Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: This is a new trial that will be broadcast on CTV starting Wednesday, below is a summary of the case. -------------------------------------------------- In a case that stunned Detroit, Reco Jones faces trial for five counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of his ex-girlfriend, Yolanda Bellamy, her two children and her young nephew and niece. The children's ages ranged between three and five years-old; all the victims had their throats slashed and suffered multiple stab wounds. Prosecutors believe that Jones, 23, killed Bellamy because she had ended their relationship the day before. The children were murdered because they witnessed the crime, and Jones allegedly felt he had to kill them. Jones told police that he was at Bellamy's house the night of the murders and argued with her about their relationship. But, Jones said, when he left Bellamy's house, she and the children were still alive. However, according to two female friends of Jones whom he allegedly saw hours after the crime, the defendant confessed the murders to them. (One of them even admits to helping him destroy evidence.) And investigators claim that Jones implicated himself during initial questioning for the murders by showing that he knew how the victims died before detectives had even told him about the specific details of the crime scene. If convicted, Jones could face life in prison. The Rocky Relationship Jones and Bellamy began dating in December 1996. Apparently, they were a happy couple until Jones began serving a prison term in January 1997 for aggravated assault during a separate prior incident. Jones was imprisoned for six months. Although Jones and Bellamy maintained contact through phone calls from prison, their relationship eventually became strained. Jones began accusing Bellamy of cheating on him. When Jones was released from prison, he and Bellamy reunited, but their problems persisted. And Jones began dating at least one other woman in addition to Bellamy. On August 11, 1997, Bellamy ended her relationship with Jones. According to the defendant's mother, Bellamy came to Jones's house and demanded to both see him and retrieve some of her belongings. Jones's mother, who knew that Jones was in the house basement, refused to let Bellamy into the house and asked her to leave. When Bellamy refused, Mrs. Jones called the police. Bellamy left before police arrived. Mrs. Jones told her son what happened and claimed that she later saw him asleep in the basement at 1:30 in the morning. Mrs. Jones also said she sat in the living room until 4 am and when she awoke at 8 am, her son was not home. The Slayings and their Various Versions What happened between after time Mrs. Jones said she last saw Reco Jones is in dispute. Jones gave the police two different accounts of his confrontation with Bellamy after the incident involving his mother. In his first story, Jones told police that he arrived at Bellamy's house between 12:30 and 1 am. According to Jones, Bellamy threatened to kill his mother, brother, and sister, and in response, he began to choke her. However, Jones claimed he released his grip on Bellamy before he could cause any damage and left her as she was still coughing. Then, Jones said, he went home and went to sleep until around 5:45 am when he went to visit another girlfriend, Maliaka Martin. However, Jones's second version of the events is quite different. He reportedly told one officer that when Bellamy told him that she would not bear his child, he "snapped" and killed her. Maliaka Martin told police that Jones, whose sneakers were covered in blood, came to her house after the killings and admitted to the murders. According to Martin, Jones said that Bellamy had told him that she would tell her legal husband (and the father of her two sons) that Jones had beaten her and the children. Apparently, the threat triggered a violent response in Jones, and he stabbed Bellamy 11 times. Awakened by the commotion, Bellamy's children and niece and nephew came down the stairs upon the murder scene. Allegedly, Jones told Martin that to avoid leaving witnesses, he had to kill the children. Martin also told police that she let Jones shower and change his clothes when he came to her house. She then drove him to the house of another friend, Tamikah Terrell. According to Terrell, Jones also confessed Bellamy's murder to her and wanted to use her washing machine to clean his bloody clothes. However, since Terrell did not have a washing machine, she took Jones's clothes, placed them in a garbage can, and helped him burn them. The Gruesome Discoveries On August 13, 1997, at around 10:30 am, Bellamy's sister, Erika, called the victim's house to see when she could pick up her two children, who had been sleeping over at their aunt's place. When no one answered the phone, Erika drove to the house and knocked on the door. With no one answering the door, Erika peeked through the mailslot and saw her children lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor. She immediately called the building's landlady and 911. When police arrived, they knocked down the apartment door and discovered the bodies. Yolanda Bellamy and the four children were dead at the scene. All five victims had their throats slashed and suffered at least 11 stab wounds each. Jone's was arrested later that day and kept in police headquarters overnight. According to reports, before investigators even told him how the victims died, Jones implicated himself by telling them, "There's no way I could have stabbed those people." The day after his arrest, Jones jumped out of a window at police headquarters and fell 60 feet to the pavement below. He survived the fall but suffered a fractured elbow and abdominal injuries. The Court of Public Opinion The murders of Yolanda Bellamy and the four children outraged many in Detroit. During a pretrial hearing, the defendant's mother needed police to escort her out of the courtroom because family and friends of the victims had threatened to avenge their deaths. It seems that the court of public opinion in Detroit may have already convicted Reco Jones for these five murders. Now his fate lies in the hands of the court of law. -- Kathy E "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow isn't looking too good for you either" http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List http://pw1.netcom.com/~kathye/rodeo.html - Cowboy Histories http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2990/law.htm Crime photo's Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues