Family: Bethel woman killed in murder-suicide had ‘heart full of love’
BETHEL — Services will be held Sunday for Traci-Marie Jones, the 52year-old mother of three who was killed last week inside her Reservoir Street home.
Jones was killed by her estranged husband, Lester Jones, on Jan. 31 in what officials said was a murdersuicide.
Visitation hours at the Jowdy-Kane Funeral Home on Granville Avenue in Danbury will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, according to her obituary. The obituary did not list information about her funeral.
“Traci, unfortunately, died tragically, loved fiercely and had a heart full of love,” her obituary stated. She is survived by her three children, a brother and her mother.
The obituary said Jones was “proud of her Danbury heritage” and made lifelong friends growing up in the Mill Ridge neighborhood and attending Henry Abbott Technical High School, before working at the C&C hair salon at the Danbury Fair mall.
She also worked as a health aide in Bethel, the obituary said. “Any resident or family member was lucky to have Traci in their corner and she always looked out for any underdog,” the obituary said.
“Traci was an enthusiast of fun times,” her obituary said. “From bingo to karaoke to line dancing and amusement parks, she was all for excitement. She was big in spiritualism, Area 51, and of course TikTok which was made just for her.”
In interviews, friends described Jones as “the sunshine of everybody’s day,” and as a strongwilled and compassionate person — as well as a talented hair stylist.
“She lit up the room when she walked in and had a way of making those around her feel good,” said Amanda Kovatch, who met Jones at the C&C salon. “She was one of a kind.”
Jones’ obituary said she was a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 149 in Danbury, where she honored her father, a veteran. She also helped maintain the graves of soldiers at Wooster Cemetery, her obituary said.
Bethel police said they found Lester and TraciMarie Jones in the bedroom of the Reservoir Street home they once shared. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said they both died of gunshot wounds and ruled Traci-Marie Jones’ death a homicide and said her estranged husband died by suicide.
Court records show Traci-Marie Jones obtained a restraining order against her husband on Jan. 17. In an affidavit, she wrote that her husband had threatened to kill her and she indicated he had access to a firearm. Three days after the restraining order was issued, New York State Police arrested Lester Jones after they said he made a threatening and harassing phone call to his estranged wife.
It remains unknown if a law enforcement agency seized any weapons from Lester Jones under the terms of the restraining order.
As a tribute to TraciMarie Jones, the obituary requested support for “legislation to protect victims of domestic violence.”