Search Captions & Ask AI

The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers

June 18, 2024 / 44:14

This episode covers the disappearance and murder of Paige Bergfeld, the investigation into her case, and the criminal history of Lester Jones, her suspected killer.

Paige Bergfeld, a mother of three, went missing in June 2007 after meeting her ex-husband. Her car was later found burned, leading to a lengthy investigation that revealed her secret life as an escort.

Lester Jones, a mechanic with a violent past, was identified as a prime suspect. He had previously kidnapped his ex-wife and exhibited controlling behavior towards women. Evidence linked him to Paige's disappearance.

After years of searching, Paige's remains were discovered in 2012, leading to Jones's arrest in 2014. Despite a mistrial, he was ultimately convicted of her murder in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison.

The episode highlights the impact of Paige's case on her family and the community, as well as the dangers faced by women in similar situations.

TLDR

The episode details Paige Bergfeld's murder, the investigation, and Lester Jones's conviction after years of searching.

Episode

44:14
00:00:06
one hot Colorado evening in June 2007 34-year-old mother Paige bergfeld failed to return home to her three waiting
00:00:16
children my biggest fear was that she was missing by force someone had to have kidnapped her or worst absolute worst
00:00:25
case murdered her nothing more was heard about Paige than was no Trace at all for
00:00:31
another 5 years an Agony a time of Agony for her parents and her friends and indeed for
00:00:39
the three children that she bore the investigation was complicated by the discovery of a side to page bergfeld
00:00:47
that few people knew about she was running what we would describe as an escort business one of PA's clients was
00:00:55
local mechanic Lester Jones a man with a dark past he kidnapped his wife at gunpoint and
00:01:04
then threatened to kill her almost in the same way as he ended up killing Paige Lester Jones killed Paige bergfeld
00:01:15
after she refused to continue to provide him services that he wanted Lester Jones's desire to dominate women had
00:01:25
cemented his place as one of the world's most evil killers [Music] [Music] [Music]
00:01:53
The Disappearance of 34-year-old soccer mom Paige bergfeld said shock waves through the ice ol at City of Grand
00:02:01
Junction Colorado Mesa County is rural Colorado at its roots it's beautiful from Canyons to Rivers it's wide open
00:02:12
spaces it's good folks that really care about each other and they're hardworking
00:02:17
people local journalist Matt croel began following the story in 2007 and would still be covering the
00:02:26
case at its conclusion almost a decade later [Music] stories about Paige bergfeld and The
00:02:36
Disappearance were routinely on the local news it was a story that everyone was talking about and so not just the
00:02:44
anniversaries of her birthday or when she was last seen because they were uncovering possible sightings or there
00:02:53
would be information that remains were being discovered throughout the years is focusing on an escort business birgfeld
00:03:00
was involved in as the news story swirled the man everyone believed had taken Paige bergfeld continue to live
00:03:08
alongside the friends and family of the woman he' killed Lester Jones works in the
00:03:16
community he was a quiet man that kept to himself and a bit mysterious prosecutors were certain
00:03:24
Lester Jones had murdered Paige but they had to prove it and that would take take
00:03:30
nine long years this killer Story begins on March the 4th 1951 200 miles from Grand
00:03:40
Junction Lester Jones has very little known about him from his early years but what we do know is that he was born in
00:03:47
Westcliff Colorado he had a brother and sister we know that he got married quite
00:03:54
early in his early 20s and he had two sons and that married that marriage lasted for about 20 years by
00:04:04
1996 Jones was running a car repair Workshop in Hotchkiss Colorado that's where he first met a young woman called
00:04:13
Lisa Nance Jones first met Lisa when she stopped in his car shop and she was about 28 years old he was 45 she was a
00:04:24
single stay-at-home mother she had two children of her own and when she first met him he was recently divorced they
00:04:31
had almost like a whirlwind romance she was I suppose swept off her feet this was a amiable cheerful handsome tall big
00:04:42
man who represented a little security and she called him gentle and funny and good
00:04:50
with her kids within just 6 months of meeting him Lisa married Jones [Music] people like Lester Jones tend to try and
00:05:05
speed things up when they first meet somebody they want to get that commitment from them really quickly they
00:05:10
kind of tie them into that and then they're trapped in it and that's when
00:05:14
the trouble starts Lisa reported that Jones was asking her frequently who she was with
00:05:22
who she was talking to on the phone looking at her mail and bank statements checking her phone records and logs and
