Murder of Holly Jones
Holly Maria Jones (14 September 1992 – 12 May 2003)[1] was a 10-year-old child abduction and murder victim from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On May 12, 2003, while walking a friend home, she was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and strangled by Michael Briere. After dismembering her body, Briere attempted to discard the remains by placing them in two bags and used weights to try to sink them in the Toronto Harbour. The bags were found the next morning.[1]
Briere pleaded guilty to the crime, receiving an automatic life sentence and will not be eligible to apply for parole until 2028.[2][1]
Contents
Background
Holly Maria Jones was born on September 14, 1992 to parents Maria Jones and George Stonehouse.[3] She had three older siblings: Shauna, Natasha and James. Jones attending St. Luigi Catholic Elementary School in the Junction Triangle neighborhood at the time of the murder.[3]
Disappearance, discovery and investigation
On May 12, 2003, Jones disappeared after walking a friend home in Toronto's west-end neighbourhood; along her route was Briere's house. Hours after her disappearance, she was reported missing, prompting a large-scale police search and an Amber Alert.
Jones' remains were discovered in two garbage bags on the shores of the Toronto Island on May 14, 2003. The area surrounding Jones' neighbourhood would see multiple attempted child abductions in the weeks following the murder and heightened police presence in the area.[1] During a wide-scale request for samples from all men in the area where Jones had gone missing, Briere was initially suspected by police for refusing to provide a DNA sample. Police put Briere under surveillance, and obtained a DNA sample by testing his saliva on a soda can he disposed of in a public trash can. Carpet fibres from the green carpet of his apartment were matched to fibres found on Jones' remains. He was arrested and charged with her murder on June 20, 2003.[1]
Arrest and conviction
Michael Briere, a 35 year-old software developer, was charged with the murder at his west-end residence, near Jones' home. On June 17, 2004, Briere pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Holly Jones. In court, he attributed his actions to viewing child pornography, going on to describe his crime as "cruel, inhuman, and nightmarish", stating he wished to spare his victim's family the pain of a trial. He received an automatic life sentence[3] and will not be eligible to apply for parole until 2028.[2]
See also
References
- Articles with short description
- 2000s missing person cases
- 2003 crimes in Canada
- 2003 in Ontario
- 2003 in Toronto
- 2003 murders in North America
- Formerly missing people
- Female murder victims
- Child abduction in Canada
- Missing person cases in Canada
- Murder in Ontario
- Rape in Canada
- Incidents of violence against girls
