Jury struggles to reach verdict for Maryland father accused of shooting children on Christmas Eve in 2024

Jurors deliberating in the trial of a Baltimore County man accused of killing his 4-year-old child on Christmas Eve in 2024 are signaling they are having trouble coming to a unanimous verdict.

Mark Jones Jr. is accused of murdering his 4-year-old son, Jacobi Jones, and injuring his infant daughter and the children's mother in a shooting on Christmas Eve in 2024. He faces life in prison if he is convicted of murder and attempted murder.

On Monday afternoon, jurors wrote a note to the judge saying they were getting nowhere with deliberations. The judge told them to keep working.

Jurors started deliberating on Friday, June 26, and resumed on Monday.

Closing arguments 

During last week's closing arguments, prosecutors detailed what they called a "toxic relationship" between the parents.

They had been arguing for days and exchanging numerous texts, but the prosecution said Promyss Marcelle made it clear that she wanted Jones gone. 

"I'm begging you to leave my apartment," Marcelle wrote in one text. "I don't want you here."

Jones replied, "I don't have to leave." 

Marcelle sent more texts pleading with Jones to leave, with no success on Christmas Eve morning in 2024.

In Jones' final text before the shooting, he wrote to Marcelle, "When you stop the child support, I'll leave."

Marcelle responded, "I'm never stopping it."

Testimony, evidence presented to the jury

Prosecutors said Jones stormed into the bedroom of the apartment in Rosedale where Marcelle was staying with their two children and opened fire with a gun registered in his name. 

Jacobi Jones, 4, was killed in the shooting. Their 1-year-old daughter, Peyton, and the children's mother, Marcelle, were also shot.   

"Every pull of the trigger was a choice. Every pull of the trigger was premeditation," Baltimore County prosecutor Madison Frank told the jury. 

Public defenders representing Jones argued there was a struggle for the weapon and said Marcelle may have pulled the trigger.

The defense attorney said police automatically assumed her client was the suspect from the start.

"The officers did not want to hear what Mark Jones was saying. The die was cast," defense attorney Erin Cullinan told jurors.

Prosecutors stressed that, "All [Marcelle] wanted was to be left alone."

During the trial, jurors saw photos of blood-stained walls, the gun that prosecutors allege Jones used in the shooting, and heard from investigators and family members.

Detectives said the semiautomatic pistol used was registered to Jones. The 4-year-old who died was shot in the middle of his forehead.

Detective Mark Fisher testified that there was "no corroborating evidence from witnesses" that supported the defense's assertion that Marcelle pulled the trigger. 

A video was also shown of investigators questioning Jones from his Johns Hopkins Hospital bed. 

Mourning aunt supports her brother

Jones' older sister Cierra, Jacobi Jones' aunt, told WJZ Investigates that while she is supporting her brother, she is devastated by her nephew's death.

She said the killing has ripped her family apart.

"I'm keeping my nephew Jacobi's name alive,  and I'm here by my brother's side," Cierra said. "Jacobi is living in us every day. That's my only nephew."

Cierra said she will still support her brother, and it doesn't matter who judges her.

"They can judge all they want. Everyone knows who Mark was. Everybody knows who he is," Cierra said. "That's all that matters."