Sister Breaks Silence on April Jones' Final Hours
Hazel Jones, the older sister of murdered five-year-old April Jones, has spoken publicly for the first time about the devastating final moments she shared with her sibling before the tragic abduction that shocked the nation. April was kidnapped from the quiet Welsh town of Machynlleth in Powys in 2012 and murdered by convicted paedophile Mark Bridger, who remains imprisoned under a whole-life sentence.
The Last Memory
In an emotional interview, Hazel Jones, now 31 years old, described the poignant scene she witnessed in the family kitchen just hours before April's disappearance. "She was in the kitchen, she was with my dad and they were making hot chocolate, and laughing. She was wearing army pyjamas," Hazel recalled to reporters. "But that was the last time I ever saw her. I wish I knew that was the last time. I wish I knew that was going to be my last ever time having a normal life."
The Abduction and Investigation
On the fateful day of October 1, 2012, April had been playing with friends on her pink bicycle just yards from her family home when she was snatched by Bridger. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the young girl entering a vehicle near her residence, sparking one of the largest missing person searches in Welsh history. Despite the efforts of hundreds of police officers and volunteers who combed the surrounding countryside, April's body was never recovered, though forensic teams discovered fragments of her remains at Bridger's cottage.
Mark Bridger was arrested the following day after matching descriptions provided by witnesses. Following a nearly five-week trial in 2013, he was found guilty of child abduction, murder, perverting the course of justice, and the unlawful concealment and disposal of a body. Throughout the proceedings, Bridger maintained the callous claim that he had accidentally run over April near her home and could not remember where he had placed her body, but the jury saw through his lies and delivered a unanimous guilty verdict.
Family Tragedy Compounded
The Jones family's suffering was compounded by additional personal tragedy when April's father, Paul Jones, died suddenly in 2020 after contracting a virus. The 56-year-old former pub doorman had been diagnosed with encephalitis eight years earlier and passed away without ever learning what happened to his daughter's body. Hazel Jones revealed that she had remained silent for years following the murder, explaining "Only because I was mourning the loss of my sister and the actual ordeal of what happened. I felt like I was just in a nightmare, ready to wake up. And you just don't wake up from it."
Courtroom Testimony and Lasting Impact
During Bridger's trial, a powerful statement was read on behalf of April's mother, Coral Jones, describing her daughter as a "little fighter" from birth after being born prematurely weighing just 4 pounds 2 ounces. The statement expressed unimaginable grief: "Words alone cannot describe how we are feeling or how we manage to function on a daily basis and I would never want any other family to go through what we are and will go through for the rest of our lives."
The statement continued with heartbreaking reflection: "As April's mother I will live with the guilt of letting her go out to play on the estate that night for the rest of my life. She fought to come into the world, she fought to stay in this world and he has taken her not only from us but from everyone who loved her." The family described the permanent void left by April's absence, noting they would never see her smile, hear her footsteps upstairs, witness her bring home a first boyfriend, or have her father walk her down the aisle.
Justice and Reflection
Hazel Jones expressed her belief that Bridger should continue to "suffer" during his life sentence, noting that the convicted murderer "deserves everything he's getting" after being attacked in prison for a second time. The case remains one of the most harrowing child abduction and murder investigations in recent British history, with the small community of Machynlleth forever changed by the events of 2012.
Despite the passage of nearly fourteen years, the pain remains raw for the Jones family, who continue to grapple with the unanswered questions surrounding April's final resting place and the traumatic loss that has defined their lives since that October evening when a five-year-old girl disappeared while playing near her home.
