The story of Correne Jones is a tragic prelude to the decades-long criminal history of a serial killer. Her life was cut short on June 10, 1972, in the city of Greenwood, Mississippi. While little is publicly known about Correne as a person, the injustice surrounding her death is a stark reminder of a system that allowed a dangerous man to walk free and kill again.
Her case marks the first known homicide committed by George Lamar Jones, a man who would later be known as the serial killer "Mule."
On that summer day in 1972, Correne was killed, and the man responsible was identified as George Lamar Jones, who was then using the alias George Lee Jones. He was initially indicted for murder by the circuit court in Greenwood. A murder charge carried the potential for a lengthy prison sentence, up to 20 years. However, the path to justice for Correne took a turn that would have devastating future consequences.
During the legal proceedings, Jones's defense attorney presented evidence that he had suffered from epilepsy since birth, arguing that the condition affected his behavior at the time he killed Correne. This defense strategy proved effective. Prosecutors offered a plea bargain, allowing Jones to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. As a result, instead of a long sentence for murder, George Lamar Jones was sentenced to only five years in prison for taking Correne's life.
After serving his short sentence, Jones was released and eventually moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The leniency shown in Correne's case would prove to be a fatal mistake. More than two decades after he killed Correne, Jones murdered again. In September 1993, the body of Mary Lee Harris was discovered in a garbage truck in Milwaukee. For years, her death remained unsolved. It wasn't until DNA technology advanced that investigators were able to link evidence from the scene to George Lamar Jones.
His final known victim was 24-year-old Shameika Carter, whom he murdered on November 19, 1997, also in Milwaukee. Jones confessed to strangling Shameika, telling police he attacked her after she allegedly mocked him. Following his arrest for Shameika's murder, he was finally brought to justice for his violent spree. The investigation into his past also led authorities to connect him to the cold case of Mary Lee Harris.
For the murders of Shameika Carter and Mary Lee Harris, George Lamar Jones was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring he would never again be free to harm anyone. He died of natural causes in the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin, on April 30, 2012. While justice was eventually served for his later crimes, it came too late for Correne Jones, whose life was the first to be tragically taken by a man who should have been stopped much sooner.
