BEAUMONT, Texas — For the first time, the brother of a woman who was shot and killed on Valentine’s Day inside her own home is speaking out.
Investigators charged Christopher Jones with murder in connection with the shooting death of his wife Olivia Jones.
Christopher is currently out on bond. This week Olivia’s family saw Christopher running a food truck the couple purchased together. That’s not sitting well with the family.
The business is called “One Plate At A Time.” 12News has learned that the food truck was shut down due to a health code violation Wednesday, May 21.
Olivia’s brother, Joshua Simmons, said he doesn’t believe he should be permitted to run the food truck.
Simmons said he will remember his older sister Olivia as a vibrant woman.
“She was very driven, she was a self-starter and she didn’t need a lot of outside motivation. She has two daughters. She was all about her girls and loved them dearly,” Simmons said.
But beneath the smile and joy, family members describe a hidden pain.
“To be honest, I let my sister know several times that she needed to leave Chris," he said.
A probable cause affidavit from February said, “Witnesses state the couple had a history of domestic issues.”
12News looked into Christopher's past and we found an assault charge from 1996. 12News also requested his personnel file from the Bureau of Prisons where he worked as a corrections officers. They denied the request.
12News also requested 911 calls made from the couple’s home address. The city appealed to the Attorney General's Office, citing the ongoing investigation into the Valentine's Day murder. The Attorney General sided with the city.
12News Anchor Lauren Hensley asked Simmons, “Do you think you have a clear understanding of what happened that day?”
“Not totally because, so many things are still unanswered,” Simmons said.
According to probable cause affidavit, Olivia’s husband Christopher Jones had threatened Olivia with a divorce on Valentine’s Day. Christopher told investigators that Olivia took out a loaded gun and held it to her head.
He then said he fought to get the gun away from her and during that scuffle, the gun went off, the bullet striking Olivia in the back of the head.
Police charged Christopher with murder the following day. He bonded out of jail within 24 hours, as family members were getting ready to lay Olivia to rest.
“I believe there should not have been a bond," Simmons said. "I believe that right now he should be in jail."
Less than four miles from Simmon's home, Christopher opened the food truck, the business the couple was supposed to run together. Olivia’s family is outraged.
“I really want to make an outcry to the community, to my neighbors, to my friends, do not do business with this food truck,” Simmons said.
12News filed a right to know request asking the Health Department who owns “One Plate At A Time?” Their response was Christopher Jones.
Olivia’s family wonders how Christopher is able to operate the truck since he’s on house arrest.
"We have been talking with the court," his attorney Ryan Gertz said. "The court actually gave us a handwritten order that on top of house arrest, he is allowed to come to my office, and he’s allowed to work.”
Gertz said Judge John Stevens is permitting Christopher to operate the food truck. But as of Wednesday, the Health Department has shut it down.
“Because of the nature of the food truck, it's got to be on a cement slab," Gertz said. "So we are going to go back to the court and get approval for another specific location that is about a block from the house."
If the truck is re-opened, Simmons will continue to call for a boycott. The family was planning a protest but decided against it, out of fear they’d jeopardize the criminal investigation. Simmons said he has not seen Christopher since the day Olivia was killed.
“If he does watch this interview, he needs to know that I am speaking up that he needs to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Simmons said.
A trial date has been set for early August. But Gertz said he expects the trail to be delayed as they continue to wait for more evidence in this case.