00:05:29
asking her if she didn't report speaking to somebody that day he was increasingly
00:05:34
jealous and controlling and then angry at her if she didn't report the right
00:05:38
thing to him if you get into a relationship with somebody who is very jealous there's the
00:05:45
biggest red flag you mustn't talk to other men you mustn't dress like this I
00:05:50
don't even like it when you see your friends or you go out without me these are massive massive red flags that this
00:05:56
person thinks they own you and they need to control you and we definitely did see
00:06:01
those behaviors in Lester Jones as time went on Jones was not just controlling he also became more and more
00:06:12
untrustworthy and dishonest Jones was a Private Pilot he had his own license and
00:06:18
would use planes from time to time and he would just be gone without notice and without telling Lisa where he went uh so
00:06:26
he would disappear for days on end Lisa reported that he was the pathological liar and would have an
00:06:33
answer for everything whenever she asked him where he was where money was going to her wedding ring went missing and she
00:06:41
thought no one else could have possibly taken it and yet he was the only suspect
00:06:45
and he denied it so she was increasingly distrustful of him Lisa began to suspect
00:06:52
that Jones was stealing her money to pay for sex workers what we don't know is
00:06:58
how he was with those sex workers he may have been controlling abusive violent we
00:07:06
don't know but he was seeing them regularly I think he was probably quite obsessive about that as well so Lisa
00:07:14
takes her courage in her hands and asks him to leave but that doesn't put an end to his
00:07:23
manipulation of his now his stranged wife he starts the stalker stalking is very very common
00:07:36
after a relationship breakdown the worst thing is if the stalking moves on to what we call reconnaissance so then
00:07:44
they're looking for opportunities for an attack one day in 1999 Jones took the opportunity he'd
00:07:52
been waiting for one night Lisa decided to invite a male friend over and they were going to watch watch movies
00:08:00
together uh they were inside all night just watching uh TV and at 4 in the morning he had to leave and Lisa was
00:08:08
going to go with him and at that point when they were driving away Jones followed Lisa and her friend are in the
00:08:16
car and they're being trailed by Jones in his truck they must have been terrified I
00:08:23
mean headlights in the rearview mirror the whole scenario it's dark it's late
00:08:29
at night early in the morning Cy and Jones increasingly gets closer to them and he forces the car off the road Lisa
00:08:38
was actually trapped in the vehicle and only her friend was able to get out and so he tried to free himself and
00:08:45
then get Lisa out and he was as he was trying to do this Jones pulls out a gun her friend starts to run off to get help
00:08:53
Jones fires two shots at him one of which grazes his head he then points the gun at Lisa and effectively
00:09:02
demands she get out of the car on his side and get into his car it's a full-scale abduction despite being in
00:09:11
fear Lisa somehow managed to calm Jones down and convinced him to pull over as they were leaving she said she was to
00:09:19
stop and ask for a toe or service of her vehicle and instead of calling car repair shop she called the
00:09:25
police and Incredibly police were able to respond quickly and rescue Lisa from Jones who they
00:09:33
arrested but the stalking didn't stop Jones was bailed the following day and
00:09:38
just a few weeks later he returned to try and finish the job once and for all Lisa is asleep and she wakes up to
00:09:51
find Jones sitting on the sofa in her living room he was staring at her with such a
00:09:59
menacing frightening look that she thought she was going to die at this point Jones forced Lisa into his vehicle
00:10:06
at gunpoint for the second time in a month Jones had pressured Lisa into a car against her will but this time he
00:10:14
wouldn't be tricked into pulling over instead Lester Jones brutally beat his
00:10:19
estrange wife before driving her into the remote mountains further and further from civilization and any chance of
00:10:27
rescue for Lisa this is him now in almost we could call it a panic I have got to get control back I am not
00:10:36
accepting this I cannot take rejection Lester Jones actually took her out into a very rural part of western
00:10:48
Colorado and threatened to kill her and bury her in a lake she must literally have thought
00:10:59
that her life was going to end that night imagine what it must have been like you've been threatened with a gun
00:11:06
he's been arrested he's turned up again he's threatening you again he's going to
00:11:12
kill you he's going to dump you in a lake but yet again Lisa demonstrates an
00:11:22
extraordinary ability to survive to get out of the situation at this point she said you know but I
00:11:32
still love you essentially as a way to try to get him not to do this horrific thing to her Jones responded prove it
