TYLER, Texas — A Tyler man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing his roommate in March 2022.
Timothy Eugene Jones, 27, entered a guilty plea to murder Friday morning in connection with the death of Anthony Wilson, 53, of Tyler. He then received a 40-year sentence.
Judge Austin Reeve Jackson of the 114th District Court said he would receive credit for time served in the Smith County Jail since his arrest.
Timothy Jones is among three people charged in Wilson's death. Edna Jones, 30, and Christian Navon Whitney-Polk, 20, of Tyler, are both charged with tampering with evidence (a human corpse). Their cases remain ongoing.
Wilson's body was found in a heavily wooded area on March 27, 2022.
According to an arrest affidavit, Timothy Jones and Wilson lived in a three-bedroom house in the 3000 block of West Gentry Parkway with one person each renting a different room. The landlord reported seeing blood on Wilson’s bed and blood smeared on the side of his door.
An officer found blood spatter on the wall behind the bed, what looked like brain matter on the bed, a bullet fragment on the bed, shattered glass, bedside table that was turned upside down and a lamp on the ground, the affidavit stated.
Edna Jones told police she saw Timothy Jones and another man carry Wilson’s body out of his apartment and into Wilson’s Ford Explorer, according to the affidavit.
Using cell phone data, police found Wilson’s Ford Explorer, which had blood inside and outside of the vehicle, at a house on Alice Street in Tyler, the document said.
In an interview with police, Edna Jones saw Timothy Jones and the other man wrapping Wilson in a black comforter. She believed Wilson was dead because Timothy Jones shot him, according to the affidavit.
She heard Timothy Jones call Wilson “nosey” as he and the other man placed Wilson’s dead body into the Ford Explorer. Timothy Jones told her to clean the blood off certain areas of the apartment, which she then cleaned, the document read.
Police said Wilson's vehicle was driven to the creek area, the body was removed and it was possibly placed in the creek, the affidavit stated.
Police located Wilson’s body near a railroad bridge within 20 to 30 feet of the black comforter and other items found on the creek bank, according to the document.