Mississippi police charged a grandmother with murder Tuesday in the horrific death of a 20-month-old baby girl whose body was found in an oven.
The International Business Times reports Carolyn Jones, 48, of Shaw, Mississippi, was her granddaughter Royalty Marie Floyd’s caretaker. On Monday evening, the 20-month-old girl’s body was discovered by Jones’ brother, and he called the police, according to the report.
Authorities said they are waiting on the results of an autopsy, but the girl’s body appeared to have been stabbed, placed in the oven and then the oven turned on.
Jones now is facing first-degree murder charges.
Bolivar County Sheriff Kelvin Williams Sr. said this is one of the worst crime cases he has ever witnessed, the Clarion Ledger reports.
“I’ve been doing law enforcement for 25 or 26 years now,” Williams said. “This is one of the most horrible things I’ve seen in doing law enforcement. The hardest part … is to see a child victim.”
He said they know that Jones was the only one home with the baby when the murder took place, but they do not know the motive.
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The baby’s mother, Veronica Jones, did not live with her daughter, according to reports. The reasons why are unclear.
Here’s more from IBT:
Jones made an initial appearance Tuesday evening before a judge, who set bail at $500,000. Jones remained jailed and it wasn’t immediately clear if she had a lawyer who could speak for her.
Sheriff’s officials said Floyd lived with Jones while Floyd’s mother lived elsewhere.
Williams said Jones’ brother found the body Monday night and called police in Shaw, a town of about 2,000 people approximately 100 miles northwest of Jackson. Police in turn called the sheriff’s office and others for assistance.
Spokesman Warren Strain at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said investigators are still probing for the cause of the girl’s death, as well as when exactly the girl died and whether that was before she was placed in the oven. The child’s body has been sent to the state Crime Lab in Pearl for an autopsy, though Williams said autopsy results were not yet complete on Tuesday.
This sickening tragedy could have been prevented. If, soon after her birth, the baby girl’s parents decided they could not care for her, they could have relinquished her at a safe haven. These safe drop-off points help protect newborns from infanticide. However, most laws allow the infant to be relinquished only within the first month of life outside the womb.
Adoption also would have been a loving option. Millions of families are waiting to adopt children across America, and many wait years and spend thousands of dollars to adopt a child.
