Murder Comes Knocking

A Gift Lures An Unsuspecting Dad To His Death

(CBS)  Investigator decided to question Kelee’s father Phil, who denied any involvement in the killing and told them he couldn’t have shot Jarrod because he was physically incapable of holding or firing a rifle. Phil claimed he had been disabled in a nearly fatal car accident in the early 1980’s, when he worked as a carpenter.

"Phil had painted the picture and told us his hand was crippled. And he couldn’t carry anything," says Sorenson. "Well, we decided to put surveillance on them. Just to see how incapacitated he really is."

Police followed Phil and Mindy with hidden cameras and captured video of Phil picking up what Sorenson believed was a case of wine. "And it’s certainly heavier than a rifle," the detective says.

Asked if Phil was lying, Sorenson says, "Right!”

If Kelee’s father was lying about that, the detective wondered what else he might be lying about.

Phil and Mindy Jones told investigators they were on a beach some 90 miles away from Jarrod when he was ambushed and gunned down. What they didn’t realize was their cell phone was tracking their every move, and it indicated they were nowhere near the beach.

Cell tower records indicated that Kelee placed a call to her parents that night, before the murder occurred, and that they were actually driving down a highway, directly towards Jarrod's apartment.

"Well, that’s very critical. That punches a hole in their alibi being at the beach," says Sorensen.

But there was still the unanswered question about whose DNA was on that plant card holder. Sorensen was shocked to learn it wasn't Kelee's but her mother Mindy's, who he now suspected played a pivotal role in Jarrod’s murder.

"I believe that Malinda [a.k.a. "Mindy"] was the one to put the plan together in exactly how they were going to eliminate him," Sorenson says.

Six months after Jarrod’s fatal shooting, his ex-mother-in-law Mindy Jones was arrested for his murder. Detectives took a closer look at that store surveillance video and now believed it was Mindy, not her daughter Kelee who was seen buying that potted plant used to lure Jarrod out of his apartment.

"When she checked out of the checkout stand she had the sleeves of her sweatshirt pulled up over her hands, which appeared to us she was doing everything she could to cover-up possible fingerprints on the pot," says Sorenson.

But apparently, Mindy let her guard down for just one critical moment-a moment caught on just one frame of that store video. "We see that person appears to reach and grab what we believe was a plastic card holder," Sorenson explains.

It was the moment detectives believed Mindy transferred DNA from her hand to the card holder.

Phil Jones was arrested not long after his wife Mindy. Detectives were now convinced they both murdered their ex-son-in-law.

Sorenson retraced the steps for 48 Hours that detectives believe they took that night.

"Malinda went up to the door, placed the plant down on the doorstep, knocked on his door, while Philip was about 15 to 20 feet away, over in the bushes with that high-powered rifle. Jarrod peered out the window to look to see what was outside. He went to get the plant and at that point Philip Jones shot and killed him," Sorenson says.

Even though Kelee was nowhere near the crime scene, she was also arrested, though her alleged role in all of this was far from clear.