Alleged killer of Rem’mie Fells will be retried

Akhenaton T. Jones

Akhenaton T. Jones, the alleged killer of trans woman Rem’mie Fells, will be retried for murder, according to a spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner.

“Our office does intend to retry Jones,” said Dustin Slaughter, a spokesperson for Krasner, in a Dec. 20 email. When asked if a plea agreement with Jones was in the works, Slaughter replied: “No further comment.”

In June 2020, Jones allegedly stabbed Fells to death inside Jones’ Powelton Village residence, then dismembered her corpse with a jigsaw and deposited her remains in the Schuylkill River.

After a two-week trial earlier this month, jurors were unable to reach a verdict on first-degree murder or third-degree murder. A mistrial was declared. But jurors convicted Jones of abusing Fells’ corpse, which is a misdemeanor.

Jones, 40, served as his own attorney during the Fells trial. He remains detained at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, a city jail in northeast Philadelphia.

Fells, 27, was a beloved member of the LGBTQ+ community. She was a passionate dancer and fashion designer who had dreams of returning to school and designing her own clothing line. Her death shocked the Philadelphia community and beyond.

In related news, Jones claims he was subjected to excessive force at PICC on two separate occasions in 2021, while awaiting trial on murder charges in the Fells case. 

Jones is suing the City of Philadelphia and various individuals for more than $200,000 in damages. He alleges that staffers at PICC fractured his wrist and broke one of his ribs, in two separate incidents.

On Nov. 6, Jones filed a 15-page lawsuit in federal court in Philadelphia, alleging that he suffered multiple, unprovoked assaults by PICC workers.

Jones alleges that on Aug. 29, 2021, a PICC worker sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, “bludgeoned” him on the head with a metal canister, and punched him multiple times. Jones also contends that he sustained a fractured wrist during the incident.

After the August incident, Jones was moved to another cell block, in order to separate him from a hostile worker, according to his lawsuit.

But in a second incident on Nov. 11, 2021, the hostile worker was permitted to work on the block where Jones was relocated. The hostile worker and another hostile worker came to Jones’s cell and verbally threatened him. Jones complained to a jail sergeant about the alleged mistreatment, to no avail, according to Jones’ complaint.

Jones claims that after he complained to the jail sergeant, the two hostile workers returned to his cell, dragged him out of the cell, then punched, kicked and stomped on him — breaking one of his ribs. Jones lay on the ground in a fetal position during the alleged assault, according to his lawsuit.

Jones claims the second incident caused him to suffer severe chest pains, blurred vision, vertigo, a visible protrusion in his diaphragm and difficulty breathing. But when he sought medical care, a jail nurse merely told Jones to “just breathe slow,” according to Jones’ lawsuit.

Jones claims he was retaliated against after filing grievances by being placed in solitary confinement and by being called a “rat faggot” by PICC workers, according to his lawsuit.

Jones is seeking in excess of $100,000 in compensatory damages and in excess of $100,000 in punitive damages. 

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerard J. Pappert. A jury trial has been requested. Jones is serving as his own attorney.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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