Vivian Jones Charged In Boyfriend's Murder After His Death Was Initially Reported A Suicide
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities charged a 37-year-old woman Tuesday with fatally shooting and killing her boyfriend and trying to convince police that he shot himself.
The Hennepin County District Court charged Vivian Jean Jones of Minneapolis with second-degree murder. If convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, at about 7:50 p.m. on Friday, police responded to the 4000 block of Humboldt Avenue North on a report that a person was suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
When officers arrived, they found a 41-year-old man dead inside the house. Authorities interviewed Jones who was in the home at the time of the incident. Police say she provided information that was inconsistent to the evidence at the scene.
Jones told police that she was angry with the victim because he had crashed her vehicle earlier that day. Then she locked him out, and he supposedly forced his way in. She claimed that he followed her into the bedroom and then held a gun to his head and said he was "tired" and had "nothing left," just before shooting himself.
Medical examiners arrived and noted that the victim had also been shot in the upper thigh.
Investigators spoke to their neighbors that said they heard the gunshot and heard the victim yelling, "V! V!" The neighbor also noted the victim was limping.
Investigators confronted Jones about with the fact that the victim had also been shot in the leg, in addition to the gunshot wound in his head. Jones repeatedly denied knowing anything about the other injury saying, "I swear, I did not know he was shot in the leg."
After some additional questioning, Jones was advised she would be booked for murder. Jones then blurted out, "I did shoot him in the leg, I'm sorry for lying."
Jones claimed that after shooting him in the leg, he forced his way into the house, came downstairs, and took the gun from her. Jones said she was "trying to take it back from him" when he shot himself. She also admitted that the gun was hers.
Authorities have yet to release the identity of the victim.
In 2006, Jones was charged with attempted murder and first-degree assault for shooting a woman. Jones served five years in prison after pleading guilty to first degree assault.
Jones is scheduled to make her first court appearance Aug. 5 at 1:30 p.m.