Hi, I'm Holly and I'm Haley. Welcome to Mountain Mysteries Tales from Appalachia. Welcome back. Welcome back.
I know. I think we've had multiple weeks of really intense stories. The one I have for today is kind of intense as well, but not I don't know. You're supposed to just really whoo.
Yeah, this is heavy. It's just heavy. It's just a lot of goodness. This is a, you know, kind of a heavy story as well, but one that possibly you can help with.
So yes, I'm here like everybody. Good. All right. You're ready to dive in?
Yeah. All right. Let's do this. Here we go.
So this week's story takes place in November of 2016 for a reference point, the number one song. And we've actually talked about the song before was closer by the chain smokers. Yeah. Doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo. The number one show on television was The Big Bang Theory. I love that show. I love that show.
And American Thanksgiving was November 24th of that year. So we actually, the reason that we know this song and we've talked about it before was because the episode we did our Thanksgiving, our first one, Oh yeah. When I think Thanksgiving, I think this number meant dismemberment. We actually talked about closer.
Yeah. So today we are traveling to Wise County, Virginia, more specifically, to a town called Appalachia. Nice. I'm in a posse.
Exactly. Exactly. Helps with the whole podcast Appalachia feel. So it is 2 a.m.
on Sunday, November 27th, 2016. Early in the morning. Early in the morning. Police receive a call to do a welfare check on an overnight employee at the local water treatment facility.
Oh yeah. It's a chilly fall morning that weekend of Thanksgiving. The holiday had been, obviously that past Thursday. So this is now Sunday.
When they pull up along the gravel road leading to the facility, they are met with a horrible sight. An individual is lying across the gravel driveway. As police move closer in to the individual, they see that the victim is a female with blonde hair tucked away in a ponytail. The woman had no pulse and was cold to the touch.
She had appeared to have been shot multiple times at close range. The killer did not try to conceal their crime by hiding her body as it appears that the suspect pretty much just shot her and left the scene. Police were unable to find the gun used to kill the victim but did find that her work truck was missing. The truck would be found later on a few miles away.
Based on the time of death noted by the coroner, it would have appeared that she was shot almost immediately when she arrived at work. Oh my god. Yeah. So it seems that she was taken by surprise and the culprit was waiting on her.
So this means that either the person knew her or like knew her schedule. So who was the victim? She was identified as Janina Jefferson, a recently divorced mother of three. Her children included oldest son Xavier, daughter Brienne and youngest son Trey.
Janina is described as strong, hardworking, independent and had a smile that would just light up the entire room. So she's just like going to work. Do anything. Yeah.
Just mom, you know, making ends meet, taking care of her kids, doing the things. Yeah. Janina, her boss Fred stated that she adored her children. She always put them first.
He told Channel 5 News that she really took care of the kids. She really loved them and that they were her number one priority and that her job was second. So this kind of completes the whole picture of family and work, like hard work ethic. Janina's described as being a lively person with a great sense of humor.
She had a great laugh. You know, one of those people that like when they laugh, you laugh. Yeah. Yeah.
You just can't help it. You know, anyway, that was Janina. That's not me. When you laugh, we're like, wow, that was a good point.
What's happening? Are you okay? Hey, are you having some kind of psychotic break? Should we get you something?
Maybe. How do I want someone's that? So her friend April told True Crime Daily that Janina was fun, but also could be brutally honest and didn't mince words. She was one of those friends who was like, yeah, I mean, that does make you look fat.
I don't know if she would do that, but she would be the friend to tell you the truth. She wouldn't sugarcoat it, which we all appreciate. So at the time of her death, Janina was 38 years old and was taking on actually multiple jobs, including the one at the Water Treatment Plant. She also owned her own glass design business.
She was very artistic and had been commissioned to paint store windows with like, you know, the little fun characters and designs and so she would do that. I always like to watch videos of people doing them because I just think it's so satisfying. It is really neat. It's cool.
And then I'd love to see the final product. And I was like, oh, but then you look at it and you're like, man, I think I could do that. And you can't. No, you can't.
No, you can't. No, no. I see people do even simple things where they write like a one and then a two and then a three and then they make a bird out of it and they do all these things. I'm like, I could do that.
And then I do it and it looks like a two-year-old. It's sad. I'm, yeah. I have talent in other avenues.
It's not artistic. It's not in that kind of artistic. Yeah, exactly. But Janina did.
Exactly. Exactly. And everybody loved her. Janina had been amicably divorced from her children's father for several years and enjoyed her independence.
But in 2012, she met and fell in love with Eric Jones. Eric was from a prominent family in the area and his mother was a well-respected pastor. Eric and Janina adored each other and Eric became kind of a bonus dad to her kids. The kids had a wonderful relationship with their brother but he was someone that they referred to as pop.