00:11:41
and wanted to essentially have her have sex with him to show that she still loved him Lisa managed to convince Jones
00:11:48
to go to a local motel and as he went inside to get them a room she again thought quickly and decided to jump in
00:11:57
the front seat and take the car and speaked feed off and basically save her own life she was able to escape and
00:12:04
Lester Jones was actually charged and sent to prison for that event Lisa heaves a sigh of relief
00:12:13
because finally the nightmare of her stalker stroke husband is gone and she doesn't hear anything for some
00:12:20
considerable time in fact Jones is released after serving half his 10year sentence by 2006 55 5-year-old mechanic
00:12:30
Lester Jones had been released from prison for the kidnap and assault of his ex-wife Lisa Nance now 60b heavier and
00:12:39
sporting a full beard Jones had remarried and was living in Grand Junction Colorado working as a mechanic
00:12:46
at a local car dealership on June the 30th 2007 the city was stunned when local mother of
00:12:55
three Paige bergfeld was reported missing her friend of four years Barbara Campbell knew it was out of
00:13:03
character I was a good friend of Paige our kids were about the same ages and played together so it made it easy for
00:13:13
us to hang out even though we were both busy all the time Paige had a wonderful relationship with her kids she just
00:13:21
loved to be with her kids all the time and she was just completely devoted when p page went
00:13:30
missing I was completely shocked Saturday June 28th she had driven from Grand Junction into the
00:13:41
mountains about 2 hours into the mountains to meet her ex-husband district attorney Pete hinger was
00:13:47
Central to the investigation into PA's disappearance she and ex-husband Ron Beagler had recently rekindled their
00:13:55
romance and had spent the day together just before she vanished he was the last one to have seen her she was last known
00:14:02
to have been driving back from the central mountains towards Grand Junction when she
00:14:09
disappeared when Paige went missing she'd left her children with living Nanny and it was The Nanny and indeed
00:14:19
her 8-year-old daughter who eventually reported her missing they walked to the police
00:14:26
station together it must have been an extraordinary sign The Nanny and this little girl reporting to the police that
00:14:34
mommy had gone heartbreaking really Ron Beagler her first husband also rang 911 to reporter
00:14:47
missing dispatch Clint um yes I needed to talk to you about um missing person emergency something is definitely
00:14:57
definitely wrong she have got stucked or an accident I think she got abducted she
00:15:01
she had to there's just no way so something is is definitely wrong here I'm really starting to
00:15:09
panic Paige first went missing the first thing that the police would consider is
00:15:15
this normal behavior would we expect this person to go missing and Paige did not fall into that bracket at all she
00:15:22
had never gone missing before Paige would never leave without her kids like she wouldn't just take off
00:15:31
so instantly I knew something had to have happened just one day later Paige's
00:15:38
friends and family were given even more reason to panic her cars found burning in a lot out west of town I mean what
00:15:48
was pretty clearly right off the bat an arson situation where the car had been intentionally
00:15:56
burned knowing that the car was burned was a really bad sign that she was probably not alive that we weren't ever
00:16:04
going to get her back the most logical reason from a law enforcement perspective that someone
00:16:13
would try to set fire to a vehicle is to destroy evidence to eliminate the potential of DNA or hairs or other
00:16:23
evidence being recovered from that vehicle the two interesting things about the car when it was
00:16:30
discovered one is that the driver's seat was pushed all the way back she herself was only 5'4 so it
00:16:40
would not have been her who had pushed that seat back secondly in the boot of the burnt out car her day planner is
00:16:49
found with significant days torn out including the day in which she disappeared clearly with an attempt designed to
00:17:03
conceal who she might or might not have been seeing finding the missing mother's
00:17:09
car was a breakthrough of sorts but there was still no sign of Paige bergfeld and no indication if she was
00:17:16
dead or alive there were search parties both organized by the Sheriff's Office and
00:17:23
with the civilian volunteers I was really hot in Grand Junction in the summer going over
00:17:31
100° I volunteered to do the searches as many wonderful people did and we walked
00:17:40
and you know miles a day just looking for any clue and day after day doing searches
00:17:47
and we're not finding her um it it just really kind of slowly trickled in that
00:17:55
reality that we knew what we were looking for on the searches we looking for a dead
00:18:02
body if she was dead Paige had seemingly tried to give detectives a clue about what had led to her tragic
00:18:11
