Klent Elwoods, 62, and his wife, Lisa Jones, 57, of suburban Chicago, have been charged with murder in the beating death of their 5-year-old daughter, Jada Moore, who was struck a dozen times with a belt for defecating on herself, and the grandfather allegedly confessed to being "a little too rough" during the fatal assault.Illinois prosecutors on Monday revealed terrifying details related to the July 14 murder of 5-year-old Jada Moore, telling the court that the girl had been beaten for more than two months, leaving her with severe bruises more commonly seen in car accident victims, NBC Chicago reported.
The victim's grandparents, Klent Elwoods, 62, and his wife, Lisa Jones, 57, of Park Forest, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Jada's death, which the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled a multiple injury homicide due to child abuse. The horrific crime came to light when police and paramedics were dispatched to the couple's Osage Street home after 11 p.m. on Friday over a report of an "unresponsive" child. Elwoods was the 911 caller who admitted to a dispatcher: "I was hitting my granddaughter and now she's gone," prosecutors said. Officers found Jada "lying on the couch completely naked." EMTs performed CPR on the girl before she was flown to Comer Children's Hospital, where she died early Saturday morning.
Klent Elwoods, 62, and Lisa Jones 57 years old.
He was quoted as telling police that he began beating Jada after she soiled his underwear, according to a police report obtained by Law & Crime.com. While riding in the back of a police cruiser, Elwoods allegedly said, unprompted, "I was too harsh on my grandson." When questioned by police, Jones allegedly said that her granddaughter "had a history of 'pooping' herself", and that the last time she was in a bathroom accident, Elwoods warned her that he would whip her with a belt if she got dirty again. The grandfather allegedly made good on his threat when he discovered Friday night that the 5-year-old had again gone to the bathroom by herself. “Elwoods then reminded [Jada] what she would do if she were to defecate on herself again,” the report says. “Elwoods then grabbed a belt and made [Jada] lean over. Elwoods then proceeded to punch [Jada] in the buttocks 10 to 12 times." With each blow, the girl fell to the ground, her grandmother said. The last time she was hit, the 5-year-old didn't get up.
A search of the suspects' home turned up a soiled pair of children's underwear, a belt, a notarized letter from Jada's mother giving the grandparents custody of school and medical decisions, and a calendar with four dates marked in the month of June that allegedly indicate when Jada had previously defecated. Prosecutors said in court that both grandfathers allegedly admitted to regularly beating Jada with a belt, their bare hands and a shoe. An autopsy found the girl was covered from head to toe with "bruises, abrasions and scars in various stages of healing." She also had what is known as an avulsion or internal contusion, bags on her back, buttocks and legs. “Avulsion pockets are commonly seen in auto accident injuries due to the force required to cause such an injury,” prosecutors said.
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