Police ID victims, shooter in double murder, suicide
Steven Jones fatally shot Jennifer Jones and Emma Jones before fatally shooting himself
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. >> Law enforcement officials Saturday confirmed that three people found dead Friday in a suburban Ballston Spa home died as the result of a double homicide and suicide.
At a somber, mid–afternoon press conference at the Village of Ballston Spa Police Department, Police Chief David Bush said Jennifer Jones, 43, Emma Jones, 12, and Steven Jones, 46 were found dead in the family home at 723 Adams Circle after the home was checked by police officers.
After an investigation of the scene with partnering law enforcement agency, the New York State Police, Bush said it has been determined that Jennifer Jones and Emma Jones had died of gunshot wounds from a long gun.
Both were found in separate bedrooms in the home.
Steven Jones was found dead on the living room floor, a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound from the same gun. The weapon has been recovered.
The police chief stressed with the confirmation of the cause of the multiple deaths, there is no reason for the community to be concerned. When asked if he could recall a similar event taking place in the village, Bush said no one could recall anything like it taking place in the last 60 years.
Bush said his agency was contacted at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, to make a check at the home after receiving a call that Steven Jones had not shown up for work for several days. Jones’s employ- ment could not be determined.
When officers got no response from anyone at the home they began to walk around the premises and look in the windows. After seeing “a male subject lying on the living room floor” they forced entry into the home.
Autopsies done Saturday revealed the body to have been Steven Jones. Jennifer Jones and Emma Jones were found in the bedrooms after a search of the home.
Neither Bush nor Lt. William Williams of the NYSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation would say how long the individuals had been dead.
The home is a two story frame house with yellow siding and an attached double stall garage. It is in a well-kept suburban neighborhood with homes decorated for the holidays.
It is in the Colonial Hills development, in the northern part of town near the Milton town line.
A holiday lawn decoration in the form of a fawn could be seen on its side in the front yard. Part of the backyard had been partitioned off with an unpainted wooden fence.
According to police the family had two dogs and a bird as pets. All were uninjured and are being cared for by appropriate agencies.
By Saturday afternoon investigators from the NYSP wearing white, non- contamination, suits could be seen entering and leaving the house and investigating the contents of a dark colored Ford Focus and red Subaru Forrester parked in the home’s driveway.
The street was unusually quiet for a Saturday and those residents who were out on their lawns or in their driveways were in no mood to talk to representatives of the media.
Along with Bush and Williams, Ballston Spa Central School District Superintendent Ken Slentz also took part in the afternoon press conference.
Slentz said Emma Jones was a seventh grader in middle school in the district and had attended the district’s schools since kindergarten. He described her as being strong academically and in extracurricular activities.
On Saturday, a letter was sent from the district to parents discussing the tragedy.
Per district protocol, Slentz said calls had been placed to the home when Emma Jones did not show up for school on Thursday and Friday. He termed the absences as not being unusual for this time of year.
The calls to the home received no answer and messages were left.
“She was a delightful child to have in our school system,” he said. “There is no textbook for such a tragedy.”
The school district is considering delaying school by one hour Monday so law enforcement can discuss the situation with teachers. Slentz said counseling will be made available in the elementary and middle schools once school resumes Monday.
Bush and Williams were careful with what they released to the media at the press conference. They did say they have no motive for the killings at this time and that they were not aware of anyone else being in the home at the time of the shootings.
Bush said the village police force had not been called to the home prior to Friday. It is believed that the family had resided at the Adams Circle address for 10 years.
Neither Bush nor Williams would reveal when the three people died or the model of the weapon used. The investigation, Williams said, is ongoing.
The two men asked that anyone with information believed to be helpful in this case to call either the Ballston Spa Police Department or the NYSP.