Autopsy set on victim's birthday
Sheriff's Department investigators say death was likely from gunshot
By Lauren Brooks
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Jon Brian Ford's family should have been celebrating his 48th birthday today at their Round Mountain home.
Instead, they're waiting for answers about his death, which authorities are calling a homicide.
An autopsy has been scheduled for this morning and results are expected to be released this afternoon, said a spokesman for the Shasta County coroner's office.
And the investigation into Ford's death is continuing.
"We haven't identified the weapon that was used yet," said Shasta County sheriff's Capt. Dave Compomizzo.
But investigators think Ford died from gunshot wounds, Compomizzo said Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday morning, Ford's father, Elwood "Woody" Ford, found his son unconscious at his remote home off Mountain School Road, where he later died. Jon Ford was the owner of My-T-Fine Foods in Bella Vista and the Golden Bear Store & Deli in Round Mountain.
On Tuesday, investigators were tracking what they called "persons of interest" to interview while Shasta County Search and Rescue personnel were at Ford's home searching for clues, Compomizzo said.
"We're just back up there grinding away," he said Tuesday morning.
Compomizzo has said that Ford's death was "suspicious" and that he suffered "obvious trauma."
Ford leaves behind a wife, Julie, and three children: Hamilton, 24, Nate, 21, and Delaney, 18. None of the children was living at the Mountain School Road home and they were "all accounted for," Compomizzo said.
Ford's father is a former Fall River Joint Unified School District superintendent who lives with his wife, Anita, about half a mile away from Jon Ford.
In 1992, the Fountain Fire destroyed Jon Ford's home and the home of his parents, both off Mountain School Road.
At that time, Jon Ford and his wife owned Shasta Data Connection, a computerized bookkeeping service in Redding, according to an article in the Record Searchlight. Jon Ford also was the physical education coach at King's Kids Christian School in Redding, a ministry of Bethel Church.
Shortly after the fire, people who attended the church gave the Ford family $5,000 in cash, clothing and furniture to help them start over.
Jon Ford said for a 1992 article that the fire and people's generosity taught him about the pridefulness of possessions and the humility of receiving gifts.
"It's hard to receive a lot of things," he said. "This time things are turned around. The Lord says to receive it with joy and thanksgiving."
Ford also said at the time that he was learning more about patience and "letting God lead us" one day at a time.
To all of you who took the time to read that, thank you.
This man was my neighbor.
Now, I'm not the sort who likes to lie, so I won't start saying "he was a great man, his life was too young, life is so cruel, etc...," because I didn't know him that well, and the relationship I did have with him wasn't usually good. But, it is a tragedy that he was murdered, no denying that. And it's a shame the autopsy was set on his birthday. From what I knew of him, Jon was a good, hard-working man who treated most people with respect. My family may have gotten into scraps with him before, but it makes me incredibly sad to lose Jon and even sadder to know that someone disliked him enough to kill him. I hope you'll all read this, and go home thinking, "I hope I treated most people well enough that noone would consider doing this to me." Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this.
