The serene, affluent atmosphere of San Benito County, California, known for its meticulously maintained parks and outdoor spaces, was brutally shattered in September 2012 by a discovery that brought pervasive horror to the community.

The incident immediately revealed the stark difference between the idyllic life promoted by the local government and the deep, possessive violence lurking within a private home.

A local resident, seeking solace on a hike, encountered a shocking, gruesome scene near the secluded Canon Road: the dismembered remains of a woman, a sight so appalling it challenged the veteran investigators who arrived at the scene.

The initial response was swift and total. The Sheriff’s Department, accompanied by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) and the FBI—due to the location bordering a National Park—immediately cordoned off the area.

The sheer brutality of the discovery, described by a lead detective as the most disturbing of his career, confirmed the body was that of a female, completely dismembered. The police initially faced intense media pressure and public speculation, particularly linking the body to a missing 16-year-old student, but forensic work eventually corrected the timeline and identity.

A week after the discovery, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to Norfy Herrera Jones (27), known as Jane, a Filipino immigrant whose life was a determined pursuit of the American Dream. The identification was made through dental records, which was a critical step in a case complicated by the methodical mutilation of the body.

Subsequent forensic examination of Jane’s Monterey residence confirmed the location of the initial crime. Despite the house appearing superficially clean, the use of Luminol chemical revealed extensive traces of blood, confirming the house was the primary scene of the brutal assault.

The revelation of the crime’s location shocked the community, as Monterey was widely considered one of the safest places in the United States.

Jane’s Pursuit of the American Dream and the Spousal Visa

Jane Herrera’s life began in the poverty-stricken province of Leyte, Philippines. The fifth of nine siblings, she was acutely aware of her family’s struggles in farming and seized every opportunity for education.

Though financial constraints limited her to a high school diploma, her ambition was unyielding. She first sought opportunity abroad in Singapore as a domestic worker, quickly earning enough to send regular financial support back home and begin improving her family’s small house.

Her pivotal life decision came when she declined to renew her Singapore contract, choosing instead to pursue the “American Dream” directly. Jane arrived in the U.S. in 2007 on a Spousal Visa, a detail that became central to the negative public narrative that later labeled her a “mail-order bride” or “gold-digger.”

Jane met her husband, Lawrence Jones (65), a highly educated and established Area Chair of Financial Management at the Naval Postgraduate School, in an online chat room while she was still working in Singapore.

The relationship was quick and decisive: Jones proposed upon meeting her, and they married swiftly in the Philippines, enabling her rapid immigration. They settled into a comfortable, spacious home in Monterey, California. Jones, proud of his young wife, often boasted to neighbors about his happiness.

His considerable wealth and high-ranking position allowed Jane to pursue further education and secure a job at a local optical company (LensCrafters). She was known by colleagues as friendly, outgoing, and dedicated, and she sent consistent financial support back to Leyte, fulfilling her promise to her family.

The Implosion of the Marriage: Divorce and Financial Rage

Despite the outward appearance of stability, the marriage was plagued by significant issues, most notably a severe age gap of 40 years and an irreconcilable conflict over having children.

Jones, already a father from a previous marriage and in his mid-60s, adamantly refused to have more children. Jane, who arrived in the U.S. at 25, initially accepted this, choosing instead to focus on self-improvement, even undergoing cosmetic surgery (a procedure to augment her chest, which would later provide a crucial piece of identification).

However, by 2012, Jane, now 32, felt her life goals had changed. With financial stability and newfound confidence, she calmly informed the 72-year-old Jones of her intention to file for divorce.

This decision shattered Jones, who immediately reacted with emotional violence. Jones’s son later reported that his father threatened self-harm if Jane proceeded with the divorce, demonstrating his desperate, possessive need to maintain the relationship.

Jane was resolute, and the divorce proceedings began in July 2012. The finalization of the divorce on August 31, 2012, sealed Jones’s financial and emotional fate. Because they lacked a prenuptial agreement, Jones faced the prospect of losing a substantial portion of the assets and wealth he had accumulated over decades to Jane, a fact that intensified his fury.

The Calculated Act of Dismemberment and Attempted Escape

The confrontation occurred shortly after the divorce was finalized. A furious Lawrence Jones confronted Jane, verbally assaulting her, labeling her a “gold-digger” who had used him for her immigration status. The argument escalated to physical violence. Jones violently struck Jane, rendering her unconscious. According to the prosecutor’s later findings, Jones left Jane incapacitated for several days before committing the final act on September 5, 2012.

Jones used a shotgun to inflict the fatal wounds to Jane’s he@d and chest, causing her immediate loss of life. He then proceeded to commit a horrific act of concealment: using a hacksaw and an axe, he methodically dismembered the victim’s body.

The investigation revealed Jones’s calculated attempt to destroy evidence. He cleaned the crime scene, washed the weapons, and attempted to incinerate some of Jane’s belongings in the fireplace.

Two days after the fatal assault, Jones placed the dismembered body parts into plastic bags and loaded them into the trunk of Jane’s own car before disposing of them individually in remote areas near Canon Road. The prosecutor noted that Jones intentionally excluded the victim’s hands in the disposal, likely to frustrate forensic identification via fingerprints.

The Forensic Evidence and The Final Plea

Jones attempted a complete escape. He requested a sabbatical leave from the Naval Postgraduate School, immediately traveled to San Diego for a job interview (suggesting he was securing a new life), and then purchased a one-way ticket to Brazil upon learning that Jane’s remains had been discovered. However, authorities, utilizing digital forensics and tracking his sudden, suspicious travel, intercepted him before he could leave the country.

The identification of the highly dismembered body was complicated but successful. Forensics used the dental records and, ironically, the serial number embedded in the silicone implants from Jane’s previous cosmetic surgery, a procedure Jones had financed, to confirm her identity. The evidence collected from the house—hair and blood on the axe, burned belongings—was conclusive.

Jones initially pleaded temporary insanity, claiming his emotional state rendered him non-culpable. However, in 2016, nearly four years after the crime, Lawrence Jones pleaded guilty to First Degree Murder. A few months later, the 76-year-old former professor was sentenced to 50 years to life imprisonment.

The Herrera family, though devastated by Jane’s tragic loss, expressed satisfaction with the severity of the sentence. With the assistance of the Philippine government agencies, one of Jane’s siblings was finally able to travel to the U.S. to repatriate her cremated remains, bringing a painful conclusion to Jane’s pursuit of the American Dream.