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Police Face Questions In Rancho Bernardo Apartment Death

Jennifer Jones Found Stabbed To Death In Rancho Bernardo Apartment

POSTED: 6:25 pm PDT October 29, 2009
UPDATED: 7:37 pm PDT October 29, 2009

10News obtained an internal log from the San Diego Police Department that details how officers responded to a woman's death at a Rancho Bernardo apartment.

On Oct. 22, Jennifer Jones, 28, was on the phone with her mother when she was allegedly stabbed to death, and 10News learned that police did not arrive at the scene until an hour and a half after the incident.

Jones' mother said she heard her daughter scream, and when the cell phone died she called a neighbor and friend in Poway in an effort to check on her daughter. However, after an hour and a half of getting nowhere, Jones' mother called police.

In the dispatch log, Jones' father reported his daughter was walking to her apartment when his wife then heard a loud screech or yell.

Jones' father reported he was unable to contact his daughter on the cell phone after that.

According to the police log, 9 minutes after Jones' father's call to dispatchers, an officer arrived on scene at 4:53 p.m.

The log stated: "When he gets on scene he looks in parking lot. Checks front door, it's locked, looked in through windows, sees nothing …"

At 5:05 p.m., the case was closed after the officer reported no signs of a struggle.

"A little premature of the officer to say, 'Nothing here, let's move on?'" asked 10News Juliette Vara

"In hindsight, it might have been better to pursue this, yes," said Capt. Jim Collins of the San Diego Police Department.

At 5:07 p.m., the case is re-opened and the officer is asked to return.

Collins said, "The parents said, 'Please, we have a feeling. Please go back and check inside."

The officer returns to Jones' apartment complex at 5:20 p.m., and obtained a key from the apartment manager at 5:34 p.m.

Instead of waiting for other officers on their way, the officer enters the apartment at 5:47 p.m. and finds Jones' body.

"If he felt confident the second time to go in, then why didn't he try to go in by force the first time?" asked Vara.

"If he had information that she was attacked in her home, he would've gone in, but the information he had was that she was attacked outside," said Collins.

The SDPD said it is up to the officer to decide whether or not to enter a situation alone.

They can use force to enter homes or buildings if they feel someone is in danger, according to the SDPD.
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