Passers-By Turn Murder-Suicide House Into Shrine

On an armchair in front of the modest brown Reseda house, someone has left a large bouquet with a card that reads: “We wish we could have been of help.”

The flowers with the unsigned card are a poignant reminder of the tragedy that occurred here a week ago, a tragedy that authorities say might have been avoided if family and friends had heeded early warning signs.

Last Tuesday, Roxanne Jones, apparently despondent over the breakup of her marriage and her struggle to provide for her three children, shot them to death as they slept, then turned the gun on herself.

In the last week, the home that she rented has been turned into a shrine by friends, family and strangers who have left flowers on the doorstep, tacked rosary beads on the doors, and scrawled messages of love and affection on the walls. A family photo of Jones and her three children--Brandi Fernandez, 15, Leticia Fernandez, 13, and Jeremiah Jones, 7--was pinned to the front door.

Passers-by stop daily to gaze at the scene, peer into the windows of the house, and discuss the tragedy. Catching a glimpse of a tiny pair of skates inside a back room, one visitor covered her mouth in horror. “What happened here?” she asked.

Jones’ estranged second husband, Jeff Jones, and his brothers have placed cardboard signs in front of the house announcing that a funeral fund has been established at Citicorp Savings in Woodland Hills and that donations are welcome.

Brandi and Leticia Fernandez--daughters of Jones’ first husband, Joaquin Fernandez of San Fernando--will not be buried at the same time as their mother and their younger brother, members of the Jones family said.

The girls are scheduled to be buried today after a private service open to Fernandez family members only.

The mother and son will be buried in an adjacent plot at the Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth on Friday at 1 p.m., said Steve Jones, Jeremiah’s uncle.