Deepra Sarkar
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Ice Cold Killers’ features the most ruthless and gory crime cases from regions with the most unforgiving climate. Cold-blooded homicides and vexing near-death escapes from cold and wintry parts of America form the highlights of this show. The first episode of this true-crime series, which adheres to the characteristic documentary style of Investigation Discovery shows, was aired by the network in 2012.
In one of its 42 minutes long episodes, the series retells the gruesome murder of Theresa Jones at the hands of her former boyfriend George Porter, who brutally beat her to death. Porter had allegedly also beaten his former partners and showed similar patterns in his abusive behavior that ultimately formed the primary basis of his conviction and sentencing. We found out all there is to know about this Ice Cold Killer.
Who Is George Porter?
George Porter was Theresa Jones’ boyfriend and had been living with her in her residence since the latter half of October 1988. Jones’ neighbor, Bonnie Funnemak, spotted Porter beating his girlfriend on Funnermak and Jones’ yards, following which Jones had broken Funnemak’s storm window. Funnemak contacted the Kamiah Marshal’s Office and reported the incident. The deputy marshal who responded tracked down Porter and Jones close to a church, a hundred fifty yards away from Jones’ residence. Porter was arrested on charges of misdemeanor battery but was released later the same day. A few weeks later, in December 1988, Porter was evicted from Jones’ home to his brother’s house in Idaho County by a deputy marshal on Jones’ request to the Kamiah Marshal’s Office.
On December 21, 1988, Laura Cooper, babysitting her sister’s children in the house which was across the street from Jones’ residence, observed a man, who was later identified to be Porter, enter Jones’ house through a front window. On the evening of December 26, 1988, Funnemark contacted the marshal’s office and informed them that she had neither seen Jones in the past few days nor had she observed smokes coming out from Jones’ chimney. Two deputy marshals arrived to investigate and upon entering the house, they discovered Jones’ dead body on the bed. Preliminary investigation revealed blood in various parts of the bedroom and the bathroom. A rather significant piece of evidence was clumps of human hair that matched the hair on the victim. Based on witness accounts and prior records, Porter was arrested for the murder of Theresa Jones.
Where Is George Porter Now?
George Porter was arrested in 1989 in connection to his former girlfriend Theresa Jones’ murder. He was appointed counsel to represent him in the court. At the indictment, Porter pled not guilty and his counsel requested that jurors are derived from another district without the change of venue. The request was granted owing to which an investigator was retained, a forensic pathologist was consulted and the counsel was allowed to take depositions of two out-of-state witnesses. The investigator obtained by Porter’s counsel was able to extract an apparent confession from Dale Cooper, Jones’ boyfriend prior to Porter, who had also allegedly beaten Jones when they were dating. Despite the confession, the State continued its pursuit of the case against Porter.
The State had disclosed well before the trial that they were intending to call Porter’s former girlfriends to provide testimony to Porter’s abusive streak and personality. The State was able to earn the testimony of three of Porter’s former girlfriends who testified before the judge instead of the jurors. This eliminated the possibility of the formation of any bias. The testimonies unanimously pointed out Jones’ pattern of abusive behavior wherein he had severely beaten all the girls and more importantly, had pulled out chunks of their hair. The pattern was found to be similar to signs of violence found on Jones’ dead body. Porter was convicted guilty on January 26, 1990, and sentenced to death on September 7, 1990.
Porter entered a plea for post-conviction relief on June 21, 2010, to uplift his death sentence. Second District Judge John H. Bradbury accepted the plea and eliminated the death sentence, making Jones eligible for parole from December 5, 2013. He was released from prison on December 5, 2013.
Read More: Theresa Jones: How Did She Die?
