A grand jury authorities indicted a Tennessee couple on murder and abuse charges for allegedly killing a 4-year-old girl, then reported her missing, allegedly weeks after her death.
According to court records, a Shelby County grand jury 25-year-old Brittney Jackson and 21-year-old boyfriend Jaylon Hobson on first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, and false reporting charges on October 10.
The charges are in connection with the death of Samuels’ daughter, Sequoia Samuels. Investigators said the defendants lied for “several weeks” after her death, Law&Crime reports. They told police on June 15 that they woke up at around 7:55 a.m. that morning to find their apartment door open and the child missing.
Police later found the child’s remains at a dumpster site that serviced the apartment complex in Shelby County where the defendants lived.
Jackson admitted to filing a false missing persons report, police said. She allegedly confessed that Hobson attacked the child on numerous different occasions, with the final blow killing her, News Channel 3 reports.
“After the last attack, [Sequoia] became unresponsive. Hobson attempted to revive [Sequoia], however, she never regained consciousness. Jackson never attempted to render aid to her daughter,” an affidavit read.
“Hobson placed [Sequoia’s body] in several garbage bags, and they stored the bags in the house until today [June 15, 2023]. Jackson maintained the corpse for several weeks. Jackson advised that [Sequoia] was dumped in the garbage container and moved to the East side of the apartment with the other garbage cans.”
Jackson then identified the child through the container and bag that police found her in. Hobson continues to deny any involvement in the child’s death.
Hobson remains behind bars on a $500,000 bond, while Jackson remains behind bars on a $50,000 bond.
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[Feature Photo via TBI]
