Clyde man pleads guilty to murdering his father
Feb. 14—A Clyde man is heading to state prison for at least 15 years after pleading guilty to murder in Haywood County Superior Court this week.
Jody Vance Jones, 30, was charged with the murder of his father, Marion Jones, and the attempted murder of his brother, Hunter Jones. He pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of second-degree murder, with the attempted murder charge being dropped.
In February 2020, 911 dispatchers received a call from Marion Jones stating that Jody Jones had stabbed him and his other son. Marion Jones said he had been stabbed in the head, and Hunter Jones had been stabbed in the chest.
During the call, dispatchers lost contact with Marion Jones. That is when Jody Jones got on the call and identified himself to the dispatcher as "Jody Jesus God Christ Jones," according to court documents.
He told dispatchers that "Marion and Hunter are the devils. I am Jody Jesus God Christ Jones from Heaven. I did the right thing."
When deputies arrived at the home, Jody Jones had barricaded himself inside of a room. Deputies were eventually able to talk him out and arrest him. Marion Jones was found dead in the living room with a head injury, while Hunter Jones was transported to Mission Hospital.
During the investigation, detectives spoke to a friend of Jones' who said she had talked the man into going to the Balsam Center due to what she called "meth-induced psychosis."
Jones attempted to use diminished capacity and insanity as defenses. Thus, multiple evaluations were done to determine whether Jones was fit to stand trial.
One such evaluation claimed Jones could have suffered from "Stimulant (Methamphetamine) Use Disorder."
It goes on to elaborate that Jones "repeatedly exhibited bizarre and agitated behavior while intoxicated," but that the "bizarre behavior resolved as the intoxication ended." Because the symptoms were only present when high and went away when the drugs wore off, the court concluded that a diagnosis of substance-induced psychotic disorder was not appropriate.
The report also stated that his condition worsened after arrest with "withdrawn behavior, self-injurious behavior and inadequate food intake," leading to a diagnosis of major depression and treatment and safekeeping at Central Prison in Raleigh.
Ultimately, it was decided Jones was fit to stand trial. His case was slated to go to a jury trial this week. But at the 11th hour, Jones took a plea deal.
The deal dropped the attempted first-degree murder charge and placed the unspecified murder charge as a second-degree murder.
Jones will be imprisoned in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections for a period of 15 to 19 years.
