Second Arrest Made
In 10-Year-Old Crime
By M. D. Drysdale

State Police Capt. Ray Keefe dropped the second shoe this week in the investigation into the kidnapping and robbery of an elderly couple in their Royalton home more than 10 years ago.

Two masked men, one armed with a handgun, forcibly entered the home of Warren and Katherine Williams, both 76 at the time, on Feb. 11, 1997. The intruders fired a handgun, assaulted and tied up the old couple, and stole a lot of money.

The case remained unsolved until April of 2005, when a wallet belonging to Warren Williams was discovered in a Manchester, N.H. home, resulting in the arrest of one Daniel Daigle. He was convicted of kidnapping in Windsor County Court last February and is now in jail.

However, Daigle had no connection to the Royalton area, and Capt. Keefe was convinced that one of the invaders had a connection with the Williamses and knew they kept money in the home.

Last May, with Daigle in jail, police announced they believed the second culprit in the holdup was named Stewart Jones, who was in fact a distant relative of the Williamses and was acquainted with them. Police issued an arrest warrant for his arrest.

Last Friday, they got him.

For several months police followed a lead developed by Capt. Keefe, who had asked to continue as the lead investigator even after he was transferred from the Royalton barracks. Keefe was told that Jones was in Las Vegas, and the help of U.S. Marshals was obtained. Marshals later tracked him to Missouri, where he skipped out ahead of them.

Then in South Carolina, his luck ran out. He bragged to a chance traveling companion that he was on a "Wanted" list.

"He told the wrong man," Keefe explained. The traveler contacted authorities.

Local police in Greenwood, S.C., arrested Jones. He has waived extradition and will be transported back to Vermont during the next week.

The arrest warrant cited Jones for two counts of kidnapping in the Royalton case. Both counts carry a potential life sentence.

"This crime strikes at the heart of what this job is all about," Capt. Keefe said. For someone to invade an old couple's home, manhandle them physically, and steal their life savings is, he said "just completely unacceptable." That's why he felt so strongly about the case that he asked to be able to continue the investigaton.

Keefe, who is now in charge of training at the State Police Academy, phoned the Williamses Thursday to say the case was developing, and again Friday to say that Jones was in custody. Now 86, they still live in the same house and were "very pleased," he reported.

Still, the case may result in another arrest. Keefe says he believes he knows the identity of a driver who stayed in a car during the holdup, and he hopes to be able to develop a case against that person.

"The cards continue to fall," he said.