Manhunt on after four killed and three children abducted

POLICE in America were last night hunting for a man feared to have murdered four people in their home before abducting three children.

It emerged that the bodies of the four dead were found at two separate homes. A man and a woman were found dead at one home, and a woman and a 10-month-old girl at another.

American police launched a massive manhunt for Jerry William Jones, aged 31.

Gordon County Sheriff’s spokesman Clent Harris said Jones was the father of two of the missing girls and former stepfather of the third.

He is considered armed and dangerous.

The three children are Brittany Phelps, 10, Brandy Jones, four, and Tammy Jones, three. They appear to have been snatched from the house in north west Georgia, police said.

Investigators said the four people were killed between 11am and 2pm on Wednesday.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Jones by Gordon County Sheriff’s department. Jones is thought to be the father of two of the girls, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman.

An “amber alert” was issued for the girls, meaning their descriptions and details of the case were immediately sent to local media.

The registration number and description of the vehicle Jones is believed to be driving was also flashed on signs on highways.

The murder scenes at the two homes in north west Georgia showed that the killer was “very methodical”, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.

“This wasn’t quick. He clearly took his time,” he said.

The missing girls’ mother, who authorities say was divorced from Jones, was in Oregon at the time.

Gordon County Sheriff Jerry Davis said Jones had been in the county jail before, mainly for minor traffic charges.

“We’ve had him in our jail.

“We’re going to put him back on the chain gang he was on,” he said.