Aphrodite Jones True Crime Author

With eight best selling crime books under her belt, Aphrodite Jones has become a internationally recognized authority on true crime. For over a decade, Jones has provided TV commentary and insight into the psychological profiles of criminals and victims on such shows as The Today Show, MSNBC Investigates, Catherine Crier Live, American Justice, America's Most Wanted, The CBS Early Show, CNN Newsstand, The Abrams Report, Live with Paula Zahn, Geraldo at Large, Inside Edition, Extra!, The New Detectives, Montel Williams, Medical Detectives, Primetime Justice with Nancy Grace, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Heartland, The Live Desk, The Big Story, and The O'Reilly Factor.

In her seventeen years of experience as a crime profiler, Jones has made literally hundreds of television and radio appearances to offer her expert opinions on high-profile trials including: Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, Robert Blake, and the BTK Killer, to name just a few. But, in the interest of fighting crime, Jones doesn't limit herself simply to high profile crimes. Jones will cover any crime that sheds light on the ills of society, hoping to make people proactive in the war against crime. Her method is simple: "Any time there's a crime that might seem controversial, I'm there to help people get answers," Jones says.

"The public is more interested in real-life crime today because we're all dealing with it in our own backyards," Jones insists, "and now, more than ever, people should begin to take action to protect themselves." As a journalist who works closely with law enforcement, Jones thinks people need to become more active in protecting themselves and those around them. "Help your local law enforcement, start more neighborhood watches," Jones says. "Law enforcement resources are limited. People should realize this and do whatever it takes to make their world a safer place." Over the years, Jones has been quoted as a crime expert in publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Miami Herald, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. Three of her books have been turned into films, the most famous being her book All She Wanted, which was transformed into the Academy Award® winning film, Boys Don't Cry.

Early in her career, Jones was a nationally syndicated columnist for United Features Syndicate, writing celebrity profiles and covering the evolution of cable television. After five years of what she considered "fluff" reporting, Jones took her first step into the crime world when in 1990, Jones wrote a book about an FBI agent gone bad. The agent, Mark Putnam, was the first Special Agent in the history of the FBI to plead guilty to manslaughter. At the urging of her publisher, Pinnacle Books, Jones took on the "secrets of the FBI" and wrote The FBI Killer, a book that was subsequently made into the ABC-TV movie, Betrayed By Love, starring Patricia Arquette. Jones wrote A Perfect Husband, the story of Michael Peterson, which became the acclaimed 2007 Lifetime movie, The Staircase Murders.

With the success of her first book, Jones was forced into "the world of crime." Next, she would profile four teenage girls who committed unspeakable acts of violence in her book, Cruel Sacrifice. Jones' 1993 account of teen killers became an instant best seller, hitting The New York Times list at number 4, where it remained for over three months. To this day, Cruel Sacrifice is considered a "cult classic" by crime buffs, and it has been heralded as the "first book to chronicle the epic teen violence problem" in America.

In her third book, Jones investigated, researched, and developed the controversial story of Brandon Teena, the transsexual FTM who was murdered in Nebraska as a result of a hate crime. The book, All She Wanted, recounts the transgender life and death of Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon, challenging the public's ideas about gender stereotypes and sexual freedom. When Jones' book was transformed into the Academy Award® winning film, Boys Don't Cry, Jones took her hat off to best actress Hilary Swank, who was able to bring the message about Brandon Teena to an audience of millions.

Jones' next book, Della's Web, was not only a national best seller, but was also a vehicle for discussions about the taboo subject of "domestic violence against men." In her book, Jones was able to tell the story of man-hater Della Dante, a woman who changed her appearance, trapped men into marriage, only to then torture and violate them in every way possible. Della Dante had seven husbands, six of whom told tales of being threatened at gun-point, threatened with knives, and having their homes burnt to the ground. However, it wasn't until Della Dante killed husband number seven, a prominent surgeon from Cincinnati, that she was held accountable for her actions.

At her highly dramatic sentencing in Cincinnati, Ohio, the judge gave Della Dante the maximum sentence under the law, proclaiming that Della Dante was worse than any black widow in history. "It is not fair to compare you to a black widow spider, because a black widow spider does not disguise itself," the judge told her. The judge likened Della Dante to a creature called the lion-fish, which, unlike a black widow, "attracts its prey through its appearance, and then consumes all that comes close to it." The bizarre crime story gained the attention of Dateline NBC, MSNBC, A&E, and was featured on shows such as Inside Edition and Good Morning America. To this day, Della’s Web continues to be the subject of new documentaries about “Women Who Kill.”

