A mother stuffed her young son’s body into a bag and buried it in a shallow grave then falsely reported him lost in the woods, police allege.
Jayden Spicer, 10, was reported missing from his home on Panbowl Branch Road in the tiny Kentucky town of Jackson on the morning of August 6.
His parents said they hadn’t seen him since about 9pm and believed he wandered off during the night or early in the morning.
Jayden was last seen wearing blue Sonic the Hedgehog pajama pants and a matching shirt and his mother desperately appealed for help to find him.
‘We love Jaden and we want him safe at home… We love him very much, please do the right thing, call the police,’ Jayden’s mother Felicia Gross wrote.
Police scoured the woods and surrounding area for days using aircraft, drones, dogs, and sonar, as Gross’ story began to unravel.
Jayden’s aunts said the story of his disappearance ‘didn’t add up’ as the boy didn’t like insects or the dark and wouldn’t go blundering through the woods.
Jayden Spicer, 10, was reported missing from his home on Panbowl Branch Road in the tiny Kentucky town of Jackson on the morning of August 6
Jayden’s mother Felicia Gross was charged with second-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, and falsely reporting an incident
‘We love Jaden and we want him safe at home… We love him very much, please do the right thing, call the police,’ Jayden’s mother Felicia Gross wrote in a note begging for help
Finally, after almost a week, Gross cracked on Tuesday and allegedly confessed to police that her son was dead and his disappearance was a ruse.
‘She confessed to providing Jayden a type of sleeping medication,’ Kentucky State Police alleged in charging documents.
‘Ms Gross further stated that this medication caused Jayden to have a medical emergency and she believed that he had passed away from this medical emergency.’
Gross then led police to where she allegedly buried her son, and his body was found in a shallow grave about 19 miles from the family home about 3pm on Tuesday.
‘Ms Gross further stated in the interview that she had transported Jayden’s body to a wooded area on Canoe Road near the mouth of Joe Little Fork,’ police alleged.
‘A search warrant was prepared and executed on this property and Jayden’s remains were located buried underground in a plastic tote.’
Detectives alleged Gross enlisted Jayden’s siblings into backing up their story when two of them were interviewed during the investigation.
‘Ms Gross admitted to ‘coaching’ the siblings into what to say during the interview,’ the documents alleged.
Gross was charged with second-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, and falsely reporting an incident and locked up in the Kentucky River Regional Jail.
Jayden’s body was found in a shallow grave about 19 miles from the family home
Gross was locked up in the Kentucky River Regional Jail and faced court this week
Gross was arrested after allegedly confessing her role in Jayden’s death
Jayden’s home on Panbowl Branch Road in the tiny Kentucky town of Jackson
An autopsy will be performed on Jayden’s body to confirm his cause of death.
‘I would like to take a moment to thank the many different organizations that assisted in the search efforts for Jayden,’ Trooper Matt Gayheart said.
‘All of the volunteers that spent numerous hours and days trying to locate him. Thank you to every person that sent tips or even shared a social media post.
‘Thank you for the many prayers that were prayed, and we ask that you continue to pray for a community that grieves during this tragic loss.’
Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King will prosecute Gross on the serious charges against her.
‘While this is not the outcome that we had hoped for, we certainly are grateful that we were able to bring him out of the woods today,’ she said.
‘I would like to assure the public that now, thanks to these guys, Jayden is now in good hands, and we’re gonna take care of him.’
