Decades Ago, He Killed His Girlfriend And Stuffed Her Body In a Suitcase. Randomly, He Just Confessed To The Cold Case.

Police say a South Carolina man recently admitted to killing a woman and stuffing her in a suitcase more than 20 years ago, according to a report.

AL.com reports that Brian Edwards Jones, 62, of Ladson, South Carolina, took a bus from South Carolina to Alabama, where he phoned police to confess to the killing. Jones told police that on Feb. 18, 2001, he killed his girlfriend and stuff her body into a suitcase before dumping the bag the woods in Bessemer, Alabama.

The call stunned the police.

“We were in disbelief that somebody had come to us to confess to a murder much less than one that is 21 years old,’’ Lt. Christian Clemons told Al.com. “We consider a once-in-a career type case.”

“On top of that,’’ he said, “it was a murder we didn’t even know happened in Bessemer.”

Jones is facing charges of murder and abuse of a corpse. he was booked into Jefferson County Jail on March 29 and is being held on $765,000 bond.

Investigators just released the information April 19 because they were waiting to notify the family of Janet Jones Luxford, the victim, AL.com reports.

Officers were investigating a homicide March 27 at Plush Bar and Grill in the 4000 block of Ninth Avenue when they received a call from a man who said he had information relating to a homicide. Police initially thought it was in reference to the shooting outside the restaurant before realizing he was speaking of a different incident, according to AL.com.

Luxford, 41 at the time, was last seen alive in 2001, Al.com reports. She has been listed in multiple missing people online databases. She was reported missing on Sept. 22, 20002, by her daughter in California.

The daughter told police that her mother had left her Jacksonville, Florida home before being seen at a Bessemer motel by an unidentified trucker, AL.com reports. She was never heard from again.

Jones, a truck driver, told police that he had killed Luxford, his girlfriend, accidentally as a result of a fight when they were staying at a motel on Ninth Avenue S.W. in Bessemer, Al.com reports. On March 29, Jones led officers to Luxford's remains in the area of Harmer Street and Valley Creek, where a search revealed human remains.

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office is examining the remains in attempt to confirm they are Luxford's.

According to the murder warrant, Jones killed Luxford by hitting her in the throat with a golf club. The abuse of corpse charge details that he stuck her remains in a suitcase before dumping it in a remote area, AL.com reports.

Al.com reports Jones’ attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.

Jones told investigators he wanted to lead them to Luxford's remains so she could get a proper burial. He, however, didn't want to talk to detectives in further detail, AL.com reports.

Jones told police he didn't come forward earlier because he was afraid he'd disappoint his parents. They died in 2021, so he decided it was time to confess, according to AL.com.

“He said he thought several times about coming forward but did not want to disappoint his parents,’’ Clemons said.

“He seemed enormously remorseful,’’ he said, “and appeared to be someone who had been carrying weight of this around for a long time and was relieved to have it over.