'Killer Nurse' Genene Jones pleads not guilty to 5 murder charges

Jones accused in killings of five infants

SAN ANTONIO – Genene Jones, the so-called "Killer Nurse," pleaded not guilty Thursday to five murder charges involving children.

Jones, 67, made her first court appearance in a Bexar County courtroom since she was charged.

Related: 'Killer nurse' back in SA to face new murder charges

She was extradited Monday from a women's prison outside Waco, just months before she was scheduled to be released due to mandatory sentencing guidelines in place at the time of her conviction.

Related: Bexar DA: 'We absolutely believe she is guilty'

Jones has been implicated in the deaths of as many as 60 babies while working as a pediatric nurse in San Antonio and the surrounding area in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Cornelius Cox, Jones' defense attorney, said talks of a possible plea deal are premature.

"People are innocent until proven guilty. She has a right to a trial, a fair trial, just as much as anyone else," Cox said after Jones' arraignment.

Jones arrived at the justice center around 7:50 a.m. and was placed in a wheelchair then moved to a court holding facility.

A Bexar County Sheriff's Office official called the wheelchair "precautionary" and said the walker Jones was seen using earlier this week would have made moving her more difficult.

Jones also wore a surgical mask, though BCSO officials and Cox declined to say why.


About the Authors:

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.