Inset: Jamarr Hill (Detroit Police Dept.). Background: Authorities at the home where Hill killed his 8-year-old stepson (WJBK).
A 37-year-old man in Michigan will likely spend multiple decades behind bars for killing his 8-year-old stepson last year, starving the little boy for months before ultimately beating him to death. Wayne County Circuit Judge John C. Gillis on Thursday ordered Jamarr Hill to serve between 18 and 40 years in a state correctional facility for the slaying of young Adren Thimes Jr., authorities announced.
The sentence was handed down after Hill reached a deal with prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to one count of second-degree murder. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed charges of first-degree child abuse and felony murder.
Adren”s mother, 32-year-old Kentoria Latricia Moss, was also arrested and charged in the boy’s death. She is currently facing one count of second-degree murder and one count of lying to a peace officer in a violent crime investigation.
“The alleged facts in this case are chilling,” Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy said in a statement. “The defendants in this case worked in tandem to beat and eventually kill this poor child – two adults against an eight-year-old. Little Adren had zero chance of surviving.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
According to a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, officers with the Detroit Police Department at about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2024, responded to a home in the 600 block of Clairmont Avenue regarding Adren’s injuries. Emergency medical personnel transported the child to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
A subsequent autopsy performed by the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Adren’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was “multiple blunt force trauma to the head.”
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Adren’s aunt and grandmother both addressed the court with victim impact statements that maligned Hill and Moss for using all of their money to flaunt their lavish lifestyles while the well-being of Adren and his siblings was ignored, according to a report from Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV.
“They ate well, but the kids didn’t,” Adren’s aunt reportedly told the court. “They dressed well, they rode in the best car. I think they had the best of everything, but the kids didn’t.”
The grandmother reportedly told the court that Adren’s murder was “premeditated.”
“He is a monster,” she said, adding, “Whatever time you give him, it’s not enough.”
Judge Gillis also reserved some harsh words for the convicted killer, reportedly saying he would agree to abide by the terms of the negotiated plea deal, but telling Hill he believed he should spend the rest of his life in prison.
“That is an 8-year-old boy. What is wrong with you? How can you do that?” he reportedly told Hill. “I don’t know how you could do something like that to someone you claim you love. I hope you take these next 18 to 40 years to really think long and hard about what you did to Adren Thimes.”
Moss is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary examination on Aug. 29.