In her fifth book, The Embrace: A True Vampire Story, Jones tackled the subject of violent gothic teens living in America's Bible Belt. The Embrace exposes a world of teen violence and kids in "mafia trenchcoats," revealing the apathy and rage hidden in youths living in quiet suburban neighborhoods in the South. As a best-selling author and journalist, Jones was able to get exclusive interviews with the teen killers, and was able to expose the "unique and sinister bond of four brainwashed teens" involved in the killing of two adults. The central character, "cult" leader Rod Ferrell, was age 16 when he bludgeoned his friend's parents to death in a bedroom community just outside of Orlando, Florida. The teen killer, a self-avowed "Antichrist," continues to be the subject of controversy, claiming he has "supernatural powers" even as he serves his life-long sentence behind prison walls. The Embrace has become the recent focus of a two-hour special, The Secret Lives of Vampires, for A&E Network. The Embrace has been optioned as a feature film by Zoom Entertainment, and is slated to hit theatres in 2008.

When Jones delved into her next book, Red Zone: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling, her work once again made national and international headlines. Jones covered the horrific dog mauling of star athlete Dianne Whipple for over a year, gaining exclusive access to dog owners Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller. Going beyond the world of the two attorneys convicted for the actions of their "fighting" dogs, Jones entered into the nightmare world of California prison gangs, and the notorious Aryan Brotherhood member, Paul "Cornfed" Schneider. As a relentless investigator, Jones penetrated the walls of the supermax prison, Pelican Bay, to bring readers Red Zone, a troubling tale of conspiracy, drugs, bizarre sex, and gruesome cold-blooded homicide. For her efforts, Jones was acknowledged as the only journalist who "blows the cover off the case." And in 2003, Jones was heralded as "one of the chief practitioners of the true-crime genre."

In A Perfect Husband, Jones chronicles the story of novelist-turned-murderer, Michael Peterson. The novelist, Peterson, claimed he "found" his wife dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Durham, North Carolina, mansion. However, it was later discovered that another woman in his life, Elizabeth Ratliff, was also "found dead" at the bottom of a staircase in Graefenhausen, Germany. Even though Michael Peterson hired famed forensic scientist, Dr. Henry Lee, who argued his innocence before a jury, Michael Peterson was ultimately convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to serve life without parole. With the publication of A Perfect Husband, Jones was praised for her "unparalleled insider access" as an investigative writer. Her book was optioned by Lion's Gate TV and the adaptation recently aired on Lifetime Television as a film called The Staircase Murders. Starring Treat William and Kevin Pollack, The Staircase Murders aired in April 2007, and won immediate praise from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, as well as hundreds of TV critics all across America.

In her latest work, Michael Jackson Conspiracy, Jones examines the media’s role in the court of public opinion, using evidence and exhibits from the highly-charged molestation trial against Michael Jackson. Over 2,200 credentialed media were reporting live from Santa Maria, and many were reporting with bias, in anticipation of a guilty verdict. When all the dust settled, and the media realized the Santa Barbara DA had no case, Jones saw that the “Emperor had no clothes,” that DA Tom Sneddon was on a witch hunt for Jackson, and Jones was the only journalist to come out with a tell-all.

In Michael Jackson Conspiracy, Jones proves that the media used all its power to sway public opinion, regardless of the facts being presented in court. The book is a scathing indictment of the media that earned her an “Outstanding Journalist” Award from the Brookins A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles, and has garnered attention from countries all over the world, from Germany to New Zealand; from France to China.

Following in the footsteps of those greats who came before her, Truman Capote and Dominick Dunne, Jones attends the high-profile trials, and spends a lot of time with the criminals and their victims. She’s a writer who gets “personal” with the people in her stories -- she learns from friends, families, neighbors, and relatives, all about the juicy, yet terrorizing details in any given crime.

As an investigative reporter who also covers crime stories for FOX News, and other TV networks, Jones digs deep into the lives of people involved in bizarre crime cases. Unlike TV reporters, Jones gets the story behind the media hype, and is not reliant on “sound bites.”

One of her missions, in writing crime books, is to help people gain some clear insight into the warning signs that can lead to real-life violence. Jones honestly believes that if people become more acutely aware of strange “warning signs,” senseless crimes might be prevented.

Throughout her years an on-camera as a "crime expert," Jones has commented on cases ranging from O.J. Simpson to Kobe Bryant to Michael Jackson, and is considered an expert on notorious cases such as Scott and Laci Peterson, the BTK Killer, the Menendez Brothers, Charles Manson, Robert Blake, and JonBenet Ramsey. In over 17 years of reporting on these high-profile crimes, Jones has become an internationally recognized authority in the field of crime, particularly crimes associated with scandal.

Within the scope of her crime-writing career, Jones created and hosted a reality TV show called The Justice Hunters, which aired on USA Network just days before the tragedy of 9/11. In the weeks following the terrorist attack on the United States, Jones did an investigative television piece for Extra! in which she uncovered the secret life of Ziad Jarrah, the suicide pilot, who took control of Flight 93.

It was during that time that Jones realized the need for citizens to become proactive in crime-fighting and self protection. The heroes of Flight 93 stopped a jumbo jet that was most-likely heading to the White House or the Capitol. For years, Jones has done the research. Now, more than ever, she is determined to dedicate herself to the field of real-crime, hoping to inspire the public to become proactive in helping make everyone’s world a safer place. Beyond that, Jones will continue to expose any biased media reportage, in her ongoing effort to force people to think for themselves.