PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — The man who killed both his mother and an innocent bystander, and shot his girlfriend was sentenced to three life sentences.
In March of 2020, Jason Kenneth Jones killed his mother, Mary Laven, and an innocent bystander, Djuna Newman. Jones also shot his ex-girlfriend, Esther Lowe, as she was running from him.
Jones was convicted by a Bay County jury of two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm in July.
Jones shot his mother three times in her home on the family’s property. He then followed his girlfriend and her child as they tried to escape, shooting at them several times and striking his girlfriend in the hip.
She was able to escape but Jones shot and killed Newman who came out of her home to investigate the shooting. Lowe was able to hide from him in a nearby home after a family allowed her inside.
Jones then went back to his mother’s home and set it on fire. He disappeared for 24 hours while investigators conducted a massive manhunt.
He was caught by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
