Mom sees girls briefly after kidnapping
Suspect in killings recovering after wounding self in chase

From Martin Savidge
CNN
Friday, January 9, 2004 Posted: 4:26 PM EST (2126 GMT)

Authorities gather near an SUV that suspect Jerry William Jones crashed while being pursued in Tennessee.
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The hunt for a man suspected of killing four people and abducting three girls ends in a wreck.
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CALHOUN, Georgia (CNN) -- Three girls had a brief reunion Friday with their mother after a harrowing kidnapping ordeal that began with four relatives' deaths and ended with a police chase and car crash with their accused abductor.

The girls are safely in the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in Calhoun, 60 miles north of Atlanta and county seat of Gordon County, where the gruesome tale began Wednesday.

The girls' mother, Melissa Peeler, was snowbound in Portland, Oregon, but returned to Georgia on Friday, Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials said. The children cannot be released to Peeler's custody until DFACS completes an investigation, standard procedure in such cases, officials said.

Jerry William Jones, 31, the man accused of kidnapping the girls and killing the others, is recovering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Police said the killings apparently were motivated by a jealous rage stemming from a domestic dispute.

Jones is in critical condition but expected to survive following surgery, officials said. He shot himself in the chin after a crash, the result of a Georgia State Patrol officer nudging the suspect's sport utility vehicle, they said.

Brittney Phelps, 10; Brandy Jones, 4; and Tammy Jones, 3; were treated and released from the hospital Thursday night to Georgia authorities. Brittney suffered minor injuries in the car crash, officials said.