The father of murdered schoolgirl April Jones has died at the age of 56 – nearly 13 years after his five-year-old daughter was snatched from outside their home.
Paul Jones, who previously suffered from encephalitis – a serious condition that causes swelling the brain, passed away yesterday morning.
It is believed he was being cared for at a specialist home in Swansea after the illness damaged his memory in 2018.
Paying tribute, Paul’s step-daughter Jazz Jones wrote on Facebook: ‘It is with broken hearts that my brother and I wish to let people know our dad (Paul Jones) passed away in the early hours of this morning .
‘It was very unexpected and we are all in shock.’
April, five, was snatched from outside her home in Machynlleth, mid Wales, in October 2012 before being murdered by paedophile Mark Bridger.
Bridger refused to tell police what he had done with the youngster’s body – although officers did recover fragments of her skull from his fireplace.
It was previously reported that Paul, who separated from April’s mother Coral in 2019, had to suffer the devastation of learning of his daughter’s death twice.
Paul Jones, who previously suffered from encephalitis – a serious condition that causes swelling the brain, passed away yesterday morning. Pictured with April at their home
April Jones, five, was killed by Mark Bridger in October 2012 after he abducted her in his car in Machynlleth, Powys, Wales (pictured: April)
Paul, who separated from April’s mother Coral in 2019, had to suffer the devastation of learning of his daughter’s death twice
In 2018, Paul asked why April had not been to see him as he recovered from a severe case of encephalitis, a potentially lethal brain condition, which causes memory loss.
It is understood he spent more than a year recovering in hospital before being taken into care.
April’s mother, Coral, told the Sunday People how Paul had recognised the youngster in family photos used to jog his memory.
‘I had to tell him she was no longer with us and that she’d been killed,’ she said.
‘He broke down. It was an awful conversation because he was so emotional and it was so hard for me to speak about it.
‘I couldn’t go on, I just couldn’t tell him any more. It was like reliving it all over again.’
April parents’ marriage withstood the immense strain of the harrowing ordeal of her murder, although Pauls’ illness came as a major blow.
Coral said: ‘How much more can my family take?
Paul and Coral Jones lay flowers on April’s grave to mark what would have been her 7th birthday in 2014
The search for April (pictured) was the largest search for a missing person in the UK, and lasted until April 22, 2013
Paul and April on the day of his wedding to Coral in 2012
Paul Jones father of April is seen on the mountain where he would walk his dogs
‘I’ve already lost my daughter and now I have lost my soulmate and my rock and I feel so alone.
‘Paul is the only person who can truly understand the pain I have felt over losing April.’
Bridger was jailed for life for April’s murder in 2013 but has refused to admit that he killed her.
Her disappearance sparked the largest police search in British history, and her killer tried to cover his tracks by helping with the search before his arrest.
Police believe Bridger dismembered April before dumping her body parts at various locations in the hills, rivers and forests surrounding his home in Ceinws, Mid Wales, after traces of her blood were found all over his rented cottage.
Police raided his home and found evidence linked to the murder and a cache of child porn on his computer, including Facebook pictures of April and other local girls.
Pools of April’s blood were found under the carpet in front of the living room fire where small fragments of her bones were recovered by police.
April’s blood was also found in the bathroom and hallway of the cottage despite a desperate bid by Bridger to clean up his rented home using detergents and bleach.
Paul and Coral Jones are seen at Mark Bridger’s house in 2014 watching it being pulled down and demolished.
Mark Bridger, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 after he was found guilty of abducting and killing April, lied to police, telling them he had accidentally hit her with his car
Blood splatter that was confirmed to belong to April was found in Bridger’s bathroom during the police investigation (pictured: Bridger’s house)
Father-of-six Bridger was given a whole-life tariff by a judge in May 2013 at Mold Crown Court after he was found guilty of her kidnap and murder.
Sentencing Bridger, Mr Justice Griffith Williams said: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that you are a paedophile, who has for some time harboured sexual and morbid fantasies about young girls.’
He said Bridger abducted April for a ‘sexual purpose’ after he had been jilted by his girlfriend and then murdered the schoolgirl and disposed of her body to ‘hide the evidence of your sexual abuse of her’.
