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Report: Mother Committed SI Murder-Suicide
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 26, 2010
Modified Jul 26, 2010
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photo via NY Post
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 26, 2010
Modified Jul 26, 2010
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After initially suspecting that a 14-year-old had killed his siblings and his mother and then himself, police may now believe that the mother was behind the tragic deaths. The Post reports that an autopsy shows that C.J. Romoy, 14, died of from his throat being slashed, as did his 10- and 7-year-old sisters, while his mother Leisa Jones and 2-year-old brother died from smoke inhalation. Which means, per the Post, that Jones "slit three of her kids' throats before she killed herself and her baby" in the Port Richmond fire.
The bodies of the five family members were found on Thursday, after an early morning three-alarm fire in their apartment. Police had first suspected C.J., possibly because of witnesses recalling that he had set fires and reports of psychological issues at school, and the boy was found with a straight razor under his body. But, after analyzing handwriting on a charred note that said "am sorry," police determined the note was written by mother Leisa Jones.
According to the Post, "Both Jones and C.J. still had undigested pills in their stomachs, a source said. Some investigators speculated that this was because she may have needed to drug the teen before she could kill him, and then took pills herself. Sources could not identify the drugs... The deeply disturbed Jones had allegedly told a pal several months ago that she thought about killing the kids and torching the house." That's what C.J.'s father Earlston Raymond claims, reiterating his belief that his ex is behind the deaths.
The NY Times also reports, "Ms. Jones had had financial problems for years, facing eviction at least twice and struggling to feed her family on a part-time security guard’s salary." Jones' mother said, "My grandson is not a killer and my daughter is not a killer. She could never harm her babies."
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arson
fire
Leisa Jones
murder-suicide
staten island
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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