Harold Jones (murderer)
Harold Jones (1906 – 1971) was a child killer from Abertillery in Wales.
In 1921, when he was only 15, he was tried at Monmouth Assizes for the murder of an 8-year-old girl, Freda Burnell. However, he was acquitted, and he returned to Abertillery to a hero's welcome. A few weeks afterwards, he murdered 11-year-old Florence "Flossie" Little. This time he pleaded guilty to the murder charge, possibly to avoid being tried after he had turned 16, when he would have been liable to the death penalty (see Capital punishment in the United Kingdom). He also admitted that he had committed the earlier murder, and was sentenced to be detained.
He was released from prison in 1941. Little is known about his subsequent movements, but he died in 1971. It has been suggested by the writer Neil Milkins that following his release he later became the serial killer Jack the Stripper.
References
- Neil Milkins Every Mother's Nightmare
- Neil Milkins Who Was Jack the Stripper? (2011)