Neighbor of Springfield homicide victim: 'She was a good lady'

Springfield police released the name of a recent homicide victim on Tuesday, but authorities still aren't saying much about the circumstances surrounding her death.

Neighbors, meanwhile, have been left wondering what happened in the home at the corner of Downing Street and Jefferson Avenue.

Police say Kathi H. (Brown) Jones, 48, of Springfield, was found dead in the south Springfield home on Monday afternoon after someone called 911 to request police check the well-being of the residents.

Police say they arrived at the residence at about 12:30 p.m. and found Jones deceased in the home.

Lt. Fred Beck said police considered the circumstances suspicious, so they obtained a search warrant to do some further investigating. They found enough evidence inside the home to rule the death a homicide.

Police say they do not have a suspect at this time, and anyone with information about the case is asked to call the police department at 864-1810 or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 869-8477.

Ron and Georgia Grace live next door to the scene of the homicide. They said Tuesday they don't know why anyone would want to kill their friendly neighbor.

"We never know everything about everyone," Georgia Grace said. "But what I’m noticing is there doesn’t even have to be a rhyme or reason anymore."

Georgia said Jones used to give her rides to the hospital and the grocery store. Georgia Grace said she remembers Jones playing outside in the yard with her young grandchildren.

"She was a good lady," Georgia said. "She helped us many times."

Georgia said she doesn't sleep well and is often up in the middle of the night looking out the window to check on the neighborhood. She said she hadn't noticed anything suspicious going on next door over the last few days.

Police have not said at this time how Jones was killed or how long she had been dead before authorities arrived. Police have said, however, that it appears to be an isolated incident.

Shane Epperson lives across the street from Jones. He said he was a little concerned about someone being killed a hundred yards from his front door.

"It's definitely a little strange when you have a murder right there," Epperson said. "When we got home yesterday there were like 30 policemen around and the news people."

An autopsy was performed on Jones' body Tuesday to determine the cause of death.

Epperson said he remembers seeing Jones outside the home as recently as Sunday.

Epperson said things were generally quiet at Jones' house. But that wasn't always the case.

Jones — then Kathi Brown — was charged with domestic assault in 2014. The police report from that incident says Jones grabbed another woman by the hair and tackled her to the ground.

The report also says Jones threw a block at the other woman's SUV, which caused a dent in the hood. That case was scheduled to go to trial next month.

Court records indicate a woman filed two different orders of protection against Jones in 2013 and 2014. Those orders of protection say Jones was not allowed to be at the residence on Downing Street.

Crime scene tape was up around the house all afternoon and evening on Monday, but the tape was down on Tuesday and no police cars were at the scene by lunchtime.