BUFFALO, N.Y. — Charles Jones was silent wearing prison-issued orange clothes as he stood before Erie County Court Judge Sheila DiTullio. He is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Jacquetta Lee.
Defense lawyers learned in court that the District Attorney's office is looking at additional charges against Jones.
Lee, 25, was found stabbed to death inside her Main Street apartment in the University District.
Jones, 24, was arrested last week after a standoff with Buffalo Police. It was outside his mother's apartment building on Jefferson Avenue.
Later that day, police found his mother, Alethia Atwood Williams, 52, stabbed to death and her body stuffed inside of a closet.
Jones and Lee were the parents of a baby girl, 10-month-old Royalty Lee Jones, who died last year. Her case is now being looked at again by the Erie County District Attorney's Office.
"The baby's death was in February 2018, so 18 months have gone by now. That death was looked at a year and a half go. It was suspicious, but it was no evidence to link anyone beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," said John Flynn, the Erie County District Attorney.
Flynn says the deaths of Jones' mother and daughter are "being investigated thoroughly."
For now, the D.A. says he is "prosecuting him on the murder of his ex-girlfriend and that murder is punishable by life imprisonment."
Jones is due back in court in September.
Flynn said if Jones is convicted or takes a plea, "I am asking for life in jail, there's no doubt about that," he said, adding, "I can assure you that I will show zero mercy to Charles Jones."
Three relatives of the victim were inside the courtroom. Curtis Lee, father of Jacquetta, said after court appearance, "I'm hoping things will work out to make sure that he stays in jail without bail."
As for the possibility of additional charges, Lee said, "I hope stick and he stays right where he is, he's a dangerous person."