The older sister of April Jones has broken her silence almost 14 years after the five-year-old was murdered. Hazel Jones, now 31, spoke about the ongoing pain and her views on the killer's punishment. April vanished while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, in October 2012. Despite a massive search, her body was never found. Mark Bridger, who lived nearby, was given a whole-life term in 2013 after being convicted of abduction, murder, perverting justice, and unlawful concealment of a body.
April's father, Paul Jones, died suddenly aged 56 after contracting a virus. He had been living with encephalitis and never discovered what happened to his daughter's remains. Hazel said the tragedy still feels unreal: 'It's been 13 years now and it's still not actually sunk in. I still don't believe it happened to us. I'm still waiting to wake up from this nightmare.'
Hazel recalled her last memory of April: 'She was in the kitchen, she was with my dad and they were making hot chocolate, and laughing. She was wearing army pyjamas.' She added that she wishes she had known it was the last time she would see her sister.
Commenting on reports of a second attack on Bridger in prison, Hazel said: 'He deserves everything he's getting. He literally deserves it all.' She expressed support for chemical castration of sex offenders but dismissed the death penalty as 'an easy way out'. She said: 'Make him suffer, make him live every day because he's not coming out. Make him live in fear.'
