Elderly Man Gets 115 Years In Prison For Rape-Murder Committed In 1998

A 61-year-old Indiana man was sentenced to 115 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 26-year-old woman Kenya Edwards, 20 years after the crime was committed.

Johnny Jones had set victim’s house on fire in November of 1998. His case was reviewed by cold-case specialists in 2009, followed by the submission of DNA evidence to a national data bank. In 2015, the investigators matched the DNA evidence from the crime scene to Jones. He was charged the same year for the crime, reports The Associated Press.

Jones has been awarded 65 years for Edward's murder and another 50 for rape. The crime was committed at an eastern Indianapolis home located near 38th Street and North Tacoma Avenue. Police had found that the victim's wrists and legs had been bound with electrical cords. There were signs of a struggle in the house and a rear window was also found broken. According to the autopsy report, Edwards died from smoke inhalation and burns.

As per the reports, Jones was already in prison after being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, when he was charged for the murder of Edwards.

Similar cases of long sentences have been reported in the past. Michael Begin Jr. of Jeffersonville was recently sentenced to 100 years in prison after he pleaded guilty of molesting children. Reports said that when he was working at the Clark County Family YMCA, he had molested children between three and eight years of age. In 2007, Sergeant Paul Cortez, 24, representing the U.S. army, was served with a similar sentence for rape and murder of a 14-year old girl and the killing of the victim’s parents and sister.