When asked by a member of the Indiana State Parole Board on Friday the reason he stabbed an elderly Owen County woman over 70 times in 1975, he said he didn't know.
But it's something he will be able to consider soon outside the walls of Indiana's Pendleton Correctional Facility.
Shortly after determining he was still unsure why the 15-year-old David K. Jones brutally murdered Myrl Freeman, 66, of Cataract, the parole board voted 3-1-1 to release Jones, now 42-years-old.
Jones was asked by parole board vice chairman Valerie Parker how he could be sure another moment of rage wouldn't again control his actions.
"How do you tell (the community) it is not going to come back when you don't know where it came from?" Parker asked.
Jones calmly explained he thought it might have been a variety of circumstances during those years of his life that combined that fateful night.
He has talked to psychotherapists who feel it may have been a combination of bipolar disorder and medications prescribed in bad doses, along with the natural stress of teenage years and "being caught in a mischievous deed" that exploded that night into Myrl Freeman's slaying.
He says he wants to know why as well.
"This is a person who extended nothing but help for me. How did I end up in this situation?" Jones said.
Jones was sentenced to a life sentence in 1977 for the killing of Freeman - but was eligible for parole after 20 years. His request in 1996 was denied. Jones said he has long ago stopped taking medications he felt may have been partially responsible for the rage - and has done everything he feels possible to change his life.
"During the course of my incarceration, I have graduated from Ball State. I am a certified tutor," he explained. He also has a job awaiting him at a construction company out of Noblesville.
His parents are in their early 70s, and Jones said it is time for him to look after them.
"This will be my responsibility to repay them for the years that they have made me their sole responsibility," he suggested.
He participates in a mentoring and literacy program at Pendleton. Recently, he said, an inmate received his GED because - in part - of Jones' efforts.
"That's my reward. For my crime, there is nothing more I can do but do good deeds. Not only for my family, but for everybody I come into contact with," he said, explaining he could never unhurt his victim, his victim's family or his family. But he said he will do what he can.
"When I get out, I want everything to be for the benefit of good," he said. "When I leave this Earth, I want to go up there and ask for forgiveness then - not only from the Lord but from my victim as well. I can't do that now. I understand I have a heavy debt to pay - and I plan on continuing to pay it," Jones said.
He said he has worked in the hospital ward, changing diapers and other jobs.
"I've done everything I didn't have to do - but I did that because that's the type of person I am. I'm not that 15-year-old kid. I couldn't have a clue what that kid was at that time," he explained.
Once the tall, slender Jones - cloaked in a khaki jumpsuit, crisp haircut and mustache - left the room, the board spoke about their feelings. All agreed it was a monstrous crime.
Parole board chairman Ray Justak called Jones a model inmate, but believed the crime was brutal enough to justify five more years.
"We do have situations where we can keep them too long," he explained.
Parker voted to have Jones reconsidered in 12 months instead of the normal five year time frame.
But three other board members - Thor Miller, Ray Rizzo and George Kemp - voted with hesitation to release him.
"I don't think we will ever know what happened in that few minutes. I think it's locked away inside him and we will never find out," Ray Rizzo said.
Severe stipulations were given along with the parole. Jones will not be allowed to drink alcohol or enter bars, and will be subject to several mental health evaluations as officials try to pin down what happened that night in 1975.
"We share the same questions you do. Why did this happen? We would feel a lot more comfortable - and I know you would too - if we knew why this happened," Kemp said.
He was told if he violates parole, he will be reincarcerated for life - and Kemp said the parole board will be quick to do that.
"We will lock you up. We have no problem doing that," Kemp said. "You have been incarcerated for a long period of time and you will be judged very closely for your adjustment," Kemp added, suggesting Jones turn to his parole officer if there are any problems at all. A parole officer is to help, not hinder, a parolee.
Kemp noted Jones' crime was a "violent and senseless act" - and asked what Jones would say to someone who asked why he still wasn't in prison.
"I never hid the fact that I did my crime. Although I'd love to sit here and talk about mitigating circumstances and things that led up to that ... I'm ultimately responsible," Jones said.
He broke down speaking about the Freemans, and how they had helped his father in the 1970s after an accident across from Myrl Freeman's home.
He thanked the parole board for allowing him the chance to give "somewhat of an apology" to the Freeman family.
"I know it means little and it means nothing to a lot of people, but it means everything to me. This is the first opportunity I've had to let anybody know how sorry I am. I've hurt a lot of people," he explained.
A total of 13 family members of Jones' family were present, along with 8 members of Myrl Freeman's family. Opinions were mixed about the decision one parole board member called "a very difficult case."
Two of Myrl Freeman's sons spoke afterwards.
Gerald Freeman said he feared it would happen - especially after watching a videotape presentation Jones made in May.
"We had our suspicions ... we had a couple of friends watch the tape, and they said the lawyers told him what to say," Gerald Freeman noted. He said while Jones apologized in the parole hearing, that was the only time they ever heard such words in over 25 years.
Floyd Freeman was surprised.
"They gave him a life sentence, and that's what he should have had," Floyd Freeman said. "Our system is getting weaker. You can get away with anything nowadays," Floyd Freeman added.
A woman who identified herself as Jones' sister, Mary, was crying and relieved. She apologized to the Freemans for her brother's actions, but was happy he was coming out of prison.
"I'm glad my brother is coming home. My brother has done a lot of changing and growing up," she cried. "I thank God and Jesus. And I told the family how sorry I am," Mary added.