A British conman who spent decades posing as a doctor, priest and charity boss before fleeing the UK has been traced to a German care home 22 years later.
Kenner Elias Jones, 75, from North Wales, became one of the world’s most infamous fraudsters and moved across continents under a string of false identities.
The criminal dubbed ‘Con Jones’ even carried the cross and sang at the investiture ceremony for Charles as the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.
His first wife Donna Lee Mackenzie, whom he also conned for years after meeting in 1979, has been trying to learn what happened to him after he vanished in 2003.
Now, a new documentary called ‘Con Jones: The World’s Best Conman?, which will air on S4C from 9pm tonight and BBC iPlayer, has tracked him down to Germany.
It features audio of Ms Mackenzie being reunited with Jones after 40 years apart, as he tells her: ‘If I could relive my life… I don’t want to go back. What’s done is done.
‘I’m sorry it happened. Life is full of regrets… but you can’t live your life with lots of what ifs because it’s done. If we don’t meet again in this life, we’ve been blessed.’
Cameras were not allowed to film inside the care home itself, but Jones gave the producers permission to record his voice during his conversation with Ms Mackenzie.
Kenner Elias Jones married Donna Lee Mackenzie in 1982 and they moved to Buckinghamshire
Donna Lee Mackenzie talks about her ex-husband in the new documentary airing on S4C
Kenner Elias Jones is pictured in the German care home after being visited by Ms Mackenzie
The audio begins with her introducing herself as ‘Donna – and for a short time I was Mrs Kenner Elias Jones.’ Jones says he does not recognise her and ‘feels terrible’.
She then asks about a ring on his finger, which he says she gave him. She then tells him that she has a fountain pen in her possession which she had after they split up.
Ms Mackenzie offers to return it to him, but he insists she keeps it, adding: ‘Whatever you brought, it’s better you keep it because I am not going anywhere after this.’
In another clip shared with the Daily Mail, Ms Mackenzie talks about an occasion when Jones made her believe a former co-prisoner of his was coming after them.
She tells producers: ‘So I sat there in the dark little hallway of the house with a fire poker in my hand and an unconscious drunken husband in the bedroom.
‘And an image in my mind of this irate, furious man coming to get us. And I watched the door and I cried. I know now that he never was coming through the door.’
Those who remember Jones said his moment of the glory at the investiture came after he apparently talked his way into carrying the cross for the ceremony.
Jones carried the cross and sang at the investiture ceremony for Charles as the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in 1969 (Charles is pictured that day with Queen Elizabeth II)
Jones, of North Wales, become one of the world’s most infamous fraudsters over five decades
This was followed by a lifetime of deception which saw him con, steal and continually reinvent himself as he charmed, manipulated and transformed himself.
Jones served jail sentences for fraud, theft and forging documents, but managed to convince fellow inmates his ex-wife had been killed in a helicopter crash.
He also repeatedly created new identities as old lives collapsed, with one former US investigator describing him as ‘the best conman’ he has ever encountered.
Producer Marc Edwards, who has spent three decades following Jones, tells the programme: ‘Once one life comes to an end, Ken can create a new one.’
He adds: ‘I feel a special attachment to the story because I have followed it for 30 years. Ken is a character, a person who can captivate someone with his personality.
‘He can make someone feel that they are the most interesting and important person in the room, and he can tailor any story to any situation and to any individual.’
Jones, who was from Caernarfon, spent five decades carrying out scams across continents – and repeatedly slipped through the net using false documents despite being deported, banned and pursued by several countries.
Ms Mackenzie says Kenner made her believe a former co-inmate of his was coming after them
Jones spent decades posing as a doctor, priest and charity boss before fleeing the UK
His trail of deception took him across Europe and to North America and Africa. He was married three times and served prison sentences in Britain, Canada and the US.
The documentary sees those closest to him, including Ms Mackenzie, try to piece the story together about his life and discover what happened to him.
He met the Canadian journalist in Llandudno in 1979 before they married in 1982 and lived in Buckinghamshire before moving to Vancouver.
But their relationship collapsed when Jones was found to have taken thousands of pounds from her savings and was using her empty bank account in Canada to write fake cheques.
This led to her learning about his criminal past – and while then briefly reconciled, the relationship ended for good when she discovered he had taken money from her extended family by claiming she was dying.
In recent decades former choirboy Jones had been traced to Portugal and Africa, posing as a doctor in Kenya for seven years without any qualifications and even setting up a charity called Luke’s Fund.
Jones (left) posed as a doctor in Kenya for seven years without any qualifications
Jones was due to stand trial for fraud at Lewes Crown Court in 2003 but fled the night before
He also claimed to be a priest and lived among a Christian community in Kenya, according to a previous BBC Wales investigation.
The broadcaster also tracked him down in Lisbon on its ‘Week In Week Out’ programme in 2011, claiming he had swindled a travel agent out of tickets from Uganda to Lisbon worth £2,160 and had also been ‘targeting’ local businesses.
His previous convictions include being jailed at the Old Bailey in 1975 for theft and forgery.
In 1980 he also received a 15-month jail sentence for obtaining money by deception at Coventry Crown Court.
Then in 1996 he received an 18-month prison sentence for deception and fraud.
Jones was due to stand trial for fraud at Lewes Crown Court in 2003 but fled the night before and has not been caught in the UK since.
In 2017, Ms McKenzie wrote a book about Jones in an attempt to track him down – and the documentary will reveal how he was eventually traced to Germany.
‘Con Jones: The World’s Best Conman?’ will air on S4C at 9pm tonight and 9pm tomorrow, as well as on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer from today