That's nice. I mean, that's always, I mean, you hate when divorce happens. But like, when it can be kind of a like mutually respectful, like you don't really have to like each other anymore. But like respectful.
And then when someone has a new partner, respectful to that person. But so honoring the father and that relationship. And like, do you just love to see it? Exactly.
And ultimately, you know, it just helps the children. So the couple tied the knot in 2013 in front of hundreds of onlookers. Like, you know, everybody was so excited about this. So when Janina was shot and killed in 2016, so three years after their wedding, police started their investigation by looking at those around her on the day-to-day, like family, friends and colleagues.
Because if you think about it, she was shot at work. So it could have been, you know, maybe an angry colleague, you know, we don't know. But while there were multiple people that police were investigating, they kept coming back to one person who would have had motive. Her husband, Eric.
Yeah. So let's talk about some unsettling behavior of Eric Jones and learn a little bit more about his past. I was really hoping it wasn't Eric. I was hoping not either.
But as I mentioned, Eric came from a prominent family in the area. He was raised in a strong Christian home, and his mother was a well-respected pastor. Eric, however, had fallen off the path of righteousness. I mean, it seems like, you know, preachers can sometimes do that.
Often, you know, especially if they're raised in such a way that it's very heavy on the religion and on the structure and on the, you know, after perfect and all that kind of stuff. So that can be, that can be a lot. I always found that. Like, everybody knew that the pastor's daughters were the ones who were quote unquote loose.
Everybody knew that. Everybody knew that the pastor's sons were the ones who were out, you know, doing drugs, selling drugs. You know, I mean, I think because when you're under a microscope like that, you kind of take that other avenue of, you know. Yeah, I mean, you see it with, I mean, not just pastors kids, but like anyone that leads a sheltered right.
Right. Right. Like a very sheltered, very like not exposed to the world in any way. You know, either conform and capitulate to what's in front of you or you go the entire different way.
Yeah. And then you're either 60. Yeah. Yep.
It's one or the other usually. I mean, I'm sure there are some that are fine. But in my experience. And then I think sometimes people in youth get off the path and then, you know, or when they come back and they come back and you come back and it's like, you know, I lived that life and it was not for me.
Exactly. And now I see the light. I'm back. I'm back and I'm fine.
That's also fine. Absolutely. So Eric, he had a long rap sheet, which included robbery, arson, and murder for hire. That's right.
Eric had been contracted to kill a single mother named Karen, and her two children who at the time were seven and eight years old. That's not great. That's not great. No.
That's definitely off the path of righteousness. That's not good. That's not good. That's not good.
That Jesus does not want you to do that. No. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no.
That's not good. No. That's That's a hard no. Yeah.
Don't do that. So the intended target, New Eric. Okay. He was friends with her cousins and she was kind of a acquaintance.
She'd met him several times. So he wasn't a stranger. One night, Karen and her children went to bed and woke up with their house ablaze on fire. Karen and her children were trapped in a back bedroom attempting to escape the fire.
They fortunately were able to call 911 and police were able to rescue them. Oh wow. Yeah. Police knew it was arson since the house and Karen's car smelled like gasoline.
That'll do it. They didn't match it outside. So they knew 100% that this was on purpose. Yeah, that's a person.
Yes. Police discovered that two individuals were paid with not money but crack cocaine. I mean, okay. But crack, not even cocaine.
Like crack, which is the poor man's version. So this is somebody who definitely needed a hit. I was like, okay. Sure.
So they were paying crack cocaine to murder Karen and her children and Eric was one of the two individuals. And Jesus said no. Jesus said no. Don't do that.
Jesus also said don't kill that lady and her children. Don't set fires. Don't set fire to the rain to the house. Nothing.
Nothing. Even if Adele tells you to do it. Don't say no. Just say no.
Just say no. Eric went on the run but was arrested two months later in Texas when he was pulled over for a simple traffic violation. They're like, oh wait, he needs the description of out in Virginia for a murder for hire. Right.
Exactly. Eric was brought back to Virginia and indicted on seven felony charges. Police officials who interacted with Eric during this time stated that he didn't seem to have any remorse whatsoever. There was no sadness.
There was no, you know, it was just going about like, hey, it looks like it's raining outside. Yeah. Exactly. Eric did plead guilty however to two felony charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Five years later, Eric was released. I just don't know how does this happen. I mean, I get, you know, her role and all these things but he was trying to off this poor lady and her two kids. He wasn't successful.
So it was just a temporary. It's so frustrating. Like, you know, she's living in fear. Oh, yeah.
Well, after he got out of jail, he came back to Wise County and tried to get out of jail. He tried to make a better life for himself. So as we talked about, you know, how we got off the path of righteousness. Well, he's trying to get back on.
