Aphrodite Jones (born November 27, 1958) is an American author, reporter, and television producer. Jones is an executive producer and the host of the television series '' True Crime with Aphrodite Jones''. Previously, Jones hosted a show called ''The Justice Hunters'' for

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, and was a crime reporter for

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

, covering the trials of

Scott Peterson Scott Lee Peterson (born October 24, 1972) is an American convicted murderer. In 2004, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, Laci, who was pregnant at the time, and the second-degree murder of their unborn son, Conner, in Mod ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, and

Dennis Rader Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945) is an American serial killer known as BTK (an abbreviation he gave himself, for "bind, torture, kill"), the BTK Strangler or the BTK Killer. Between 1974 and 1991, he killed ten people in Wichita and Par ...

for ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'' and ''

Geraldo At Large ''Geraldo Rivera Reports'', also known as ''Geraldo at Large'', is an American television newsmagazine hosted by Fox News correspondent-at-large and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera. History Debuting in national syndication on October 31, 2 ...

''.

Early life

Jones was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, to

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Captain Ashton Blair Jones Jr. and Maria Kalloumenous. She has a sister named Janet.

Career and education

While attending

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, Jones appeared in two episodes of ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...

'78''. During the first episode she mentioned that her grandmother was also named Aphrodite. After graduating, Jones worked as a celebrity beat reporter for

United Features Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

. In 1992, Jones was teaching English at Cumberland College in

Williamsburg, Kentucky Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, on the southeastern border of Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census. Developed along the Cumberland River, the city was founded in 18 ...

when she published her first book, ''The FBI Killer'', about Mark Putnam, the first active

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent convicted of homicide. The book was the source material for the 1994 made-for-television film ''Betrayed by Love'', starring

Patricia Arquette Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include '' True Romance'' (1993), ''Ed W ...

and

Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series ''Wings'' which aired from April 1990 to May 1997 on NBC, as Sam Blue in '' Once and Again'', and ...

. Jones' second book, ''Cruel Sacrifice'', chronicled the 1992 murder of Indiana teenager Shanda Sharer by four other teen-aged girls. The book's subject matter cost Jones her job at Cumberland College, a conservative

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

institution. ''Cruel Sacrifice'' was on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List for three months in 1994. In 1996, Jones published ''All She Wanted'', based on the final weeks in the life of

Brandon Teena Brandon Teena (December 12, 1972 – December 31, 1993) was an American trans man who was raped and later, along with Phillip DeVine and Lisa Lambert, murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska by John Lotter and Tom Nissen.Note: – as Brandon Teena was ...

, who was raped and murdered in 1993. The book was initially meant to provide the source material for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film '' Boys Don't Cry'', starring

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

, but the film was rewritten extensively, prompting Jones to file a lawsuit against its distributor,

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...

. Jones has written a total of eight books, among them ''A Perfect Husband'', about murder suspect Michael Peterson, which was made into the 2007 Lifetime television movie ''The Staircase Murders'' starring

Treat Williams Richard Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor, writer and aviator who has appeared on film, stage and television in over 120 credits. He first became well known for his starring role in the 1979 musical film '' Hair'', and la ...

''True Crime with Aphrodite Jones''

Jones hosted and executive produced the documentary television series '' True Crime with Aphrodite Jones'', which aired in first run on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

channel from 2010 to 2016.

Personal life

, Jones resides in South Florida.

Books

* ''The FBI Killer'' (1992) – about the

murder of Susan Smith Susan Smith (née ''Daniels'' 1961 – June 8, 1989) was an American FBI informant. She was strangled by her handler and lover, FBI agent Mark Putnamthe first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide. Early life Susan Daniels Smith was born in 19 ...

* ''Cruel Sacrifice'' (1994) — about the

murder of Shanda Sharer Shanda Renée Sharer (June 6, 1979 – January 11, 1992) was an American girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana by four teenage girls. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. The incident attracted international att ...

* ''All She Wanted'' (1996) — about the life and murder of

* ''Della's Web'' (1998) — about convicted murderer

Della Sutorius Della Faye "Dante" Sutorius (August 8, 1950 – November 20, 2010) was an American woman who was convicted of murdering her husband in 1996. Murder Dr. Darryl Sutorius, a prominent heart surgeon in Cincinnati, married Dante Britteon in 1995. ...

* ''The Embrace: A True Vampire Story'' (1999) — about convicted murderer

Rod Ferrell Roderrick Justin "Rod" Ferrell (born March 28, 1980) is an American murderer and cult leader. He was a member of a loose-knit gang of teenagers from Murray, Kentucky, known as the "Vampire Clan". Ferrell claimed to be a 500-year-old vampire na ...

* ''Red Zone: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling'' (2003) – about the dog attack that killed Diane Whipple * ''A Perfect Husband'' (2004) – about the 2003

Michael Peterson trial Michael Iver Peterson (born October 23, 1943) is an American novelist who was convicted in 2003 of murdering his second wife, Kathleen Peterson, on December 9, 2001. After eight years, Peterson was granted a new trial after the judge ruled ...

(overturned in 2017) * ''Michael Jackson Conspiracy'' (2007) — about the 2005 Michael Jackson child molestation trial

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Aphrodite 1958 births Living people American non-fiction crime writers American television hosts American women television presenters American writers of Greek descent University of California, Los Angeles alumni