Evil dad lived with bodies of murdered family

After beating his wife to death Michael Wayne Jones systematically slaughtered four young children to cover his tracks

- GAIL SHORTLAND

A man out foraging for wild berries in Georgia’s Brantley County rushed to the aid of a driver who had crashed his van, only to be overwhelmed by the foul smell from the back of the vehicle. When the police arrived, they instantly recognised the vile odour – decomposing flesh.

It was 2019 and at the start of a series of horrific confessions, van driver and father-of-seven Michael Wayne Jones told officers, “You may want to put me in handcuffs because there’s a dead body in there.”

Jones lived a three-hour drive away in Summerfield, Florida, with his wife Casei and their blended family.

Casei, 32, had sons Cameron Bowers, nine, and Preston, four, from a previous relationship, as well as daughters Mercalli, two, and Aiyana, 11 months, with 41-year-old Jones. He also had three children with his ex-wife.

Casei was a stay-at-home mum and had been with Jones for about five years. 

On 14 September, the police went to the couple’s home after Casei’s mother, Nikki Jones, asked for a welfare check on her daughter and grandchildren. She hadn’t seen or heard from them in about six weeks. Casei usually kept in touch with text messages, which had abruptly stopped, and Nikki told officers she feared Jones had “done something to them”.

There was no sign of Jones, Casei or the children at the house, but there was a smell of decaying flesh. Inside, officers found blood on the ceiling and floors, although attempts had been made to clean it up, and the house was declared a crime scene.