maybe something went wrong with his plan. he obviously planned sharpton's death for a while so why in any case would it have turned into dumping a body on the side of a fairly traveled road and lighting it on fire? that seems like pretty much one of the worst ways to deal with that situation if you're trying not to get caught, especially when you went to fairly great lengths to plan the rest of it (fake job, convincing her to go to an interview, etc).
if he is involved with holly it could have been the same MO except in holly's case his plan worked and in megan sharpton's it did not. maybe megan fought back or he thought someone saw something or she somehow disrupted what he was planning.
i want to find more info on the carpool situation. did megan pick up his wife at their house and that's how he saw her? had they ever formally met? i'm very suspicious of the idea that this guy could convince megan that there is a nursing job available and that she should come for an interview etc etc with no outside help unless she knew him fairly well which doesn't seem to be the case from what i've read.
Regarding the M.O.-- I think it's possible that Donnie Jones had to rush up getting rid of Megan's body, simply because he had time constraints he was working under. If he was gone too long, perhaps suspicion would have been aroused. I'm assuming that since he was married, he lived with his wife and would have therefore had to account for his whereabouts. The general sloppiness of disposing of Megan and her possessions could mean he was rushed, or it could mean he was wanting to show off his handiwork. As far as I know, there was no statement released about these aspects of the case.
In the other thread here, Megan's mother set the record straight on some things. Megan had ridden to nearby Shelbyville with her murderer's wife several times, as they were both taking nursing classes at the college there. Megan's mom said that the husband only drove his wife and Megan both on one occasion when it had snowed, and the two women had a class in Murfreesboro. I'm sure in Megan's mind, some trust was there because of riding with the wife several times.
So then this guy calls Megan up and wants her to sit with his "aged, sick" mother, who wasn't aged or sick at all. Megan told her mother about the perspective job and that she was to meet him and talk about the job. Megan's mother knew she had ridden with them some, so there was probably less concern about her going alone to meet him.
The scary part was that he had been trolling for victims. He had another young lady lined up to come meet him, but he canceled his meeting with her when she said she was bringing her mother along. He was using a throw away cellphone to contact his victims. The story linked below states that someone else is being investigated as an accessory to murder.
What would be vital to know, in order to see if Holly Bobo's disappearance could be connected, would be Donnie Jones' employment record. I believe Megan's mom spoke some about that in the other thread here.
Here is the media link to the story that tells of his guilty plea. The saddest part is that Megan's mother learned in court that Megan was still alive, though hopefully unconscious, when her body was set on fire:
http://m.wsmv.com/w/main/story/84246373/
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