Harold C Jones Popular Books

Harold C Jones Biography & Facts

Harold Jones (11 January 1906 – 2 January 1971) was a British child murderer who killed two preadolescent girls in Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1921, when he was aged 15.Jones was acquitted of the murder of his first victim, eight-year-old Freda Burnell, at Monmouthshire Assizes on 21 June 1921. Seventeen days later, he murdered an 11-year-old neighbour named Florence Little. Jones pleaded guilty to Little's murder and also confessed to having murdered Burnell at his second trial.Owing to his being under 16 at the time he committed the murders, Jones escaped execution for his crimes; instead being sentenced to be detained at His Majesty's pleasure on 1 November 1921. He was released from prison in 1941, later marrying and fathering a child. Jones died of bone cancer in 1971 at the age of 64. Early life Harold Jones was born in the Welsh colliery town of Abertillery, Monmouthshire, in January 1906, the eldest of four children born into a poor family. His father, Phillip, worked as a coal miner and his mother was a housewife. Jones and his siblings attended a local council school where he was regarded as a popular and exemplary pupil, showing a particular flair for sports, and holding aspirations to become a professional boxer. He is also known to have spent much of his free time reading and to have occasionally played the organ at local church services.Jones left school at age 14 to obtain employment—largely as a means of supplementing his family's income. He found employment at a local oil and seed merchant named Mortimer's Stores. Here, he was known to be a punctual and trustworthy employee who was both capable of managing the shop without help, and popular with customers. Murders Freda Burnell On the afternoon of 5 February 1921, Freda Elsie Maud Burnell, aged eight, was reported missing by her parents. She had last been seen by her father, Frederick, at approximately 9 o'clock that morning, having been sent on an errand from her home at 9 Earl Street to purchase poultry spice and grit from Mortimer's Stores in nearby Somerset Street to feed the family livestock, with her father promising her a penny upon her return. When Burnell had not returned home after an hour, her frantic parents began making inquiries, including at the store Freda had been sent to visit. The 15-year-old assistant at this store, Harold Jones, confirmed to Burnell's father (and later the police) that the child had visited the store at approximately 9:05 a.m. and that he had served her a bag of poultry spice, adding that she had also asked for a bag of poultry grit but he had informed her the store only had loose poultry grit. Burnell, he claimed, had left the store to ask her father whether loose poultry grit would suffice, and he had not seen her since. By 3:00 p.m., the Burnell family had informed police Freda was missing, and an exhaustive search for the child was launched.The following morning, Burnell's body was found by a collier concealed in a sack in an alleyway just 300 yards from Mortimer's Stores. Her cause of death was certified as being a combination of blunt trauma to her head and strangulation evident via a cord still tied around her neck, with the time of death having been between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on the date of her disappearance. In addition, Burnell had been gagged, her elbows had been bound behind her back, and her ankles were knotted together. An attempt had also been made to rape the child. Traces of corn chaff were also found upon and around Burnell's body, and inside the sack in which she was discovered.Investigators noted that a chicken run in the shed belonging to Jones's employers located just a few hundred yards from where Burnell's body had been discovered had corn chaff extensively scattered upon the ground, and a handkerchief known to have been in her possession at the time of her disappearance was also found on the ground in the shed. In addition, an axe handle determined to have caused the blunt trauma to the child's head was discovered concealed beneath some sacking inside the shed. Aside from his employers, Jones was the only individual in possession of a key to the shed, and investigators established a clear time frame of between 9:15 and 9:40 a.m. when no witnesses had physically seen him inside the store. A friend of Jones named Levi Meyrick also informed police that Jones had actively dissuaded him and another youth named Frank Mortimer from accompanying him to the shed at approximately 10:20 p.m. on 5 February; another witness also informed police he had heard a female child's screams emanating from this shed on the actual morning of Burnell's disappearance. When questioned as to these facts, Jones insisted he had not been in the shed on the day of the child's disappearance. Nonetheless, investigators were convinced otherwise, and Jones was held in detention at Abertillery Police Station to await the outcome of the coroner's inquest.The inquest into the death of Burnell was formally opened on 7 March. Jones was one of many individuals called to testify at this inquest. He performed poorly on the stand; repeatedly giving conflicting testimony as to his actions on the day of the murder and being forced to admit to lying about various aspects of his testimony (on one occasion prompting the coroner to scold him and insist he tell the truth). Nonetheless, despite there being little physical evidence linking Jones to the murder, investigators believed enough circumstantial evidence existed to formally charge him with the crime. In response to this formal charge, Jones replied: "I know it looks black against me, but I never done it." He was remanded in custody until 5 April when he appeared before magistrates. On this date, a decision to try Jones for the wilful murder of Freda Burnell was reached. Bail was refused, and he was detained at Usk Prison to await trial. Initial trial Jones was brought to trial for the murder of Burnell at Monmouthshire Assizes on 21 June. The prosecution alleged that Jones had murdered Burnell inside the shed belonging to his employers on the morning of 5 February before placing her body in a sack, and placing the body in an alley close to the shed that evening. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, insisting that he had last seen Burnell when he had served her at approximately 9:05 a.m. before she had left the store. Although Jones had contradicted himself on several occasions at the initial inquest, he remained calm when called to testify in his own defence at trial, also withstanding rigorous cross-examination. His employer, Herbert Henry Mortimer, provided him with an alibi, insisting he had heard Jones and his own son working in the store in the early morning of 5 February before the two had been sent to deliver a sack of potatoes to a customer at approximately 10 a.m., later returning to the shop where they had continued to work for the rest of the day. Furthermore, on the third day of the trial, Jones's own father challeng.... Discover the Harold C Jones popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Harold C Jones books.

