Kansas Woman Gets Life Sentence In Death Of Stepson Fed To Pigs By Husband

Heather Jones will serve life for failing to protect her stepson from his abusive father, who later fed his body to pigs, CBS News is reporting.

The Kansas woman was sentenced Monday to life imprisonment for the death of 7-year-old Adrian Jones, fondly known as A.J. The 30-year-old also received an additional five years and eight months. She will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years in prison.

Heather Jones, who apologized to the court for allowing the boy to die, revealed that she was suffering severe abuse at the hand of her husband, Michael Jones, and was powerless in stopping him.

“I can’t go back now but I truly, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry I wasn’t strong enough to protect him… I wish I could take it back.”

Police found remnants of the young boy in a pigsty at the family residence in Kansas City, Kansas, in November while responding to a domestic incident, November 25. Michael Jones had reportedly shot his wife with a firearm.

Babysitters of the family’s children said a number of people had contacted the Kansas Department for Children and Families over concerns for the kids and their awful living conditions. Respondents to the scene grew suspicious when the boy was nowhere to be found.

They investigated further after coming to the conclusion that the little boy was missing and found his remains in a barn. District Attorney Jerome Gorman described it as “one of the worst things” investigators had ever seen.

Investigators found that the couple lived with the boy and six girls, who have since been placed in protective custody. The Kansas property was strewn with dead mice, live rats in cages, pornographic videos, and syringes. Property owner Jennifer Hoevers, who had rented the place to the couple for a period of two years, was shocked at the state of disrepair and astonished that children were allowed to live in such filth.

“It took my breath away…fast food wrappers everywhere…there’s milk, rotting food everywhere…having little kids myself, I don’t know how anybody could allow their kids live like this.”

Hoevers, who is currently unemployed alongside her husband, had put over $500,000 in the home that a “polite and respectful” Michael and Heather Jones had shown interest in buying.

“We had a lot of hopes and dreams for it. We wanted someone else to enjoy it. We saw that they had kids.”

Michael Jones has pleaded not guilty to premeditated first-degree murder and other associated charges. The 44-year-old who fathered A.J. from another relationship is penciled for trial in February. Heather Jones pleaded guilty to first-degree murder even though prosecutors said her crimes did not qualify her for the death penalty.

Jones, who described her husband as an unapproved bail bondsman, said that she suspected that she would be next because she had discovered what happened to the missing boy. She said he was arrested shortly after. However, the dead boy’s maternal grandmother, Judy Conway, is laying the blame squarely at Heather’s feet, revealing that she never told anyone about the abuses she suffered and that all she needed to do was pick a phone and call someone for help.

Life sentence for stepmom Heather Jones in death and ‘unbearable suffering’ of KCK boy fed to pigs https://t.co/Y4AfuNAkEj

— Evin Daly (@ChildAbuseWatch) November 15, 2016

Chief Deputy District Attorney Sheryl Lidtke recalled A.J. from a video as an energetic boy with a zest for life who was cut down by a father and stepmother who consistently subjected him to mental, emotional, and physical abuse, which made them starve him to death.

“This was the most heinous crime I’ve ever prosecuted in 27 years as a prosecutor…he was horribly abused, neglected and ultimately killed. I am sure his suffering was unbearable.”

Heather Jones’ father, Jeff Coon, said his daughter had called him on the phone and said Michael had murdered the boy and that it would be over the news soon. Coon said he did not believe his daughter because she relayed the shocking news so calmly. According to him, he did not give it another thought until he saw it on the news. Heather Jones’ brother, Michael Williams, said the 44-year-old man had abused his wife and kids for years, revealing that there were bullet holes everywhere in the walls of their house.

[Featured Image by Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office]