Austin Jones: South Carolina man charged in death of woman who died after he tried to break into her home
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA: A man has reportedly been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a South Carolina woman after she succumbed to a heart attack days after he attempted to break into her home. After months of investigation, Austin Thomas Jones, 40, who was apprehended on the day of the crime and released later, was now held responsible for her death.
The alleged break-in transpired on July 24, 2022, in North Myrtle Beach, and the woman, who has not been named, died just days later on July 28. Police promptly ruled out the death as a homicide, arresting Jones once again on Wednesday, November 9, setting his bail at a $2,500 bond. He has since been released, according to the Daily Mail.
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Who is Austin Thomas Jones?
On July 24, 2022, police responded to a frantic call from the late victim at 20th Avenue South. She informed the officers that a man was punching at her back window and screaming at her, attempting to enter her home. When the police arrived and arrested Jones, noted he was "grossly intoxicated." Police also found some plastic baggies later determined to contain cocaine, less than a gram in total. The suspect was bleeding from his knuckle and reeked of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot. While the police dealt with Jones, they noted another pressing issue at hand.
The woman after calling 911 had fallen into cardiac arrest. One of the responding officers realized the woman's breathing was abnormally low and soon, she became unresponsive and the medical team was called. After CPR was administered, the woman regained a pulse and was taken to a hospital but sadly she died a few days later. Despite this, Jones was released just 13 hours after his original offense with only charging for a first-offense possession charge for the cocaine and a felony and another public disorderly charge, reported Daily Mail.
On Tuesday, months after the original offense, an autopsy administered by the Medical University of South Carolina determined that the woman suffered the heart attack because of "stress caused by the attempted home invasion." Police subsequently declared the month-long case as a homicide and issued an arrest warrant for Jones. He was arrested from his home in North Myrtle Beach, located a 15-minute drive from the late woman's residence.
On Wednesday, police booked him at a nearby J Reuben Long Detention Center. Jones was since released and awaits trial. If found guilty, he could face five years in state prison.