returning home, he showered and dressed himself for school. Because he committed the crime in the early morning hours, his mother had not noticed that he even left the house before school. 

In Jones' attempt to destroy the evidence, he lit a flame that actually ended up drawing attention to the house promptly after he left. Edith was discovered in enough time that she survived the attack. Sherry's injuries were too severe and she died on the scene. 

Jones was arrested 10 days later. The nail polish remover used to light the fire had his fingerprints on the bottle. On June 3rd 1996, he was convicted of Capital Murder and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. He has never given an explanation for the attack.