fate before long a number of items were found along Highway 50 and it was sort of a trail of her belongings found more
00:18:22
or less random places along the highway heading south towards Delta items from her checkbook and then
00:18:30
items that seem to be torn out of a notebook business cards which at least suggested that she had been actively
00:18:39
trying to throw stuff out a window or something along those lines maybe trying to leave a trail for
00:18:46
people to be able to track while the search continued detectives compiled a list of all the
00:18:53
people who might want a harm page investigators immediately zeroed in on Paige bergfeld ex-husband Rob Dixon
00:19:03
he was the father of her kids statistically speaking it is likely to be somebody she knows and
00:19:11
statistically speaking it's likely to be a partner or an ex partner so those
00:19:16
people would most definitely be in the lens of the police as they started their investigation Paige had previously made
00:19:24
allegations of violence against her second husband but when Grand Junction detectives checked his Alibi he was
00:19:32
quickly in the clear also under scrutiny was Paige's first husband the man who
00:19:37
DED 911 to report her missing Ron Beagler investigators were also looking into Ron Bigler because he and Paige had
00:19:49
met up hours before she was last seen those men were immediately questioned to figure out where they were
00:19:59
and just how close they still were with Paige were their motives there investigators cleared Ron Bigler
00:20:07
right away because they could see on the cell phone tracking data that he actually headed back towards Denver the
00:20:15
opposite direction from Grand Junction while Paige's cell phone was headed towards the western
00:20:22
slope two suspects had immediately been ruled out then detectives UNC CED a secret life that had brought many more
00:20:31
men to Paige Berg feld's door Paige had a double life she was yes stay-at-home
00:20:39
mother of three hardworking entrepreneur with little businesses but she was also an
00:20:47
escort she ran an agency called models Inc and she rented herself out as well she was known as Carrie to the agency
00:20:57
she was expensive I mean $2,500 for a night she had advertisements in papers and on the
00:21:09
internet offering massage services to people who wanted to hire her or her co-workers and as the investigators dug
00:21:20
into it it turned out there were quite a few customers and she was considered in
00:21:25
that world to be highly desirable and successful as an escort a very attractive young woman well groomed and
00:21:38
pretty she was just very Scrappy I mean she would do whatever and just try to try to make ends meet any way she could
00:21:47
and it wasn't until much closer to when she disappeared the first time that I
00:21:52
had a conversation with her and she revealed that well well I'm also doing this escort service
00:22:01
thing next message yeah this is Jim just calling to see if Carrie was available tonight you call me back once
00:22:10
investigators started to figure out the other businesses the side hustles that Paige bergfeld had going it complicated
00:22:18
this entire case because now we know that Paige was having correspondence and messages and meeting with a lot of
00:22:27
different guys that probably didn't want anyone to know they were meeting many of Paige's
00:22:33
clients had left voice messages on a cell phone she used exclusively for business including a man calling himself
00:22:43
Jim next message yeah this is J just I just got my room give me a call back then there were at least one if not
00:22:54
more calls from an unidentified track phone next message yeah this is Jim could give
00:23:01
me a call back 719 Jim had been the last person to call paig on the night she disappeared when
00:23:08
detectives got hold of her phone records they discovered that Jim was not his real name the investigators were able to
00:23:17
identify that phone uh identify when and where it had been purchased and identify
00:23:24
security film footage of Lester Jones purchasing that specific phone on that specific day Standing Tall at 6'4 local
00:23:34
mechanic Lester Jones had not only been identified as the man on the footage the
00:23:39
56-year-old was also well acquainted with the part of town where Paige's car
00:23:45
was discovered the place where Paige's car had been found having been set a fire and burning was within 150 yards
00:23:54
from Lester's Workshop there at Bob Scott RV Jones The Man known to Paige as Jim was
00:24:02
suddenly the prime suspect in her disappearance he was the last person known to have spoken to Paige bergfeld
00:24:10
and Jones's home life was far from perfect he was married and had I guess a somewhat interesting relationship with
00:24:20
his wife it wasn't all flowers and roses they certainly seemed to go through good
00:24:26
times and bad times man his wife told investigators there were times when he would disappear and she didn't know
00:24:33
where he was just as he had with his exwife Lisa Nance Lester Jones was disappearing to spend time with sex
00:24:41