So begins going to church, appeared to be on the right path, is doing things in the community, helping others and, you know, by all accounts seems to be a really good guy. Like he's gotten his crap together. Maybe, you know, he got clean. Yeah.
He learned from his behaviors and is like, you know, I know this is possible. It is possible, absolutely. So not long after this was when he met Janina, two fell in love, got married. And Janina was well aware of his past.
She knew about it. But you know, she believed he was a changed man and encouraged her friends and families to accept him. You know, she said, listen, yes, this is what he did. But I feel like, you know, got his change, Tim.
He's a good guy. Like you'll love him. All of them. And his family did.
They were like, wow, he's a great guy. Like he loved her. Did everything for her treated her with respect by all accounts. Like everybody's like, what a nice guy.
He has like had a rough start. Yeah, some bad things has done his time and his wild that away and turned his life around and doing good things. That was until cracks in the marriage began to appear. Janina friends and family.
There was one incident that terrified Janina. On the 4th of July in 2016, Janina planned her annual block party. She invited all of her neighbors along with her family to grill out and watch fireworks. As you do, yeah, Janina still had a good co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband.
So she invited him to the cookout. So everybody's there. Well, Janina and her ex-husband were talking with Eric. Eric pulls out a gun.
Now, do know he was a convicted felon who can have guns. Can't have guns, right? So out of nowhere, he pulls out this gun and he says that it's his friend's gun. And he starts waving it around.
Then he proceeds to shoot it right past their faces into the air. Oh my God. Yeah. This leaves everyone at the party going WTF.
Yeah. So it just so happened that one of Eric's friends who was at the party was just videoing, you know, like all the festivities. Yeah. It just happened to get him shooting the gun.
Eric spent the next few days watching the footage of him shooting the gun over and over and over in their house. No. Eric. Almost in an obsessive, proud way.
Eric. Eric. Jesus. No.
No. No. No. No.
No. No. No. He even had it on surround sound so that Janina and her three children could hear the gunshots.
No. Eric. I mean, everybody was troubled by this. Yeah.
And like the obsession of him watching it and listening to it. That can help you. That's bad. No.
And then what does this do to these poor people who are listening to gunshots all the time? Yeah. Yeah. Not great.
was too overwhelming for her and she just filed for divorce. She was like, I'm not. She's like, I'm out. I'm out and I don't want to, you know, have my kids around this.
So on the day the divorce was finalized, Eric showed up at Janina's work at the water treatment plant. Eric came up to Janina and tried talking to her saying that they needed to get back together, they could work things out. He was really sorry. He was a changed man.
He wanted to prove it to her. But when Janina told him, no, I don't wanna hear it. And you need to leave, he attempted to strangle her. Oh my God.
Janina's colleagues quickly called the police and he was charged with trespassing and attempted strangulation. Janina ended up filing a protection order against Eric and became terrified for her and her children's safety. Yeah, I would too, especially if she knows the history that he tried to set this last people on fire. Exactly, exactly.
Not long after the incident, Eric was released on bond. Of course he was. Knowing that he was free was so unsettling and to not just Janina, but those whom she loved and cared about and who cared about her. So on November 27th, 2016, this is the day that the crime occurred, Janina and her daughter, Breanne sat down to dinner and Janina revealed to her teenage daughter that she had a gun, that she kept at work.
Just for protection, she admitted like she had heard threats around town that Eric wanted to come to her work, that he would confront her potentially. She was scared to know if he would try and strangle her again. She just didn't know what that looked like. So on all accounts, she said, I just, I got this gun for safety.
I just don't know what may happen. Breanne, her daughter tried to like settle her mom's conscience. You know, just said like, listen, I just don't think anything's gonna happen. You know, I think it's gonna be okay.
Like you've got your colleagues there. Like I just don't think he's gonna do that. So Breanne assured her mom it's gonna be fine. She told her mom, you know, I love ya.
And this would be the last time that Breanne would see her mother and wife. I hate that. And gosh, these kids are just so innocent. You know, and at this point, you know, they're all either teenagers or you know, older as well.
Janina left that evening and went to work. When family tried to contact her during her shift, she never answered. Concerned, the police were notified to do a welfare check, and that's when they found her laying on the gravel with several gunshot wounds. Janina's children, family and friends were devastated at the loss and knew that Eric had to have been responsible.
Police also honed in on Eric due to his past behaviors. Police ended up collecting a lot of evidence that pointed directly to Eric's involvement in the murder. They were holding that evidence however, pretty close to the vest, but felt that they had an airtight case against him. One thing that they did offer was that Eric was driven up to the water treatment plant that night by a friend or friends.
Eric told them that he wanted to go up and talk to Janina in hopes of getting back together. So believe that Eric had his friend drop him off, and then rather than wait on him, Eric told them, you know, I'll just, you know, I'll just, I'll catch you later, just go on. And Eric waited out of sight for Janina to pull in. He snuck up on her and shot her, and then fled in her work truck.