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  • Mickie synopsis, comments

    Mickie

    Harold C. Jones

    It’s a coming of age moment for Herman and his friend Flynn. It’s a hot night, and they’re two young guys cruising in a borrowed car. When they come across the beautiful Mickie, a ...

  • Resolution synopsis, comments

    Resolution

    Harold C. Jones

    When Chad abducts Andre in the middle of the night and proposes marriage, Andre is caught on the horns of a dilemma. He loves Chad but still cannot accept himself, even after all t...

  • Accidental Encounter synopsis, comments

    Accidental Encounter

    Harold C. Jones

    Tony has some conflicts. His minivan was accidentally rammed by another vehicle, and while the insurance seems eager to pay off, it’s like he just can’t deal with it. The fact that...

  • Kentucky Rifle synopsis, comments

    Kentucky Rifle

    Harold C. Jones

    Joshua, a hiker and wouldbe nude sunbather, and James, with his muzzleloader and buckskins, are playing some sort of weird game. How it turns out is anybody's guess, but Joshua lik...

  • The Virgin and the Troll synopsis, comments

    The Virgin and the Troll

    Harold C. Jones

    He just can’t get those graphic mental pictures of hot, gay sex out of his head. Andre determines to break free. How it all turns out doesn’t even matter. A virgin in the gay sense...

  • Turnabout synopsis, comments

    Turnabout

    Harold C. Jones

    It's complicated. A short story of the future of relationships.

  • Wrong Number synopsis, comments

    Wrong Number

    Harold C. Jones

    Dylan’s watching the ball game when his old friend Caleb phones. It’s only an hour later, when he’s sitting in some club with a twentybuck cover charge, stomach rumbling, when he r...

  • Agricultor Juan synopsis, comments

    Agricultor Juan

    Harold C. Jones

    Enrico está en la tienda de comestibles cuando ve a un tipo que realmente a él le gusta. No es como cualquier cosa que él había intentado antes. Sólo más tarde, en casa solo, los é...

  • Encounters synopsis, comments

    Encounters

    Harold C. Jones

    Five stories of gay love, from young lovers to fantasy spanning time and space. Hot reads from the pen of Harold C. Jones.

  • The Appointment synopsis, comments

    The Appointment

    Harold C. Jones

    Patrick Saunders is in love with Doctor Clifford UbangiTutu. He’s always wanted to do it in a doctor’s office. Unfortunately, Clifford is married and has a busy life. They will jus...

  • Throwing It Down synopsis, comments

    Throwing It Down

    Harold C. Jones

    After a successful weeklong tryst by the lake, three weeks have gone by and Andre is just dying to see Chad again. His fantasy has become reality, bringing with it new challenges. ...

  • Farmer John synopsis, comments

    Farmer John

    Harold C. Jones

    Henry is in the grocery store when he sees a guy who really appeals to him. It’s not like anything he’s ever attempted before. Only later, at home alone, the terror hits. Sticking ...

  • Heading for a Fall synopsis, comments

    Heading for a Fall

    Harold C. Jones

    It’s a beautiful day in the California sunshine. Craig is rollerblading along the boardwalk when he takes a sudden spill. Robert, pumping iron nearby, comes to his rescue. It is on...

  • Vuelco synopsis, comments

    Vuelco

    Harold C. Jones

    Es complicado. Una historia corta sobre el futuro de las relaciones.

  • Welcome Wagon synopsis, comments

    Welcome Wagon

    Harold C. Jones

    Other than the cancer thing and getting over recent chemotherapy, James is having a pretty uneventful life when he gets sick of it all and chucks it for an RV just outside of North...

  • The Bear synopsis, comments

    The Bear

    Harold C. Jones

    James has always wanted to spend a week alone in Algonquin Park. There is no true adventure without a little suffering, a little sacrifice, a little risk. It's a physical, spiritua...

  • Rencontre Accidentelle synopsis, comments

    Rencontre Accidentelle

    Harold C. Jones

    Tony se sent très conflictuelle. Sa fourgonnette a été accidentellement percuté par un autre véhicule, et bien que l'assurance semble désireux de porter ses fruits, c'est comme si ...

  • Surprise Party synopsis, comments

    Surprise Party

    Harold C. Jones

    Robby, or Robin as he decides to call himself, has had three girlfriends in his lifetimeand a crush on one guy, years before. He’s just desperate enough to try anything, once. But ...

  • M4m synopsis, comments

    M4m

    Harold C. Jones

    Henry gets an odd response to his personal ad in the m4m section. It’s a blind man, who claims he isn’t even gay. It’s just that he’s so desperately lonely. He might be willing to ...

  • Legendary Lessons synopsis, comments

    Legendary Lessons

    Claudia Mazzucco

    Modern golf as it is practiced all over the world developed in the last thirty years. And yet, the legendary Walter Hagen, and some of his friends, would deliver an unexpected mess...

  • Seduction synopsis, comments

    Seduction

    Harold C. Jones

    Dwayne needs his job at the plant, but Quinn is all over him like a dirty shirt. It’s a small place dominated by working class machismo, and people do talk. A little respect, a lit...

  • A Perfect Fit synopsis, comments

    A Perfect Fit

    Harold C. Jones

    Leroy and Gordon, the African, a mysterious stranger with a checkered past, are falling in love. Lee has bought the perfect dress, shoes to go with it, and he just can’t wait to sh...

  • High Stakes synopsis, comments

    High Stakes

    Harold C. Jones

    Trevor is a hopeless romantic and he keeps calling Daniel up. He’s tall, funny, goodlooking and a gentleman. He’s also painfully shy. Daniel is done waiting for him to make the fir...