workers and escorts one of the escorts he'd been seeing regularly was missing
00:24:47
mother of three Paige bergfeld Jones had used the name Jim when contacting the 34y old next message this is Jim I Tri
00:24:56
calling you last night maybe I left the wrong impression on you I do want you to
00:25:01
call me but it's been like since last night end of message Jones had developed
00:25:07
an obsessive interest in Paige before her disappearance she'd become concerned
00:25:13
about his behavior one of her co-workers or friends had told the investigators that
00:25:21
she was kind of creeped out or worried about the this particular one of her clients Paige had told her friend of a
00:25:30
white truck that would show up late at night when she was leaving work circling the car park on one occasion the driver
00:25:38
had even tried to block her in there are things about escort work that are inherently
00:25:46
dangerous you know if somebody wants to kill a woman they've got to get that
00:25:52
woman on her own with them somewhere where there's no witnesses that is an incredibly difficult thing to
00:26:00
do but if you go and see an escort that is what they do they have to do that these people these Predators have
00:26:10
instant access to them sometimes people feel empowered to treat women H like horribly because they
00:26:20
think they'll never go to the police and report it and um unfortunately that does
00:26:24
make sex work a riskier Endeavor than other types of professions it was work that brought
00:26:31
women like Paige into close contact with men like Lester Jones I think he was obsessed with Paige bergfeld I think
00:26:39
Paige was by far the most desirable and attractive escort he'd ever been lucky
00:26:47
enough to hire the feeling was not mutual one of the times that he had tried to hire her not long before
00:26:58
disappearance she had tried to send direct that business in another direction to one of her co-workers
00:27:05
because she didn't want to have anything more to do with the person who was driving that white truck as
00:27:10
investigators uncovered Jones's criminal history of abducting and assaulting
00:27:15
women they began to wonder if history was repeating itself they needed to find out if Jones
00:27:24
had arranged to meet Paige bergfeld the night she disappeared Jones is arrested and interrogated he
00:27:33
simply says yes of course help yourself there's my DNA happy to give you fingerprints not a problem he did not
00:27:40
deny that he'd been a client of pages and had contact with her knew who she was and used escort services Lester
00:27:49
Jones confirmed to investigators that on the night page vanished he was in the Grand Junction area he was in town and
00:27:58
his wife was out of town as I recall at the time he was in the area he didn't
00:28:03
have an alibi he couldn't established that he was out of the vicinity or couldn't have committed the
00:28:13
crime when investigators got a search warrant they went to Lester Jones workplace and at his workstation they
00:28:20
found some really weird stuff they found some wigs they found a rapper for a track phone track phone or these other
00:28:29
types of you know burner phones are ones where you can purchase it with cash there's no long-term plan associated
00:28:36
with it and so you can have it and not have any details of who owns it who's
00:28:42
paying for it as the search at Lester Jones's workplace continued more evidence linking him to Pa's
00:28:49
disappearance was discovered some accelerance some things that could have been used in a
00:28:55
kidnapping or could have been used in potentially burning the car detectives also found a notebook detailing all of
00:29:03
the escorts Jones had met with describing them by height weight and cup size in other words they reveal that
00:29:12
this apparently normal superficially Charming Man is actually obsessed with sex workers Lester had an active interest in
00:29:25
pornography his wife told us about that he had a lot of pornography on his computer at work as I recall but also on
00:29:33
their home computer it's one more thing that makes you think gez this is somebody who could
00:29:40
commit a crime like this Jones denied meeting page the night she disappeared but the last calls to her sell were from
00:29:48
the phone he'd been seen buying and he had left messages under his fake name
00:29:54
next message hello yeah this is Jim this is Jim just being impatient yeah hello this is Jim yeah this is Jim
00:30:02
just call let me know 719 investigators were convinced that Jones had tricked the young mother into
00:30:09
meeting him before Paige had vanished but armed with only circumstantial evidence getting Justice for page was
00:30:16
not going to be easy there was a ton of pressure on investigators in Mesa County
00:30:23
to press charges Within I want to say months of Paige's disappearance we had largely
00:30:33
honed in on Lester Jones as the most likely person to be responsible for her disappearance the problem that I saw
00:30:45
from that time right up through the end of the investigation was the fact that a
00:30:52
