Keisha Jones is behind bars for crushing her husband, Tyrone Taylor, to death with her vehicle in south Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but she claimed it was an accident.
At around 1:150 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2011, law enforcement officers were dispatched to a home in the 2400 block of Morris Street in Grays Ferry after receiving a 911 call about a car accident, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
When they arrived, they discovered Jones next to Taylor as he was leaning against the house. Paramedics also arrived, but there was nothing they could do as Taylor had already succumbed to his injuries.
He was 28 years old.
Jones told authorities that she and Taylor went to a local bar. As they were on their way home, they got into a heated argument about a man she had met the previous night.
The then-30-year-old said Taylor was the jealous type, but she assured him that she had only obtained the man’s address so that she could give it to one of her friends in prison.
Despite her explanation, the argument continued, and at some point, she ordered him to get out of the car.
That’s when he suddenly pulled their black 2002 Acura SUV over, got out, and walked in front of the vehicle’s headlights and was headed toward a vacant lot.
Jones got in the driver’s seat, purportedly turned right, and drove over a sidewalk before hitting Taylor with the vehicle, pushing him into the wall of a house that was 32 feet away and crushing him.
There was a brief pause before Jones backed up and immediately exited the vehicle. She ran toward Taylor and held him in her arms until emergency first responders arrived.
Jones and Taylor had been married for eight years, and they had two children together—Jones had two other children from a previous relationship.
She was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, and possessing an instrument of crime.
The defense attorney in the case suggested that Jones should go on trial for manslaughter, not murder. He stated that there was no evidence that indicated the killing was premeditated.
“She just wanted to chase and scare him,” he said.
Jones told authorities that she and Taylor had arguments before, but they would also make up afterward. She also admitted to getting so angry at Taylor that she had chased him in her car twice before.
But the third time ended in death, and it was captured on a surveillance camera from a corner store.
After watching the grainy video, some commenters expressed that it appeared Jones accidentally killed her husband.
One person stated that Jones never turned the wheel, as it appears the wheels were already turned in Taylor’s direction.
Others say it was deliberate.
As the video was being played in Common Pleas Court, Jones cried loudly.
The prosecutor stated that the “car was used as a deadly weapon,” and the “manipulation of that vehicle shows her intent.”
During the trial, Jones took the stand and said that she and Taylor were “good partners.” They “had the life we never had with our own parents.”
She went on to say that the killing was an accident and that she lost control of the vehicle.
Before leaving the bar, Jones claimed to have had “three to four mixed drinks and four shots.” And when she got into the driver’s seat, Jones said her foot hit the gas pedal, and the gear shift got stuck.
“I did everything in my power to try to stop the car,” Jones said. “I didn’t even know Tyrone was hit… it happened so fast.”
“My whole life crashed in front of me. My husband was dying in my arms.”
Jones wiped away tears as she said, “It was an accident. I did not do it on purpose.”
Prosecutors stated that Jones’ testimony contradicted the statements she originally made to the police. She told them that she “chased after” her husband as he was running through the lot, trying to get to a relative’s home nearby.
She made no mention of a stuck gear shift, prosecutors said.
Jones replied that she did, in fact, inform an officer that the gear was stuck, but she surmised that it didn’t make it into the statements that she signed.
She said she was “distraught and was signing anything” when she was in the interrogation room.
“The statement was important, but me losing my husband was more important,” Jones said. “I guess [the detective] put what he wanted to put.”
On Oct. 28, 2012, Jones was found guilty of first-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime, the SUV, following a four-day trial.
That same day, she was sentenced to life in prison.
After the sentencing, Jones broke down and cried. She screamed, “My kids! My kids! Who’s going to take care of my babies?”
Her children were between the ages of five and 14 at the time.
“I feel justice was done,” said Taylor’s father. “But I’m not happy about the outcome at all.”
He had sympathy for her four children.
She was then let out of the courtroom by a sheriff’s deputy.
In August 2014, Jones filed an appeal. Her sentence was vacated, and she was granted a new trial.
However, as of 2023, Jones is still behind bars, and the details surrounding her new trial, charges, and sentencing are unknown.