Marilyn Alu, aged 71, was found dead on September 8, 2013, in her home in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office determined that she had been strangled, and it was later revealed that Marvin C. Jones, who had been hired by Alu to do housework, was responsible for her death. Jones killed her, stole her jewelry, and then pawned the items with the help of his girlfriend, Constance Messina.
Detectives learned that both Jones and Messina fled Jacksonville soon after the incident, eventually traveling to Clewiston, Florida. Jones was later apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Texas and brought back to Florida to face charges.
Jones was charged with first-degree murder, and Messina, though involved in pawning Alu’s jewelry, was not believed to be part of the actual homicide. She claimed that Jones told her he bought the jewelry from a drug dealer, and she pawned it under that assumption. Alu’s family was deeply impacted by her tragic death, especially her son, David Perkins, who expressed the pain of losing his mother and the irreplaceable void left by her passing.
The case brought to light the vulnerability of elderly individuals and the cruel exploitation that can happen within a supposedly trusted environment. Marilyn Alu was remembered by her family and friends as a loving mother and grandmother, whose life was tragically cut short by senseless violence. The community's hope for justice was partially fulfilled with Jones’s arrest, yet the sorrow of the loss remains a burden for her loved ones.
