9-year-old boy locked in bedroom dies from ignored pneumonia, Michigan cops say
A 9-year-old boy succumbed to pneumonia as his guardians abused him and kept him locked in his bedroom, Michigan prosecutors said.
The licensed foster parents from Detroit, identified as Sherman Jones, 46, and Sampaguita Jones, 41, are now charged with murder, torture and involuntary manslaughter, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said in a June 26 news release.
The Jones’ public defenders could not be reached for comment.
The rampant abuse of 9-year-old Owen started as early as June 2023 and continued up until his death Sept. 19, 2024 when police were called to the home for an unresponsive child, prosecutors said. The medical examiner’s office determined the boy’s cause of death was pneumonia.
He had scars, bruises and discoloration “head-to-toe” from long-term abuse, assistant prosecuting attorney Erin Wilmoth said in the Jones’ arraignment hearing posted by WJBK.
The child had multiple bone fractures throughout his body that were in different stages of healing, Wilmoth said, but he was “concealed from the world” to hide the months of abuse.
Owen was homeschooled, often locked in his bedroom and prevented from going outside, according to prosecutors.
Eventually, he contracted pneumonia, but Wilmoth said he was never taken to see a doctor.
Upon his death examination, the right cavity of his body was found full of pus, according to Wilmoth. The medical examiner ruled Owen’s death a homicide because he never received care for his illness, prosecutors said.
Allegations of abuse toward the boy were reported to Child Protective Services on two separate occasions prior to his death, but Wilmoth says an investigation was never opened against the guardians until after the boy died.
“I believe CPS failed this child as well,” Wilmoth said during the hearing.
The couple had been running a foster home since 2018 and had no prior allegations of abuse, Sampaguita Jones’ public defender said during the hearing.
Judge William Burton ordered that the two remain in jail and called the allegations “horrendous.”
“I’ve been practicing the law for quite a while but every so often these cases kind of touch your emotions and this is one of those cases,” Burton said.
The guardians are scheduled to appear in court July 3.
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 10:25 AM with the headline "9-year-old boy locked in bedroom dies from ignored pneumonia, Michigan cops say."
