Two foster parents in Michigan are facing multiple felonies for allegedly abusing, torturing, and eventually killing a 9-year-old boy in their care last year, leaving the child bruised “from head to toe” and with “too many scars to count” when he died from untreated pneumonia.
Sherman Devaughn Jones, 46, and Sampaguita L. Jones, 41, were arrested and charged with one count each of felony murder, torture, and involuntary manslaughter in the death of young Owen, authorities said.
According to a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, emergency medical personnel responded to a residence in the 3700 block of Gladstone Street in Detroit around 12:30 p.m. on September 19, 2024, after receiving reports of an unresponsive child. Paramedics took the child to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
The Wayne County medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined that pneumonia was the cause of death for the 9-year-old. However, a subsequent investigation into the boy’s death turned up a harrowing case of physical and emotional abuse, prosecutors claim.
“It is alleged that the defendants neglected and physically assaulted the child, resulting in his death,” according to the release.
The defendants appeared for their arraignment on Thursday, and prosecutors provided additional information about the allegations against the foster parents, as seen in footage from Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV.
During the hearing, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Erin Wilmoth described the allegations in the case as “beyond egregious,” claiming that the young boy suffered “unimaginable pain and suffering” at the hands of the Joneses.
“The evidence in this case supports that Owen suffered long-term severe physical abuse at the hands of both defendants, who were his carers at the time,” according to her.
According to the prosecutor, a family member first noticed physical injuries on Owen in June 2023 and contacted CPS. Unfortunately, CPS “failed to open an appropriate investigation,” Wilmoth explained.
She described the medical evidence that showed Owen had “scars, scratches, discolouration, and bruising over the entire surface of his body,” Wilmoth said, “from head to toe.”
“In fact, the medical report notes that there were too many scars to count on Owen’s body,” the prosecutor continued. “He was underweight with a very protruding stomach.
He had both healing and acute fractures, which means nonhealing fractures that occurred close to his death, including fractures of the ribs, pelvis, elbow, scapula, humerus, hands, arms, and so on.
Wilmoth stated that additional medical evidence would be presented to the court in the future, but added that there was also evidence indicating that Owen was “concealed from the world” to prevent others from learning about the alleged abuse.
“He was frequently locked away in his bedroom, not allowed to go outside, and not taken for routine wellness checks,” she said, adding that Owen was homeschooled, alleging that this was also done to keep the abuse he suffered hidden.
According to Wilmoth, Owen’s trauma increased his susceptibility to infections. Despite this, the defendants allegedly ignored his “progressive symptoms for weeks.”
Wilmoth argued that the “extremely rare” case of a 9-year-old dying of pneumonia was directly related to Owen’s physical abuse and refusal to seek treatment.
The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be homicide “due to the duration that these progressive symptoms were ignored,” the prosecutor stated. Doctors said the boy’s right lung collapsed because his entire right chest cavity was filled with pus.
An attorney for the defendants stated that CPS did not consider Owen’s situation to be serious enough to open an investigation into the Joneses “despite a report being made,” noting that the allegations date back two years and that both defendants work.
The judge sided with prosecutors and remanded the Joneses to pretrial detention. They are scheduled to return to court on July 3 for a probable cause conference.