there were other clients of hers who it was hard to absolutely elate as potential suspects in in her
00:31:01
disappearance and B we didn't have a body a defense attorney can argue at least to A Reasonable Doubt level that
00:31:10
there wasn't even a murder that took place because of her double life because
00:31:15
of the fact that all the people who loved her and knew her well knew nothing about this double life and her secret
00:31:23
business as an escort I thought that was just too big a hole in in the case to ever be able to prove Lester Jones's
00:31:31
guilt or anyone else is beyond a reasonable doubt Paige bergfeld remain missing and investigators had no
00:31:38
evidence to prove she had been murdered no suspect would be charged with any crime relating to her the news was a
00:31:45
bitter pill to swallow for Paige's friends and family I was devastated after finding out that she
00:31:53
was missing and realizing as much as I wanted to believe maybe she could be found alive that the reality was she
00:32:01
probably wouldn't be there's a lot of numbness to it because there was no
00:32:06
answer we didn't know that she was murdered and it's a really difficult place to be
00:32:14
in it was long it was drawn out and the family must have suffered dreadfully over those years they must have felt at
00:32:25
times that they were never ever going to get the answers that they needed that they wanted and it was very difficult
00:32:33
for the police I think who would be wanting to give them those answers Paige's father Frank berkfield
00:32:42
had made Regular repeated trips to Grand Junction in an effort to find the missing daughter but without any success
00:32:50
every father and mother's worst nightmare that their daughter should disappear into thin air and nobody be
00:32:56
found it is it's is heartbreaking five long years passed with no closure for Paige's loved ones
00:33:04
and all the time Lester Jones continueed to live and work alongside the innocent
00:33:10
people of Grand Junction by probably 2011 2010 2011 the investigation had somewhat ground to a
00:33:22
halt much of the frustration of PA's family and loved ones particularly her father father Frank
00:33:29
bergfeld Frank bergfeld was just a really great guy he was positive and always seemed to believe that the truth
00:33:39
would come out whatever that was he wanted closure for their family when closure came it was in the most
00:33:47
heartbreaking of circumstances in March of 2012 a hiker in kind of a canyon area
00:33:56
out in the desert stumbles across what the hiker believes to be human remains and within a couple of hours
00:34:06
there were dozens of investigators from the state of Colorado and local jurisdictions scouring this desert area
00:34:14
in remote parts of Western Colorado I remember to this day getting the call from the Sheriff's Office
00:34:21
saying we found skeletal remains in the desert out by Delta we think it may be pages and thinking that good would be
00:34:28
the break that the case needed a skull was found at first then as crime scene officers investigated
00:34:36
further they Unearthed more and more bones forensic analysis established yes that was in fact Paige Berg feld's
00:34:46
Remains the bones buried in a creek bed for years before being washed out by the
00:34:52
rain told a horrifying Story the skull had duct tape wrapped around it clearly as though she'd been her
00:35:03
mouth had been taped chut I don't think the coroner was able to absolutely determine a cause of death
00:35:11
simply cause of death was homicide and the most significant findings from her remains that I recall
00:35:19
were the fact that there was a fracture to her skull that appeared to be contemporaneous with the time of death
00:35:25
and some duct tape remains that appeared to be consistent with her having been restrained which is consistent with
00:35:32
having been kidnapped the news was a devastating blow to Paige's family and friends finding her remains really was
00:35:41
an element of sadness um it it just crushed all hope that she could come back it you know it just
00:35:52
brought it all back up all of that Devastation like but this time it was she really is dead there is no hope now
00:36:00
though incredibly tragic the discovery of PA's remains brought district attorney Pete hinger one step closer to
00:36:07
charging Lester Jones with her murder of particular interest to in Lester Jones's case were the facts
00:36:16
surrounding his prior conviction for having kidnapped his second wife I think the fact that Mr Jones went
00:36:25
to the time in trouble to buy a track phone that Paige when she got a call from that track phone wouldn't know that
00:36:32
it was the same client that she'd been troubled by in the past shows a level of
00:36:37
premeditation in planning the fact that that when PA's remains were found there
00:36:43
were traces of duct tape attached to the skeletal remains also is evidence of premeditation and planning because he
00:36:52
came equipped with what he needed to tie up and restrain her and enable him to take her
00:36:59
away in November 2014 Grand Junction detectives were finally ready to make an arrest it was breaking huge news in