Eric's friend who had dropped him off, got a text from him 15 minutes later, stating that he wanted them to, them or, you know, whomever it was, to pick him up at a gas station. Going on his information, police scoured the mountains that surrounded that water treatment plant on foot with dogs or aerial searches, you know, they were trying to find him. The last known sighting of Eric. Yeah.
Are you kidding me? I am not. The last known sighting of Eric was inside the gas station convenience store. He is actually caught on camera buying a six pack of beer and looking at his phone.
Eric was dropped off at a family members house several miles away after that and has never been seen since. Police have been able to capture and arrest, however, and associate Eric Jones, a man named Jacob Raland. This man is believed to have helped Eric before and after the murder. It is believed that Jacob helped Eric escape, escape capture.
Oh my God. Jacob in fact, was the friend who drove Eric up to the water treatment plant and picked him up after. So he was able to share that information about driving him there, getting the text, yeah, all this stuff. Police believe that there are other people out there who have been helping Eric along the way.
Eric's family, including his pastor mother, have been very cooperative with police and was devastated by her son's actions. So she is not being accused of helping him anyway. Some people believe that Eric is dead, but others, including Janina's children, believe that Eric is still very much alive and out there somewhere evading capture. But he's still out there too.
He doesn't strike me as the one that would go and kill himself. Absolutely not because he doesn't have remorse. No, no, he did this and he's like, just out there. But it shows you he has the potential to do this again.
So I cannot imagine the fear that these kids have been living with. Yeah, like what if he just shows up? Exactly, exactly. And especially since all of his family is there in Wise County.
So police believe that Eric had to have had help and they don't think that he would have been successful in evading capture this long without people aiding him. So Eric is still on the lamb. Police do not consider this to be a cold case because they work on it daily. Like they're always adding to it, always on it.
Eric won Ro Jones is charged with capital, murder and other charges. The US Marshals Office has offered $10,000 as a reward for anyone who has information leading to his arrest. OK. Yes.
So I'm going to be a little bit of info about Eric just in case. You run across him, all right? So his name is Eric Monroe Jones. His birthday is listed as August 18, 1970, making him currently 52 years old.
He is African American with brown hair and eyes. He's approximately 5'7 inches tall, so he's kind of a short dude. In ways around 175 pounds, Eric Jones should be considered armed and dangerous. If you have any information, you can contact police at area code 276-328-3756 or for any tips you can email crime tips so that's c-r-i-m-e-t-i-p-s-y-s-e-s-o.net.
So that's crime tips, y-s-o-o.net. So Haley, he's still out there. That's my story. I hate that.
I hate that too. He's out there. And I think that's going to be the title of this episode. He's still out there.
He's still out there. But also just kind of infuriating of what year was this again? 2016? Like how little progress we've made in making sure that when women are attacked or threatened or stalked, the nothing is really done.
Well, even after the strangulation. Yeah. I mean, she did have a protective order in place. Right.
That should have been, you're in jail now. You violated this order of protection. You are now in jail. Well, she didn't have the order of protection.
Until he strangled her. Yeah, so that's when she got it. And then it was after that that he came and killed. So yeah.
But unfortunately, that's not uncommon. That's not uncommon story. Well, in half he served 20 years in prison, like he was originally given for the murder for hire. They may never have met.
So who's to say, really? I don't know. It just feels so uneasy because you know that he's out there somewhere. And if he were in Texas before, so he has a history of running away.
No. And he was in Texas before. He's probably on the other side of the country, I would guess. But again, he has to have somebody helping him.
Somebody knows. I don't know. I don't like it. I don't like it either.
Especially for Virginia's children who are grooming the loss of their mother and not having any justice. Not having any justice for her and how unfair that is. That he just out there living in life. The man they knew was their pop, their bonus dad.
It turned out to be this horrible man. So I don't know. Keep your eyes peeled. And please feel free to contact the Wise County Virginia Sheriff's Department if you know any information.
Great. And if you want to provide us your feedback, you can do so. Haley, how do they do so? You can find us on our Facebook page, Mountain Mysteries Tales from Appalachia.
Find us on Instagram, Mountain Mysteries.avolaccia. Find us on our Patreon for some bonus content, patreon.com slash Mountain Mysteries. Or you can send us an email, mountain mysteries.avolaccia at gmail.com. That is right.
It's always. Glad, Haley. Remember all of that. Good job.
Good job. And you know what? For this shout out, I'm going to give a big shout out to Wise County, Virginia. And we're thinking about you and here's the hopes that just as someday we'll have in Virginia.
Yeah, for sure. All right, y'all. Have a good week. We will catch you next week.
Bye. Bye.