A Tyler, Texas woman arrested in connection with a homicide believed her boyfriend “had really messed up” and assisted in cleaning the murder scene, according to a police document.
29-year-old Edna Deanne Jones was arrested Monday on charges of failure to report a felony with serious bodily injury or death and tamper/fabricate physical evidence.
Jones is the girlfriend of 26-year-old Timothy Eugene Jones, who was arrested Monday in Dallas on a murder charge in the death of 53-year-old Anthony Wilson, whose body was found in a heavily wooded area south of East Duncan Street in Northeast Tyler.
According to police, the discovery came after officers responded Saturday to a welfare concern at a home in the 3000 block of West Gentry Parkway, where Timothy Jones and Wilson both rented rooms that shared a common area, according to police documents.
Edna Jones had spent the night at Timothy Jones’ apartment on March 25. She woke up Saturday, took a shower then saw a “clean-shaven Black male with socks on his hands in the room with her,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Edna Jones told police she didn’t know this man and asked him where Timothy Jones was.
She walked out of Timothy Jones’ apartment and into Wilson’s apartment, where she told police she saw Timothy Jones and the unknown man wrapping Wilson’s body in a black comforter. Edna Jones told police Wilson did not appear to be breathing and she believed he was dead from Timothy Jones shooting him.
Edna Jones told police her boyfriend and the other man put a plastic grocery bag over Wilson’s head, noting both men had socks covering their hands, and carried Wilson’s body through the kitchen and loaded it into the victim’s Ford Explorer.
Edna Jones told police she assisted the men in getting out of the house with the body by opening the door for them and then unlocking the vehicle.
She also told police Timothy Jones told her to clean the blood off Wilson’s front door, the carport door and the concrete area at the bottom of the steps in the carport. At that point, Edna Jones told police Timothy Jones and the unknown suspect left with Wilson’s body.
Edna Jones said she cleaned up the murder scene by using cleaning solution on the doors and bleach on the concrete, according to the affidavit.
Edna Jones told police she had told family members about the incident, who advised she call the police, but she never called to report the homicide.
When police discovered Wilson’s body, he appeared to have a gunshot wound to his head and a comforter that was black on one side was located near his body, according to the police document.
Timothy Jones’ ex-girlfriend told a detective she had called him earlier in the day. She said he answered his phone, did not speak and then hung up. She said she then called Edna Jones, who said Timothy Jones “had really messed up,” the document shows.
The investigation began with a welfare check Saturday.
According to a search warrant affidavit, the homeowner and landowner of the residence on Gentry Parkway called police Saturday afternoon to report seeing blood on the ground outside the home that it appeared someone tried to clean up. He told police he knocked on the door, but none of the tenants responded.
The landlord called later Saturday to say he had gone inside the home and found blood, at which time two Tyler police officers responded.
Three people live at the address and each of the tenants have their own room, sharing “common areas” of the residence, according to the landlord. Blood was found in the room rented by Wilson, according to the search warrant affidavit.
A Tyler police investigator arrived at the scene and “observed coagulated blood on the bed and floor in room B (Anthony Wilson’s room),” according to the document. “There was also blood spatter on the wall behind the bed and what appeared to be brain matter in room B. A bullet fragment was seen on the bed. A glass bedside table as shattered and a lamp was on the ground.”
There was a “bloody smear” on the door to Jones’ room, according to the document. There was also “blood evidence” outside the home, and a corner post of the rear carport had been damaged. Wilson’s vehicle was missing from the home.
Edna Jones and Timothy Jones both remain in the Smith County Jail. Police have said in statements about the investigation that additional arrests are expected.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Tyler police at (903) 531-1000 or Tyler-Smith County Crimestoppers at 903-597-CUFF (2833).
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