IL - Navin Jones, 8, death by abuse and neglect, parents charged, Peoria, 29 March 2022

[tlcya]

Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood told WEEK this was one of the worst abuse cases he has ever witnessed.

Police arrested the boy's parents, 35-year-old Stephanie Jones and 40-year-old Brandon Walker, as suspects. They are accused of endangering the life or health of a child, resulting in death.
[snip]
My hearts broken for this little boy. It was probably one of the most difficult things that I’ve had to preside over since I became coroner 5 years ago,” said Harwood.
Peoria parents charged in connection with 8-year-old son's death

Neighbors Heart of Illinois ABC spoke with did not want to be identified. They say the family had only lived there a short time. A woman said she had her suspicions, but also did not think it would come to this.

“I feel sick. I’ve been feeling nauseous since I saw the ambulance out here yesterday,” said a neighbor.
[snip]
“As mothers were protecting our kids from everything out here and in this case, the little boy needed to be protected from his own parents,” said a neighbor.

8-year-old Navin Jones was pronounced dead the same day. Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood was horrified.

“It was enough for us to say it was abuse and neglect for his cause of death,” said Harwood.
DCFS confirms prior involvement with family of 8-year-old killed from abuse

Paramedics rushed Navin, who was in critical condition, to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 7:39 p.m., according to Harwood.

Peoria Public Schools spokesman Thomas Bruch said Jones was not enrolled in the district as a student.
Peoria police arrest parents in death of 8-year-old Navin Jones

DCFS had had recent contact with the family. I am just so tired of these cases. Over and over and over we see these innocents killed by their own parents. Every single time we discover people were reporting concerns, but it still didn't save the child. Over and over and over. SMH It's so disheartening.

 

[borndem]

Damm, I hate to see these horrors. Why, why, why? Because they can. I guess there were other things in the parents' lives that they could not control, so they did their control trick on a defenseless little boy -- their own flesh & blood (I assume). Grrrrr.
At least now this little guy is no longer hurting, hungry or scared. May he fly high with the other innocents and be at peace.
I am, however, hoping the parents are scared out of their wits.
So DCFS was apparently aware of this family recently. I'd like to know more about that.

Thanks for starting this thread, @tlcya.

 

[tlcya]

The documents also outline a lengthy effort by multiple police departments and child-welfare staff to ascertain the boy's welfare beginning last August when his grandmother, Navin Jones' legal guardian, said his parents Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker refused to return Navin to her custody after staying with them while she was out of town.
[snip]
At the time, on Feb. 22, the investigator noted the boy was "sickly" and thin in appearance, that his parents said he "has access to food and eats a lot but does not gain weight," but that he "reported feeling safe at home."

Five weeks later, the boy was dead.
DCFS reports detail final months of Navin Jones

Navin’s Paternal Grandmother and legal guardian, allowed Navin and his older brother to stay with their biological parents, Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker, on July 10, 2021, as she needed to address a family emergency in Florida.
REPORT: Navin Jones family investigated by DCFS since August 2021 | CIProud.com

@borndem apparently DCFS had been involved his whole life. Parents weren't supposed to have custody. Grandma made teh mistake of letting Navin and his older brother stay with their parents back in August 2021 and then parents refused to give them back. Very good timeline at this article and it is heartbreaking.

 

[tlcya]

Funeral services for an 8-year-old boy whose parents have been accused of fatally neglecting and abusing him have been set for Tuesday morning.

According to his obituary in the Journal Star, a Mass of Christian Burial for Navin Jones will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Morton, with Msgr. Gerald Ward officiating. Burial will be in Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria.
Funeral services for Navin Jones of Peoria have been set
fly high sweet boy

 

[tlcya]

Navin reportedly had ligature marks and bed sores on his back.
[snip]
WHOI reports the officers said Navin was extremely malnourished to the point where they could see his bones.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had extensive involvement in Jones's life starting back in 2012 lasting until the day he died.
Funeral set for 8-year-old who died from neglect, abuse

 

[tlcya]

The parents of an eight-year-old boy have been arrested after their son stopped breathing weighing just 38 pounds.

Peoria, Illinois authorities have announced that Brandon Walker, 40, and Stephanie Jones, 35, have been charged with first-degree murder. Their bond has been set at $1m each and they could face life in prison.
Parents arrested after eight-year-old dies weighing 38 pounds

 

[tlcya]

this link contains the report by DCFS dated April 1 outlining their contacts with Navin and his parents. It is quite literally heartbreaking. Little man weighed 38lbs, open sores on his skin, ligature marks, was lying unresponsive on urine soaked bed linens. His body temp was 72. This baby suffered so. I wonder if these monsters told him and his brother that grandma had abandoned them back with their tormentors? Heart broken.

REPORT: Navin Jones family investigated by DCFS since August 2021 | CIProud.com

 

[tlcya]

'Do not give him any food' sign hung outside bedroom of child who died of abuse, police say
The parents are also accused of keeping a sign outside of his bedroom that read, "Do not give Navin any food or drinks. Do not let him out of the room. He has what he needs til I wake up."

Officials report there were text messages exchanged between Walker and Jones that included details about locking Navin in his room, beating him for peeing in his bedroom while he was locked inside, and tying him up in the basement, WEEK said.

Navin's room had a padlock on his closet door. The inside smelled of urine and feces.
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I have such hate in my heart

 

[tlcya]

Hoos says that during the first minute of the 9-1-1 call Jones placed, she was complaining about Navin to the dispatcher - before telling them he was unresponsive.

