District Attorney seeking death penalty for Wilmington man charged in sister's slaying

Chase Jordan, Wilmington StarNews
·2 min read
Jahreese Jones appears in court after being charged in the death of a Wilmington teenager.
Jahreese Jones appears in court after being charged in the death of a Wilmington teenager.

Jahreese Jones is facing the death penalty after being charged with murdering his 16-year-old half-sister, Mi'Yonna Jones.

Assistant District Attorney Connie Jordan made the announcement Thursday while Jones appeared before Judge Phyllis Gorham in New Hanover County Superior Court on Thursday.

After going over Jones' charges, jury information, and other legal matters, the judge ruled the case will continue as a first-degree capital murder trial.

Along with murder, Jones is also charged with first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree rape, assault by strangulation, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Mi'Yonna Jones was a student at New Hanover High School. She was reported missing Nov. 1, 2022. Her body was found Nov. 17 in Pender County after law enforcement authorities searched for several weeks.

Jahreese was later taken into custody after he was alleged to have been alone in his car with the now-deceased teen.

Her half-brother was arrested Nov. 2, 2022 on charges of first-degree murder.

Jahreese Jones' girlfriend, 27-year-old Randi Johnson, was arrested Nov. 5 and charged with felony obstruction of justice for allegedly "providing false statements to law enforcement on numerous occasions with the intent to defraud the investigation," according to court documents. Wilmington police also announced that Judy McKnight, a relative of Jones, was arrested on obstruction of justice charges.

Mi'Yonna's body was found on Nov. 17 in Pender County after law enforcement authorities began searching for several weeks.

Jones charged:After body of missing Wilmington teen found, murder charge for suspect

No bond was set at this stage.

Now that the state is seeking the death penalty, Jones will be appointed a second attorney qualified to handle capital murder cases.

In North Carolina, a death penalty sentence is decided by a jury. The last person executed in the state was Samuel Flippen on Aug. 18, 2006, for the murder of his 2-year-old stepdaughter. In 1998, lawmakers eliminated execution by lethal gas and made lethal injection the only method.

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Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: DA seeks death penalty for Wilmington man charged in sister's slaying