Willie Ben Jones

On October 6, 1980, Jones picked Ronald Jones, 31, a crossdresser, and took him to his apartment. After realizing Ronald was a man, Jones fatally stabbed him and dumped his body behind the apartment building. On November 19, 1981, Jones strangled 24-year-old Marinda Zimmerman after she slapped him during an argument. In March 1990, he strangled 36-year-old Shirley Marie Jones.

Jones later confessed to killing 33-year-old Priscilla Louise Leeper on September 29, 1988, but he was not prosecuted in this case.

Jones was apprehended on November 4, 1990, after he turned himself in. He walked into a police station in Northern Virginia and confessed to four murders. When they didn't arrest him, Jones walked inside the FBI headquarters and confessed once more. His confessions to the murders of Ronald, Marinda, and Shirley were substantiated and he was charged in their deaths.

During Jones's trial, Richmond Detective Steve A. Dalton quoted him as having killed his victims since "they had to be punished." On March 27, 1991, Jones pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree murder. On May 14, 1991, he received the maximum sentence of 60 years, 20 years for each count of second degree murder. Under Virginia's three-strikes law, Jones was declared ineligible for discretionary parole since he'd been convicted of three violent separate crimes. However, he became eligible for geriatric parole after turning 60. Jones has been denied early release every time.

Jones served most of his sentence at Lunenburg Correctional Center. He was released from prison on mandatory parole in January 2026.

• List of serial killers in the United States