Genene Anne Jones (born July 13, 1950) is an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

, responsible for the deaths of up to 60 infants and children in her care as a licensed vocational nurse during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1984, Jones was convicted of murder and injury to a child. She had used injections of digoxin, heparin, and later

succinylcholine Suxamethonium chloride, also known as suxamethonium or succinylcholine, or simply sux by medical abbreviation, is a medication used to cause short-term paralysis as part of general anesthesia. This is done to help with tracheal intubation or ele ...

to induce medical crises in her patients, causing numerous deaths. The exact number of victims remains unknown; hospital officials allegedly misplaced and then destroyed records of Jones' activities, to prevent further litigation after Jones' first conviction.

Early life and marriages

Jones was adopted by a nightclub owner and his wife. She worked as a beautician before attending nursing school in the late 1970s. Jones was married to her high school sweetheart between 1968 and 1974, and they had one child during that time. The relationship ended in divorce. Three years later Jones and her husband reconciled and had another child together in 1977. Just before her indictment, she married a 19-year-old nursing assistant. He filed for divorce a short time later.

Career and background

While Jones worked as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) at the Bexar County Hospital (now University Hospital of San Antonio) in the

pediatric intensive care unit A pediatric intensive care unit (also paediatric), usually abbreviated to PICU (), is an area within a hospital specializing in the care of critically ill infants, children, teenagers, and young adults aged 0-21. A PICU is typically directed by ...

, a statistically improbable number of children died under her care. Because the hospital feared being sued, it simply asked all of its LVNs, including Jones, to resign and staffed the pediatric ICU exclusively with registered nurses. No further investigation was pursued by the hospital. Jones left and took a position at a pediatrician's clinic in

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in, and the county seat of, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler- ...

, some 60 miles northwest of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. It was here that she was charged with poisoning six children. The doctor in the office discovered two puncture marks in a bottle of succinylcholine ( Suxamethonium chloride) in the drug storage, where only she and Jones had access. Contents of the apparently full bottle were later found to be heavily diluted with water, where it was estimated that only 20% of the vial's contents were succinylcholine. Succinylcholine is a powerful short-acting paralytic that causes temporary paralysis of all skeletal muscles, as well as those that control breathing; the drug is used as a part of

general anesthetic General anaesthetics (or anesthetics, see spelling differences) are often defined as compounds that induce a loss of consciousness in humans or loss of righting reflex in animals. Clinical definitions are also extended to include an induced coma ...

. A patient cannot breathe while under the influence of this drug. In small children,

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

is the ultimate result of

deoxygenation Deoxygenation is a chemical reaction involving the removal of oxygen atoms from a molecule. The term also refers to the removal of molecular oxygen (O2) from gases and solvents, a step in air-free technique and gas purifiers. As applied to orga ...

due to lack of respiration. Jones claimed she was trying to stimulate the creation of a pediatric intensive care unit in Kerrville.

Prosecution

In 1985, Jones was sentenced to 99 years in prison for killing 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan with succinylcholine. Later that year, she was sentenced to a concurrent term of 60 years in prison for nearly killing Rolando Santos with heparin. As of May 2016, Jones was held at the Lane Murray Unit of the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...

. She had been scheduled for mandatory release in 2018 due to a Texas law meant to prevent prison overcrowding. To avoid this, Jones was indicted on May 25, 2017, for the murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer. Nico LaHood, Bexar County District Attorney, stated that additional charges could be filed in the deaths of other children. Due to the mandatory early-release law covering Jones' original convictions, she would otherwise have been released upon completion of a third of the original sentence. The new charges were filed to prevent her release. In April 2018, a judge in San Antonio denied a request to dismiss five new murder indictments against Jones. On January 16, 2020, Jones pleaded guilty to the murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer on December 12, 1981 as part of a plea bargain in which four other charges were dropped. She was sentenced to life in prison. She will not be eligible for parole until she is roughly 87 years old.

In popular culture

She was portrayed by

Susan Ruttan Susan Diane Ruttan (née Dunsrud; born September 16, 1948) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Roxanne Melman on '' L.A. Law'' (1986–1993), for which she was nominated four times for a Primetime Emmy Award. Life and care ...

in the television movie '' Deadly Medicine'' (1991) and by Alicia Bartya in the straight-to-video movie ''Mass Murder'' (2002). She was also featured in a Discovery Channel documentary, ''Lethal Injection;'' the ''

Forensic Files ''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was orig ...

'' episode "Nursery Crimes"; a season one episode of the British docuseries ''Nurses Who Kill'' (2016); as well as "Dark Secrets," an episode of 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 ...

series ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted by forme ...

''.

References

External links