“With his parents, for the last 6 months of Navin’s life, he was tortured, beaten, starved, and imprisoned, all by the two people there to protect him,” she said.

Hoos has filed a motion to increase their already million-dollar bond each. That number will be announced Thursday during their arrangement on these new charges.
Parents accused in death of Navin Jones indicted by Peoria County Grand Jury

 

[tlcya]

Stephanie Jones had a baby boy who passed away in 2007, according to our ABC affiliate.

Navin's half-brother Nigel died when he was 3 months old of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to the coroner.

"There was no viable cause of death to this child and we have another child by the same mother who is now dead and I think that's of concern, it's a red flag," said Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood. "And so, our goal is justice."

However, now that 15 years have passed Harwood says he now has the ability to determine exactly how Nigel died instead of a broad answer such as SIDS.
Coroner reopens investigation into death of Navin Jones' half-brother

 

[tlcya]

The previous coroner’s report indicates baby Nigel was found unresponsive wedged between cushions of a futon couch.

The father, Justin Ragon, put the baby on the couch on his back and surrounded him with a blanket so he could not move.

According to that report, he then woke Stephanie up and told her to get up because he was leaving for work. When he came home, Nigel was in a completely different spot - one he says the baby couldn’t have gotten into on his own.

Baby Nigel was face down with his whole body in the folded crack of a futon. Stephanie says she woke up to the father screaming ‘my baby my baby’ claiming she was asleep the whole time.

The report also indicates the baby had been at OSF several times in the past months for chronic crying and spitting up.
2007: Death of 3-month-old reopened, what parents reported

 

[libraryg]

'Do not give him any food' sign hung outside bedroom of child who died of abuse, police say
The parents are also accused of keeping a sign outside of his bedroom that read, "Do not give Navin any food or drinks. Do not let him out of the room. He has what he needs til I wake up."



Officials report there were text messages exchanged between Walker and Jones that included details about locking Navin in his room, beating him for peeing in his bedroom while he was locked inside, and tying him up in the basement, WEEK said.

Navin's room had a padlock on his closet door. The inside smelled of urine and feces.
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I have such hate in my heart

Peoria is my hometown. Luckily we escaped this mini Chicago in 2019. This family lived not far from us. I am sickened to my core reading this. Poor sweet boys. Too good for this world! May justice come soon.

 

[LoveyG]

I don't understand why DCF/LE didn't just return those children to their guardian? What was the reason for not doing so?

 

[tlcya]

Peoria Journal Star Obituaries in Peoria, IL | Peoria Journal Star

 

[tlcya]

PEORIA – On Thursday morning, a Peoria County judge raised the bond for two parents accused of fatally neglecting their son after new abuse allegations came to light.

Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker discussed "whooping" Navin Jones for eating the dog's food and drinking out of its bowl. One text message said "kick his (expletive), seabass."

Other text messages talked about tying the boy up in the basement after he was found urinating in his room – which had the door's knob removed and a rope holding it shut.

Vespa upped their bond from $1 million to $5 million, meaning Jones and Walker would need to post $500,000 to get out of the county jail. Prosecutors had sought the higher bond based upon new evidence as well as additional charges that could mean a stiffer sentence if they are convicted.
Navin Jones case: Bond raised for parents accused of neglecting son

 

[tlcya]

Navin Jones' half-brother didn't die of SIDS in 2007, Peoria County coroner now believes

PEORIA – While the investigation isn't over into the death of Navin Jones' half-brother 15 years ago, the Peoria County coroner did already determine that the initial ruling wasn't accurate.
[snip]
That doesn't mean the baby's death was foul play. Rather, it means there could be accidental circumstances. But, it appears it was not natural, based upon the coroner's statements.
[snip]
"I am reopening this case to review it with a different lens, the lens of a nurse death investigator," Harwood said then. "Fifteen years have passed, times have changed, investigative methods have changed, and forensics has advanced.

 

[tlcya]

LISTEN: 911 call reveals Navin Jones’ final minutes

The 911 call is linked at this article and I have just listened. Wish I hadn't, it infuriated me. Now I understand what the previous articles referred to when they described her spending the first few minutes of the call complaining about him. The shock in the dispatcher's voice when she finally reveals the son is unresponsive and an 8 year old.

I just can't even with these parents. I wish they could be made to suffer like little man did.

 

[Marg from Oz]

Those two don't look like they've ever missed a meal. As for the 911 call, she is unbelievable.
MOO

 

[tlcya]

Brandon Walker appeared in person, but Stephanie Jones was unable to due to undisclosed reasons. Both, however, had their court dates moved following a motion from both sides.

A new scheduling hearing is now scheduled for Dec. 29, with a jury trial set for Jan. 9.
Court dates moved for parents accused of killing 8-year-old boy
Peoria, IL, USA 1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Will Stevenson
Jun 30, 2022 | 5:24 PM
Peoria County Circuit Court records indicate following a conference to Thursday involving prosecutors and attorneys for Brandon Walker, 40, and Stephanie Jones, 35, the earliest their trials will now be held is January 9th
https://www.1470wmbd.com/2022/06/30...-year-old-boy-delayed-until-at-least-january/

 

[mpnola]

Poor baby. Why in the world didn't they return the children to grandma after they made contact?!?!? I feel bad for her. She tried to get them back and was not only mistreated by her son, but treated like she didn't matter by the people who she needed to get then back! And a child paid the ultimate price for their negligence.

I can never understand the ability or joy of hurting a child.