Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 24-year-old Charles Jones of Buffalo pleaded guilty this morning before Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio to two counts of Murder in the Second Degree (Class “A-I” felonies). The defendant pleaded guilty, as charged, to all counts in the indictment against him.

The defendant admitted that he intentionally caused the death of his ex-girlfriend, 25-year-old Jacquetta Lee, by stabbing the victim numerous times inside her apartment on Main Street near Heath Street in the City of Buffalo. After being reported missing by family members, the victim was found deceased in the bathroom of the apartment on Thursday, July 18, 2019, approximately three days after she was killed.

The defendant admitted that he also intentionally caused the death of his mother, 52-year-old Alethia Atwood Williams, by stabbing the victim numerous times inside her apartment on Jefferson Avenue near East Ferry Street in the City of Buffalo. On Friday, August 16, 2019, Buffalo Police Department arrested the defendant for the murder of Jacquetta Lee. As part of the investigation, a search warrant was executed at the Jefferson Avenue residence and the remains of Alethia Atwood Williams were subsequently found inside a closet, approximately two weeks after she was killed.  

Jones faces a maximum of 50 years to life in prison when he is sentenced. The case is scheduled for a report-back on a post-sentence motion on September 20, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. He continues to be held without bail.

“Charles Jones, while under investigation for the brutal killing of his ex-girlfriend, committed another heinous crime by murdering his own mother. Both women were stabbed numerous times by this defendant who left their lifeless bodies in bloody crime scenes that were discovered days after their tragic deaths. I hope that the families of both victims feel that justice has been served by this defendant pleading guilty to all charges and our prosecutors requesting that he receive the maximum sentence for committing these gruesome crimes,” said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.

DA Flynn commends the Det. Sgt. Carl Lundin, Det. Adam Stephany, Det. Scott Malec and Det. Erin McCarthy of the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad for their work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Eugene T. Partridge, III of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Louis C. Mussari of the Felony Trials Bureau.