00:37:11
western Colorado and really across the country so many people were following this story when investigators finally
00:37:18
made an arrest and they arrested Lester Jones and charged him with murder in July 2016 n years after Paige
00:37:29
bergfeld went missing Lester Jones went on trial for her murder at Mesa County District
00:37:37
Court Lester Jones entered a plea of not guilty meaning the the obligation of the
00:37:43
district attorney is to prove the case to 12 jurors Beyond a reasonable doubt it was a circumstantial case where layer
00:37:50
upon layer upon layer had to be proen to the jury including the track phone evidence the evidence from the burned
00:37:58
vehicle the evidence from PA's belongings being found along the highway headed down south towards Delta towards
00:38:06
the site where she was actually found buried years later despite the evidence against him Jones appeared stoic in the
00:38:14
courtroom Lester Jones didn't show much emotion he sat on the defense side he
00:38:21
would look straight ahead the courtroom was the first time I actually set eyes on Lester Jones and it
00:38:30
was staggering to know that there was a very high likelihood that he killed one of my best friends I've watched
00:38:38
courtroom shows and there was just nothing like sitting there knowing that this man that I'm in the same room with
00:38:49
is someone capable of such a terrible thing Jones may have seemed confident but investigators had an ace up their
00:38:58
sleeve the prosecution star witness in this case against Lester Jones is actually Lester Jones ex-wife Lisa mans
00:39:08
know she was scared of Lester Jones and testifying against him had to have been difficult for
00:39:13
her it was really sobering to think that a person who killed my best friend was married and you know had been married
00:39:24
before it seemed that at least at some points in the relationships he was a pretty awful
00:39:31
husband he just seemed to not be a very nice guy despite the brave testimony of leis and Nance and the compelling
00:39:39
evidence against him there was still a chance Jones could get away with murder after dozens of witnesses the
00:39:48
jury got this case but they could not come back with a verdict they were deadlocked at 11 to1
00:39:58
according to the people that were in the room they were just unable to convince one member of the jury to find Lester
00:40:08
Jones guilty Beyond A Reasonable Doubt so the judge had to call a mistrial it was just really devastating
00:40:17
that he could potentially walk free like that was it was really scary to know that we have a
00:40:26
killer on the stand and so when he got off it was like a gut punch just 3 months later prosecutors
00:40:34
had the opportunity to make their case against Lester Jones once again I 100% feared that he was going to
00:40:47
get off with no punishment and he would get to walk the streets while my friend who was a
00:40:54
fabulous vibrant you know positive contribution to society who bent over backwards to do things for her kids and
00:41:03
her friends she was dead and he would get to continue and I know life's not fair but that I I completely feared that
00:41:15
that was going to be the outcome you know I've been doing this for 35 years and I will never guarantee anybody what
00:41:22
a jury is going to do so I was certainly relieved and gratified when the second jury came back guilty Beyond Reasonable
00:41:30
Doubt and unanimous on the 27th of December 2016 District Judge Brian Flynn sentenced Lester Jones to life in prison
00:41:40
without parole it's like you're just holding your breath for years waiting to find out like is
00:41:49
somebody going to be punished for this because it it doesn't bring Paige back
00:41:56
and that's the wor worst thing but you know a killer was punished you know there's just got to be something
00:42:05
good in that it took nine years for the family of Paige bergfeld to finally get Justice
00:42:12
for her murder all the while Lester Jones remains silent I'm not sure if we'll
00:42:22
ever figure out exactly what happened to Paige bergfeld it would take the person convicted in
00:42:30
her death to decide to start talking before we get any more information about what
00:42:36
happened that night I remember Paige for how just profoundly kind and energetic and fun
00:42:49
she was she just she was always laughing always having a good time like tried to
00:42:55
always see the bright side of things and I just hope everyone can know her for that The Disappearance of Paige
00:43:04
bergfeld shocked and terrified the people of Western Colorado for nine long years the tragic mystery was finally
00:43:12
solved when Lester Jones was convicted of her murder but his brutal actions would have come as no surprise to the
00:43:20
other women who had the misfortune to cross paths with Lester Jones a man who violently refused to take no for an
00:43:28
answer and one of the world's most evil killers [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most shocking
  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Biggest twist
  • 80
    Most dramatic

