British man, living in New York shot dead US wife and daughter, 12, then turned shotgun on himself

A British man living in New York killed his American wife and 12-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself in a suspected double murder-suicide, an inquest heard.

Steven Jones, 46, apologised for producing ‘such chaos’ in an email sent to a family friend a day before the triple shooting but said he was doing it to ‘protect’ his daughter.

The electrical engineer, who had relocated to the US, was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on December 14 last year.

New York State Police attended the family address in Ballston Spa to carry out a welfare check after Steven’s employers, GlobalFoundries, were concerned he had not turned up for work.

Steven Jones pictured with his wife Jennifer, 43, whom he is believed to have shot and killed along with his daughter, before turning the gun on himself

The couple's daughter Emma, 12, was discovered dead from shotgun wounds in her bedroom

The couple’s daughter Emma, 12, was discovered dead from shotgun wounds in her bedroom

Officers forced entry through a set of French doors at the back of the property where they found Steven lying motionless on the living room floor with a 12-gauge shotgun by his side.

His wife, Jennifer, 43, a US citizen who worked as an occupational therapist, and their daughter Emma were both discovered dead in separate upstairs bedrooms, with multiple gunshot wounds.

The walls and carpets were covered in blood and officers spotted numerous spent shells, an inquest at Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard.

Steven had sent an email to family friend of more than 40 years, Kenneth Petch addressed to his parents in which he wrote in the subject line: ‘Please relay this to Roy and Rita.’

It read: ‘Hi mum and dad, this is Steve. I do this to protect Emma.

‘It’s taken me 18 years but I realise that I have wandered down the wrong path with the wrong person and that I have been manipulated for too long.

‘I cannot bear the thought of this happening to a special 12-year-old and if I don’t intervene, she will be left to the wolves all alone.

‘You were wonderful parents, none of this is your fault or could have been prevented.

The family home in Saratoga County

The family home in Saratoga County

‘I’m sorry to produce such chaos but hopefully, there are good memories too.

‘I remember many happy times during our visits. You always made us feel welcome and loved.

‘Please focus on the good times, there were truly many good times. I do this to protect Emma. Love Steve.’

Steven was born on August 28, 1972, at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and grew up with Roy and Rita Jones, who legally adopted him aged five-months-old.

He worked for the family engineering firm before studying at the University of Liverpool, from where he graduated with a first class honours degree in electrical engineering.

Steven relocated to California around 20 years ago where he met his wife Jennifer, an inquest heard.

The pair moved to New York in 2006 after Steven took a position working at GlobalFoundries, an American semiconductor foundry  that manufactures in high volume mostly for semiconductor companies such as AMD, Broadcom, Qualcomm, and STMicroelectronics.

In a read statement from PC Katie Baines, of South Yorkshire Police, she told how Steven would visit his parents most summers with his wife and daughter.

His parents described him as a ‘family man’ and said they had not been aware of any financial, health or marital difficulties.

Steven’s father told police his son had not seemed his ‘usual chirpy self’ when he called a few days before his death.

Yet on December 12, Steven, who held dual citizenship, had again called his parents and told them he and Jennifer were both well and Emma had been to tennis coaching.

Doncaster Coroner's Court heard Jones had not been his normal 'chirpy' self in the days before the apparent double murder suicide

Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard Jones had not been his normal ‘chirpy’ self in the days before the apparent double murder suicide

Just days after news of the tragedy was broken to them, his parents received a Christmas card, calendar and selection of five photos of the family looking happy together post stamped December 12.

PC Baines said in her statement that police in America had found no suspicious circumstances and were treating the tragedy as a double-murder suicide.

Senior coroner Nicola Mundy recorded a conclusion of suicide and said Steven’s cause of death was a gunshot injury to the chest.

She said: ‘On December 14, 2018, Mr Jones’ employer raised concerns for his welfare and this led to the police attending Mr Jones’ home address.

‘The police looked through the windows and in the end gave entry to the property by forcing the french doors.

‘Once inside the property it was then they quickly discovered the body of Mr Jones that was lying on the floor in the sitting room.

‘He had a gunshot wound to his chest and a shotgun by his side, he was clearly deceased at that time.

‘There was further investigation in the property which led to the police discovering two further bodies, one Mr Jones’ wife Jennifer, and the other his daughter Emma, both of whom suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

‘An investigation was then carried out by New York State Police and they concluded that there were no suspicious circumstances attached to Mr Jones’ death.

‘Their conclusion was that Mr Jones had shot his wife and his daughter, after which he turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the chest.

‘I am returning a conclusion of suicide. There is no other evidence to suggest he didn’t understand the consequences.

‘I also rely upon the email sent to his friend which sets out his motivation for taking the action that he did.’

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. 

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