ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 6, 1996 TAG: 9607080069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NORFOLK
SOURCE: Associated Press
The parents of a woman found slain in her home six weeks ago say they can't afford to keep fighting their son-in-law, who is accused of killing her, for the right to recover her body.
Ken and Jean Pope said Tobin Jones' refusal to sign next-of-kin papers has forced them to abandon their hope of fulfilling Megan Jones' wish that she be cremated and have her ashes scattered in the Atlantic Ocean.
Tobin Jones, a Norfolk psychiatrist charged with killing his estranged wife, said he thinks she committed suicide. He also wants additional drug-testing done on the body, which is being kept at a local funeral home.
``We're just going to let him do what he ... pleases,'' Ken Pope, Megan Jones stepfather, said in a telephone interview from his Oklahoma home with The Virginian-Pilot. ``Her soul left her body a long time ago. She's had two memorial services. What can we do? We're not going to spend any more money fighting him when there's nothing to fight over.''
A Norfolk judge was to have ruled Wednesday on whether to release the body, but the parents withdrew their court petition before the hearing.
A letter to the court from the family's attorney, Philip R. Farthing, said the family was ``tired, very discouraged about what has occurred ... and weary of carrying on what has been a very distasteful battle.''
Tobin Jones ``has put this family through a considerable amount of turmoil over this issue,'' the letter said. ``He continues to demand this and that, saying he wants all these tests performed on her remains, so we'll let Dr. Jones dispose of Megan's body when he is ready.''
Tobin Jones, medical director of Norfolk's Community Services Board until he took leave in March, was mowing the lawn of his wife's home May 18 when authorities discovered his wife's decomposing body in an upstairs bedroom.
He has pleaded innocent to the murder charge.
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