Mother of slain Compton boy pleads with father charged with murder for answers

The mother of 9-year-old Princeton Jones, whose father was recently charged with her murder, said she is still trying to find answers in her son’s death a week ago.

Earlier Saturday, at a news conference outside Compton City Hall, the boy’s mother, Creole Green, 31, said she had received no information from detectives or the boy’s father. Any information about what happened the night her son was killed.

Princeton was shot to death on the evening of Nov. 30 in the backyard of his grandfather’s home in the 1500 block of South Haskins Avenue in Rancho Dominguez, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, according to police.

The next day, Los Angeles County detectives arrested the boy’s father, Nicholas Thomas Jones, 32, of Compton, on charges related to the boy’s death. The District Attorney’s Office charged Jones with one count of murder and one count of intentional child abuse resulting in possible injury or death. Prosecutors also proposed enhanced sentences for using a firearm during a crime and causing injury resulting in death.

Green’s family said Jones has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A hearing in the case is scheduled for next month.

Surrounded by family and supporters, Creole Green took a deep breath and stared down at the white shirt emblazoned with a large photo of her son’s smiling son.

Family friend Selina Littlefield (center) attends a news conference outside Compton City Hall on Dec. 7, 2024, demanding answers in the death of 9-year-old Princeton Nicholas Jones. Sheriff’s deputies arrested the father of nine Nicholas Jones, 4, of Princeton on Nov. 30 in the back of his grandfather’s home in Rancho Dominguez, an unincorporated area of ​​Compton. He was shot while playing in the yard.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

“I didn’t know what was going on and I came to the scene and the police told me my baby was missing,” she said. “They said my son was missing. How? Why? What happened? Was he at grandpa’s house with his dad? Was there something exposed that he shouldn’t have seen? Was there a fight? Was there an argument?

A news camera stopped in front of her, and Green addressed Jones while looking straight into the camera.

“If you see this, if this is an accident, please tell me and I will stand with you because I can’t imagine something like this being in my hands, but I don’t know if you don’t give me anything,” she said. “I don’t know. I wish someone could give me something. I wish you could call me and let me know what’s going on. I don’t want to wait until January to find out what happened to my 9-year-old son.

Green said she and Jones had conflicts with each other but eventually came together to co-parent their son.

Creole Green, 31, spoke outside Compton City Hall on December 7, 2024, calling for answers to the death of her 9-year-old son. The Los Angeles County Sheriff arrested the father of 9-year-old Princeton Nicholas Jones after he was killed on November 30 behind his grandfather’s home in Rancho Dominguez, an unincorporated neighborhood in Compton. He was shot while playing in the yard.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

“He’s not a bad parent, he loves his son – I think,” she said.

Although Green tried not to speak negatively about Jones, she said she recently filed a restraining order against him and his girlfriend and suggested the two often got into fights in front of Princeton University, which she did not want her son to witness.

“I wanted my son to have a positive, nurturing environment,” she said, “not a place full of chaos.”

She said she and Jones communicated primarily through email and that she had filed for back child support.

“Child support is not that much, it’s only $92, the most is $172 – that’s gas money, frankly.”

She didn’t know if the issues were related to her son’s death.

She said if she could visit Jones in prison, she would.

“I want him to look into my eyes and see me,” she said. “He took everything I had.”

Green spoke fondly with tears in her eyes about her son and how much he loved collecting rocks.

Creole Green (center), 31, is comforted by loved ones outside Compton City Hall on December 7, 2024. The latter was shot and killed Nov. 30 while playing in the backyard of his grandfather’s home in Rancho Dominguez, an unincorporated area of ​​Compton.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

“He wants to know about the solar system, he wants to know everything about science, and he knows the names of dinosaurs,” she said with a laugh. “He knew everything there was to know about them and I had to Google some of the things he talked about.”

She wiped away her tears and smiled.

“He had things that mom Googled,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I could connect with him.”

In April, she said she surprised him by taking him to Hawaii.

“He didn’t know or understand until he saw the plane,” she said.

She recalls that moment.

“I saw a plane, Mom,” she remembers her son telling her.

“We’re going to Hawaii,” she told him.

She said he wanted to pick a coconut and eat sushi and crab.

“My son is very special and I’m trying to keep it that way,” she said. “He’s my everything. How do I move on?