Episode Highlights

  • The Disappearance of Paige Bergfeld
    In June 2007, mother of three Paige Bergfeld goes missing, sparking a frantic search.
    “My biggest fear was that she was missing by force.”
    @ 00m 16s
    June 18, 2024
  • Lester Jones's Dark Past
    Lester Jones, a mechanic with a violent history, becomes a key suspect in Paige's case.
    “Lester Jones killed Paige Bergfeld after she refused to continue to provide him services.”
    @ 01m 10s
    June 18, 2024
  • The Discovery of Paige's Car
    Paige's car is found burned, raising fears for her safety and hinting at foul play.
    “Knowing that the car was burned was a really bad sign.”
    @ 15m 45s
    June 18, 2024
  • The Search for Clues
    Search parties comb the area for Paige, uncovering items that suggest she was trying to leave a trail.
    “Paige had seemingly tried to give detectives a clue about what had led to her tragic fate.”
    @ 18m 06s
    June 18, 2024
  • The Secret Life of Paige Bergfeld
    Investigators uncover Paige's double life as an escort, complicating the case further.
    “Paige had a double life... she was also an escort.”
    @ 20m 40s
    June 18, 2024
  • The Discovery of Paige's Remains
    In March 2012, a hiker discovers remains believed to be Paige Bergfeld's, leading to a tragic revelation.
    “The skull had duct tape wrapped around it, indicating a horrifying story.”
    @ 34m 56s
    June 18, 2024
  • Lester Jones Convicted
    After years of investigation, Lester Jones is finally convicted of Paige's murder in December 2016.
    “It took nine years for the family of Paige Bergfeld to finally get justice for her murder.”
    @ 42m 09s
    June 18, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • My biggest fear was that she was missing by force.
    The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • Imagine what it must have been like...
    The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • I was completely shocked.
    The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • Something is definitely wrong here.
    The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • It just crushed all hope that she could come back.
    The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • A killer was punished, but it doesn't bring Paige back.
    The Sickening Crimes of Lester Jones | World’s Most Evil Killers

Key Moments

  • Missing Mother00:10
  • Years of Agony00:33
  • Abduction Attempt07:49
  • Search for Clues18:02
  • Double Life Exposed20:40
  • The Discovery33:51
  • A Heartbreaking Revelation35:45
  • Justice Served41:37

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown