Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Married to Evil: Control Freak to Killer’ chronicles how Olivia Jones was murdered inside her Beaumont, Texas, home on Valentine’s Day 2019. The police investigators solved the crime on the same day and arrested the perpetrator almost immediately. According to reports, the detectives apprehended the killer with the help of surveillance footage found inside Olivia’s home and aid from the victim’s family.
How Did Olivia Jones Die?
Olivia Dawn Simmons was born to James O. Barlow and the late Anita Barlow in Beaumont in Jefferson County, Texas, on July 19, 1980. She was the oldest of the five children in her household, and her younger brother, Joshua Simmons, described her as a “beautiful person.” Olivia graduated from Everest University-South Orlando in Tampa, Florida, and joined the tax business. She worked at the Matrix Tax Service and built an extremely successful character.
Her younger sister, Brittney Simmons, mentioned how Olivia was always into business-oriented things. According to family sources, she married her childhood sweetheart, Al, in 1999 and gave birth to two daughters, including Ariel Turk. After the birth of their second daughter, Olivia’s marriage fell apart. Brittney recalled, “The divorce with Al was extremely upsetting and disappointing for Olivia. It made her insecure, which hampered her future relationships.” However, she kept pursuing her elder sister to meet new people.
Brittney’s persistence paid off as Olivia met and started dating Christopher Ray Jones in 2009 spring. He worked as a guard in the Texas Correctional system, and Olivia’s family was relieved that she had finally moved on. Hence, it was shocking when the 38-year-old was shot in the back of her head inside her Beaumont, Texas, home on Valentine’s Day 2019. Christopher called 911, and the officers arrived at the crime scene to arrest the perpetrator immediately.
Who Killed Olivia Jones?
According to the lead detective, the first responders arrived at the scene to find Christopher panicking and rushing them into the bedroom where Olivia was lying on her stomach. She was partially clothed, and the officers rolled the body over to discover an exit wound through her right eye. There was blood spatter on the walls and a great deal of blood inside the room. The police noticed several surveillance cameras inside the room and decided to gather the footage for clues before interviewing an apparently distressed Christopher.
Christopher claimed he and his late spouse were arguing, and he stated he wanted to leave her and sought a divorce. According to the husband, Olivia remarked if she could not have him, she would be dead and grabbed a loaded gun from their bedside table. Due to the nature of his job, Christopher claimed he had several loaded weapons scattered throughout his home. However, the police checked the tape and other evidence to find nothing indicating she was suicidal that day.
The police brought Christopher in for an interview, where the prison guard claimed he “worked hard and always wanted everyone to reciprocate in the same manner.” He claimed Olivia “was not trying her best” and was flouting the rules he made for his household. He told the detectives he wanted a divorce for those reasons, but Olivia was allegedly upset to hear that. Christopher claimed his late wife stormed into the house, went straight to the bedroom, and put a loaded gun to her head.
According to the interview, Christopher claimed he tried to stop her and pull the gun out of her hand. But Olivia allegedly yanked at the last moment, and the gun went off, fatally shooting her through her eye. When the officers wanted to access the surveillance footage of the multiple cameras installed throughout the house, Christopher willingly gave them. However, the detectives found most of the videos had been deleted, which could have corroborated his version of events.
When the police charged him with whether he had deleted the videos, Christopher initially blamed it on the faulty surveillance system. Eventually, he relented and told the officers he allegedly panicked and deleted some of the videos — a move his defense counsel later labeled a “monumentally stupid” mistake but argued that individuals do not always make intelligent decisions in challenging moments. However, Christopher had confessed to the detectives in his interview he deleted the videos because he was afraid it would make him look “bad.”
The police also interviewed Olivia’s family members, including her siblings and Ariel, to learn Christopher had allegedly always been controlling and abusive. He had allegedly physically abused and repeatedly threatened Olivia when things did not go according to his will and separated her from her family. During the March 2022 trial, Ariel constantly told the jury her mother was not suicidal, while the prosecution described the victim as a “Godly person” and painted her as a loving wife.
Christopher was indicted in April 2019 after being accused of Beaumont’s first homicide that year. He faced charges of murder and manslaughter and pleaded not guilty. The defense reiterated their client’s version of the mishap resulting from a struggle as Christopher attempted to prevent Olivia from suicide. They claimed Christopher believed his conduct necessary to stop his wife from harming herself, which she allegedly had made threats about in the past.
Christopher Ray Jones is in Prison Now
The prosecution, however, called Christopher Jones a “liar” who liked to be in control and put on “an act” for innocence. They also reminded the jury of the discrepancies in his story, including an original recounting of the struggle with the gun. The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office stated, “The State refuted all these false claims by showing the inconsistent stories Jones gave from 911 calls, body cameras, home security videos, and his statement to support the conviction of murder.”
The defense countered the claims by playing Christopher’s 911 call to the jury, including his pleas to the operator to send help for his wife. They attempted to paint him as a man who reacted wrongly in a moment of panic and shock. The defense counsel claimed, “You have to put yourself in that scenario and make a split-second decision. She had done it before, and she had done it in front of him.” The prosecutor maintained Christopher never wavered in saying his wife was attempting suicide.
However, they stated the details surrounding the situation changed in his retellings, including about who was holding the gun — him or his wife— when it went off. They argued Christopher’s inconsistencies served as evidence of his guilt as his defense fell apart. The jury unanimously found Christopher guilty of murder in the death of his late spouse. He faced 5 to 99 years of life in prison for first-degree felony murder. Following a negotiation, he was sentenced to 30 years in exchange for waiving his rights to appeal. The 44-year-old is incarcerated at the John M. Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas, and will be eligible for parole in 2037.
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