Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03
Tragedy Follows Boy;
Father Found Dead,
Mother Was Suicide
Montgomery Jones was born

Montgomery Jones was born
to tragedy.
When he was, five months old.
last year, his mother plunged to
her death from the eighth floor
of the Munsey Trust Co. The
reason given for the suicide:
grief over the blindness of the
baby Montgomery - the only
child of her 10 years of mar
riage.
Yesterday the body of John
M. Jones, SO, Montgomery's
father, was found in the back
seat of a car in the parking lot
behind the Chesapeake apart
ments, at 4607 Connecticut ave-
nue. NV. Police estimated Mr..
Jones had been dead at least
two weeks, perhaps longer.
Child in Institution
Mercifully, Montgomery-now
| l6 months old-does not know
and will never know the tragedy
of his life. Mentally defective.
he was committed to the Dis
trict Training School at Laurel,
Md, last November.
Police and hospital records
tell the story of the death OF the
| two parents just year apart.
On March 81. 1854, after Mrs.
Bertha Margaret Jones, SO, had
jumped to her death. her hus-
band cried:
That's the end of me. ! can't
live without her. Who's going to
take care of the baby?"
On June 16. 1854. Mr.. Jones
was taken to District General
Hospital with both wrists slashed.
It was not the first time he had
been patient there. He had
slashed his wrists in 1949. On
the second occasion, Mr.. Jones
was diagnosed as an extreme
Oppressive. but was released when
his mother, Mrs. Ann Jones. took
him out on her own responsible
ity.
Meanwhile. the baby had been
placed IN a private institution.
Father Missing
On November IL, 1854, police
received a missing persons report
from Mr.. Jones sister, Mrs. Flea
nor Clark. Mr.. Jones had been
missing since November / from
his mothers apartment at 4545
Connecticut avenue NV.
The mother told police he had
left after a disagreement. Neither
Mrs. Jones nor other relatives
could give any clue to his where
abouts after November /.
Since November 10. when
Montgomery was committed by
the court to the District Train
ing School, he has had no visi-
tors, according to hospital rec
ords. y
Three weeks ago, Mrs. Frances
Mccarthy. manager of the Ches-
apeake Apartments told The
Star yesterday, a tenant in
formed her a car was on the
parking lot with a man in the
back who looks asleep"
She said she did nothing about
it because the lot actually is
District property and she lid
not feel responsible.
Dog Helps Solve Mystery
At 8:15 am. yesterday, an
apartment resident. Reginald w.
TURNKEY. was walking Pat, his
German police dog. The dog
tugged on his leash as they passed
green 1948 sedan and Mr..
Turnley noticed q strong odor.
Mr.. Jones had been located.
The car doors were unlocked.
The window on the drivers side
of the car was rolled halfway
down. The car keys were in Mr..
Jones' pocket. Some capsules
were found in the car. There was
no note.
A preliminary report from the
coroner showed no wounds or
other injuries. It will take a
chemical analysis to determine
if the capsules were the cause
Of death.
Mr.. Jones was listed in various
records as formerly a truck
driver, the employee of a soft
drink company and a Bible
salesman. Born in Washington,
he is survived by his mother.
four brothers and sisters and the
baby Montgomery.
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