Harold Jones (murderer)

Harold Jones (1906 – 1971) was a child killer from Abertillery, Monmouthshire in Wales.[1]

In 1921, when he was only 15, Jones was tried at Monmouth Assizes for the murder of an 8-year-old girl, Freda Burnell.[2] However, he was acquitted, and he returned to Abertillery to a hero's welcome.[3] A few weeks later, he murdered 11-year-old Florence "Flossie" Little. Jones plead guilty to Little's murder, possibly to avoid being tried after he had turned 16, at which age he could have been sentenced to the death penalty. Jones also confessed to having killed Freda Burnell:[3]

I Harold Jones, do hereby confess that I wilfully and deliberately murdered Freda Burnell in Mortimer's shed on February 5th 1921. The reason for this act was my desire to kill.

Jones was sentenced to be detained "at His Majesty's pleasure."[3]

Jones was released from prison in 1941. During World War II, he served with the Royal Commandos, and settled near Newport, but little else is known about his subsequent movements.[3] It has been suggested by the writer Neil Milkins that later in life, Jones became the unidentified serial killer Jack the Stripper.[4]

Jones died of bone cancer in 1971.[4]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Milkins, Neil (2016-11-26). Every Mother's Nightmare: Abertillery in Mourning. Old Bakehouse Publications. ISBN 9781905967117.
  2. ↑ Morris, Jim (2015-05-15). The Who's Who of British Crime. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445639352.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Underwood, Terry (2004-09-01). Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Newport. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9781903425596.
  4. 1 2 "Is this man the REAL Jack The Stripper?". The Sun. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
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