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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Estel Farell Roig

The dad-of-two who was left for dead on Stokes Croft an hour after a quiet pint

Just before 10pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 Evan Jones had enjoyed a drink at the Beaufort pub in York Road, Montpelier.

An hour later he was left for dead, lying unconscious in a pool of blood, after being viciously beaten with a chain on Stokes Croft. Twenty years later, his killer - or killers - have never been found.

Punched, kicked and attacked with a chain, the father-of-two was left for dead in the busy street and the weapon – believed to be a bike or a large dog chain – was never found.

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However, detectives were convinced of two things: that Mr Jones knew his attacker and that others must have witnessed the horror of the sustained beating.

But still, all these years later, no one has even been convicted of his murder and the killer is still on the loose.

Piecing together his last steps that night, Mr Jones was thought to have left the pub after his Guinness usual to go for a takeaway and then gone back to his City Road flat in St Paul's.

While there he somehow injured his leg and left the flat – some believed he was fleeing the area and others thought he was looking for help or on his way to hospital.

But Mr Jones, wearing a distinctive red and white patterned Arab-style headdress, that night stopped on Drummond Street and while there he called an old girlfriend, Aude Dumoulin who lived in France at 10.49pm.

Witnesses said the former rugby player approached another man and a fight broke out outside the Avonmead House flats. A 999 call reporting a fight was made at 10.55pm, but what happened in the six minute window has never been discovered or entirely clear.

Many people came forward saying they had seen a man being beaten with a chain, who then fled towards the city centre. But witnesses all gave different descriptions of the attacker, while some said there was more than one attacker.

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Another man is thought to have joined in – kicking and punching Mr Jones, who originated from Chippenham but had lived in the city for more ten years, while he lay helplessly on the floor.

Stokes Croft at the time, like now, was a busy place at night and was an area a lot of people went out for a drink. But back in 2002, it was a more violent place and was known as a fighting hotspot of the city.

This – and a lack of CCTV in the area – meant a lot of confusion surrounding the fight and Mr Jones' death.

After his attackers ran off, the father was taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary but never gained consciousness and was later pronounced dead. A post-mortem revealed he had suffered a heart attack that evening as well.

Police also discovered that Mr Jones had mentioned to bar staff he had been the victim of a robbery shortly before his death and that he wanted to move out of Bristol. Whether the two crimes were connected has never been established.

Officers began working with the local hostels in the area to try and get some information as to what might have happened on that deadly evening. But detectives were still left baffled.

The Bristol Evening Post printed out posters appealing for information and a Crimewatch reconstruction was aired. It showed Mr Jones, who was white, about 5ft 11in, stocky, with short, dark brown/ginger hair, was wearing glasses, a brown coat, grey fleece, green trousers and black shoes, and his movements on the night he died.

But no significant information was ever passed on and slowly the team of investigators who had been working on the case for seven months was gradually scaled down.

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Mr Jones' daughters Hannah Barnett, then aged 26, and her sister Naomi Jones, then 22, who both lived in Wiltshire made emotional appeals for information.

They spoke of how they had not had contact with their father, who was also known by his middle name John, for some years.

But they were beginning to re-build their relationship with him when he was brutally attacked.

Hannah said: "My sister and I feel cheated and robbed of the chance to get to know him better and have a decent relationship with him.

"This has been a deeply distressing ordeal for everyone in our family and we would not want any other family to have to go through what we have suffered since our dad's death.

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"Dad had a friendly and outgoing personality and had time for everyone, especially the homeless. Over the last few years he discovered a talent for sculpture which he did for the love of it.

"We want to know why he was killed.

"We are sure there are still people out there who have not come forward and have vital information."

A year later police said they were still trying to trace four key witnesses who had not come forward, but were believed to have vital information.

It included a man, thought to be Somalian, who was using a phone opposite Chicken Lickin' in Stokes Croft, two Asian men stood at Avonmead House bus stop and another Asian man using his mobile at the junction of Stokes Croft and City Road.

Police also tried to trace two drivers who took action to avoid knocking down two men who looked like they were fighting around the time of the murder.

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Five years later, officers admitted they were at a dead end with the murder probe even though it remained open. They had made arrests over the years, but nothing of any significance came to light and the killer continued to evade justice.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement this week: "Our thoughts continue to be with Evan Jones’ family following his tragic murder 20 years ago.

“A number of reviews of the case have taken place over the years but regrettably, those responsible for this horrific crime have not yet been brought to justice. No case is ever closed and we remain hopeful we will one day be able to provide Mr Jones’ family with the answers they deserve.

“Scientific techniques are constantly advancing and in time, they could well provide new lines of enquiry which may prove to be the key to identifying the offenders and securing convictions against them.

“We’re grateful for all the information provided to us in relation to this case and continue to appeal for anyone who knows anything which might help us solve it to get in touch.

“No piece of information is ever too small, if know have any information please contact our Major Crime Review team via 101.”

READ MORE: Woman cleared of murdering her ex-husband "gloated" about killing him during another assault

Read more: Abattoir workers tortured man before stabbing him to death, court told

Read more: Rogue builder jailed after using false names and carrying out 'poor standard' work

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