In early 1972 pensioner Stan James was found dead in his Swansea home - his hands and feet were bound, a gag had been placed in his mouth, and he had been badly beaten. Police believed his assailant or assailants had stamped on his head during the attack. There was money strewn on the floor, and near the body of the 79-year-old was an open safe which lay empty. The television was on, and there was a pan of milk on the stove ready for his nightly mug of Horlicks. It appeared to have been a burglary which went terribly wrong. Police launched a major murder investigation with their inquiries taking them as far as London but as the days turned to weeks and then months, those responsible for the death were not caught.
But almost exactly eight years after the killing two men would find themselves in the dock accused of murdering the retired greengrocer, and the judge in the trial - the famous Welsh soldier-turned lawyer Sir Tasker Watkins VC - would dub them "Jones the Sex" and "Jones the Grass" to distinguish them. The Joneses would ultimately be acquitted following a six week trial, and the identity of those who murdered of Mr James remains mystery to this day.
Bachelor Thomas Stanley James - known as Stan - lived alone in Gowerton near Swansea. He was popular in the village but seemed to have kept himself to himself with callers at his Sterry Road house being limited to just a few close friends and family members. Before he would open the door to anyone he always asked who was knocking. There was talk he had cash stashed away in his house but it seems that money was something he never discussed, even with those close to him. Though a gas-attack had ended his service in the First World War and he had a lung condition, Mr James was described as fit and strong for his age, and would regularly chop firewood on a plot of land he owned.
