Phillip Jones was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for the murder of Susan Marie Christian-Yates
According to court documents Phillip Jones would force Susan Marie Christian-Yates into a cemetery where she would be sexually assaulted and murdered
Phillip Jones would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Phillip Jones Photos
Phillip Jones Now
Number
A542310
DOB
05/02/1970
Gender
Male
Race
Black
Admission Date
02/05/2008
Institution
Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Status
INCARCERATED
Phillip Jones Case
A 37-year-old Akron man faces the death penalty. A jury, Monday evening, convicted Phillip L. Jones, of Hudson Avenue in Akron, of aggravated murder, murder and two counts of rape.
Jones raped and killed Susan Marie Christian-Yates, 33, in Mount Peace Cemetery on April 23.
A jogger found her body in front of a gravestone with a plastic cross over her right eye. She had bruises over her entire body and injuries to her neck due to strangulation.
Prosecutors said during the trial that Jones had became an ordained minister while in prison for a prior rape and he had given an identical cross to his wife in 2006.
The jury will return to Summit County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 10 to decide sentencing. Jurors will weigh aggravating and mitigating evidence for and against Jones and decide whether he should get death, life in prison without parole, or be eligible for parole after 20, 25, or 30 years.
The judge will impose the sentence for rape; each count carries three to ten years. He also faces another 10 years for being a repeat violent offender. Jones’ criminal history includes convictions for kidnapping, assault and multiple rapes. Christian Yates had a conviction for prostitution.
Akron police said that Jones used to work at the cemetery and has family buried there.
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2007/12/akron_man_faces_death_for_brut.html