Lexington man who dismembered ex-girlfriend’s body is sentenced

A Lexington man who pleaded guilty to killing his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend and dismembering her body was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday, according to LEX 18.

Patrick Ryan Jones, 27, pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, in February to the 2016 murder of Haley Bourgeois. Jones also pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse.

Jones will have access to mental-health programs in prison by pleading mentally ill.

Bourgeois’ body was disposed of in two dumpsters on Malabu Drive behind the Brookhaven Apartments building, according to police. Hours after her body was found July 21, 2016, Jones was arrested and charged with murder, among other charges.

Detectives think Jones got into an altercation with the victim the day before and hit her with a blunt object, police said.

Bourgeois and Jones had a child together, according to court documents. Records also show that Jones and Bourgeois had filed emergency protective orders against each other, but the orders were later dismissed.

A staff psychiatrist who evaluated Jones at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in La Grange determined that he had a mental illness. But the psychiatrist also found that Jones was competent to stand trial.

This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Lexington man who dismembered ex-girlfriend’s body is sentenced."