LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man who previously pleaded guilty to abusing and murdering his son refused to show up in court for his sentencing on Thursday morning.
Paul Jones, 39, refused to be transported to the Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center from the Clark County Detention Center, which is located across the street.
Jones, 39, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two felony counts of child abuse, neglect, and endangerment, according to court documents filed last September. Jones was asking for a sentence of 12-to-48 years while prosecutors point to several possibilities including life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, records showed.
The body of Aaron Jones, 13, was found in April of 2017 in a desert area near Boulder Highway and Sahara Avenue. Paul Jones hit his son and the child fell to the floor and hit his head. Jones then placed the child in the shower and when he still was not breathing, Jones buried his body, according to a sentencing memorandum submitted by the defense and prepared by a licensed psychologist.
Paul Jones claimed this happened in February of 2017. Aaron Jones was not reported missing until two months later.
In an interview from jail in 2017, Paul Jones told 8 News Now that he was innocent.
“All I know is that he ran away and that was the last time I saw him,” he said.
Family members later revealed that Aaron Jones suffered extensive long-term abuse at the hands of his father. This included making the child stand against a wall with his arms over his head, beating him, forcing Aaron to remain in soiled clothes, encouraging other children to taunt Aaron and not allowing Aaron to eat or to sleep for days. This occurred in a one-bedroom apartment with 11 other children, according to records.
Dijonay Thomas, Aaron’s mother, filed a lawsuit against Paul Jones and the Clark County Department of Family Services in 2018. Aaron Jones had been formally removed from her care and placed with his father. This was while Paul Jones was on probation for child abuse.
“It’s not something I would ever understand,” Thomas said in an interview with the 8 News Now Investigators in 2019. The civil lawsuit is ongoing.
In the criminal case, Paul Jones tried to withdraw his plea and a judge denied his request.
The defense team for Jones pointed to challenges he faced in life including abuse he suffered as a child, an unstable home life, and mental health issues.
Judge Tierra Jones announced in court that Paul Jones must appear via video for his rescheduled sentencing on Feb. 16 by “any means necessary.”