Suspected Serial Killer Sentenced to Death in Ala. Murder

MOBILE, Ala. – A suspected serial killer was sentenced to death Thursday for the rape and murder of an Alabama woman, whose slaying led authorities to link him to more than 10 other killings.

Circuit Judge Charles Graddick called Jeremy Bryan Jones "a danger to civilized society" as he sentenced him to die by injection.

Jones told the court, "God will have the final say," before Graddick sentenced him. An appeal is automatic.

A jury in October recommended the death sentence for the 2004 killing of Lisa Marie Nichols, 44, in Turnerville.

"This is what we wanted," said Nichols' daughter, Jennifer Murphy. "We're going to be there. We're going to make sure it's followed out."

During his trial, Jones blamed Nichols' neighbor for the death, but he said in statements to sheriff's investigators that he killed the victim and burned her body while he was high on methamphetamines.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King said Jones "targeted his prey like any predator" and never showed "even an ounce of remorse."

Defense attorney Greg Hughes sought a life sentence without parole, saying Jones suffered "extreme mental and emotional problems," including long-term drug addiction.

Graddick said Jones' voluntary drug use was "not an excuse for criminal behavior, especially murder."

Authorities say Jones, 32, of Miami, Okla., has given detectives details of other killings, including where they occurred and the victims' names.

He is charged with killing a Georgia teen and a Louisiana woman. He is also a suspect in 10 other deaths — seven in Oklahoma, two in Georgia and one in Kansas.