NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. -- The murder trials for two Newaygo County brothers accused in the 1989 killing of Shannon Siders started Monday.
Paul Michael Jones and Matthew Wayne Jones, now both in their 40s, were arrested last summer in connection with the cold case. Siders, 18, was found beaten, raped and killed by a hunter in the Manistee National Forest months after her disappearance.
On Monday, there were opening statements and testimony in each of the brothers' trials.
The prosecution is hoping to prove that the Jones brothers, who were 17 and 19 at the time, are responsible for Siders’ death.
In 2012, a cold case team exhumed Siders’ body in the search for more clues. At that time the Jones brothers were not yet charged.
An arrest affidavit from June 2014 said a witness observed Paul Jones drag Shannon, bloody and limp, to a vehicle. Also, the brothers were allegedly overheard talking about hitting her with a mirror, beating and raping her.
Years after Siders’ death, other unreported sexual assault cases surfaced that implicated Matthew as a suspect. Paul was serving time for a home invasion in 2006 where he had a rape kit that included duct tape, condoms, Vaseline, and a stun gun.
When pretrial was delayed last June, brothers left the courtroom with a crude gesture.
We'll have live reports on the Jones trials on FOX 17 News starting at 4 p.m.
