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Daniel Jones, right, sits next to attorney Frank Kocka in District Court on Wednesday. Jones is accused of murder in the slaying of his younger brother, Steven. Photo by JOHN LOCHER/ REVIEW-JOURNAL

Thursday, August 01, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Famed pathologist to testify in case

Man on trial in younger brother's death

Daniel Jones clearly cared for his little brother, a witness said.

He got Steven Jones a job at a Las Vegas stone company. He drove him to and from the job, and he let Steven and his girlfriend live with him even though his younger brother didn't pay rent.

But something went horribly wrong between the two in April 2001. When an argument between the siblings was over, Steven Jones was dead from a stab wound to the heart, and Daniel Jones was in jail, charged with murder.

In a trial that is expected to feature the testimony of well-known forensic pathologist Michael Baden, a jury on Wednesday began the process of determining whether the killing was murder, manslaughter or simply an accident.

"They were pretty close," said Daniel Jones' girlfriend, Dana Ainslie. "Dan picked on Steven a little bit, but that was it."

In the courtroom of District Judge John McGroarty, Ainslie tearfully told of how the brotherly love went haywire April 29, 2001.

On that day, Ainslie said she and Daniel Jones were taking a nap at their condominium in the 1400 block of Linnbaker Lane, near Owens Avenue and Lamb Boulevard. When Steven Jones returned home, Daniel Jones asked his brother for a ride to cash his paycheck. Steven Jones had wrecked the couple's car in a prior hit-and-run accident.

She said Steven Jones refused to give his brother a ride, saying he had other plans.

"Steven was taking advantage of us, and he couldn't even help us out by taking him to cash his paycheck," she said.

The brothers argued, and Steven approached Daniel.

"He said Daniel wasn't his brother anymore, and that this was a long time coming," Ainslie said.

Ainslie said she believed Steven Jones was about to beat up her boyfriend as the argument continued into the kitchen.

There are no direct witnesses to what happened next.

"I remember hearing Steven say, `What are you going to do, stab me?' " Ainslie testified.

"No," she said Daniel Jones responded. "Just get out."

Seconds later, "Steven walked by with his hand over his chest, and Daniel walked by holding a knife."

Within minutes, police were at the scene, and Steven Jones was dead on the ground in front of the condominium.

"Oh my God!" Ainslie quoted Daniel Jones as saying. "What did I do? I'm so sorry.

"I know I'm going to jail," Daniel Jones continued, according to Ainslie's testimony. "I need to put on my shirt and socks."

As bystanders circled the body in front of the condominium, Las Vegas patrol officer James Baker arrived and asked what had happened.

"He said `I did this,' " Baker quoted Daniel Jones as saying.

One of Jones' attorneys, Frank Kocka, told the jury Daniel will take the witness stand later in the trial. Baden, the nationally known forensic pathologist, also will appear on behalf of the defense. Baden could testify as early as Friday.

Baden was a crucial witness in the Ted Binion murder trial, theorizing that the Las Vegas gaming figure died from burking, a method of killing designed to leave no marks on a corpse. Burking occurs when pressure is placed on someone's chest at the same time the mouth and nose are obstructed.

Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her lover, Rick Tabish, were convicted of the murder.

Officials declined to speculate about what Baden will say when he gets on the witness stand. During questioning of witnesses Wednesday, however, defense attorney Jennifer Bolton suggested the stabbing could have been an accident.

Clark County forensic pathologist Gary Telgenhoff performed an autopsy for the case. He told Bolton there was no way to determine whether Steven Jones was deliberately stabbed or if, as Bolton put it, "the body was thrust onto the knife."

But under cross examination from Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo, Telgenhoff questioned the possibility of someone "falling on a knife" given the evidence in the Jones case.

"I have a very difficult time believing that is a plausible scenario," Telgenhoff said.

Testimony in the case is expected to continue today.