Police arrested the mom of a two-year-old boy, Maya Jones, 28, and her boyfriend, Jermaine Robinson, 37, on Tuesday for first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. The body of Ezekiel Harry was stuffed in a black duffel bag and dumped in the trash. An autopsy revealed that the boy was killed by severe blunt force trauma to the head.
Police said that Jones gave the police officers false information as she initially told them that Ezekiel and her three children were walking when a truck passed by and abducted the child. The search for the boy lasted for hours, involving helicopters and boats along the bayou before officers suspected foul play, WBRZ said.
Stuffed in a duffel bag
Harry was stuffed in a black duffel bag six hours after he went missing on July 12, following a police tip-off. Authorities also found surveillance footage of the child's mother and her partner leaving the area of their Louisiana home carrying the same black duffel back where the toddler was found.
Jones initially told the police that Harry was abducted by someone driving a gray truck near the 100 block of Mahler Street. However, police sensed that the information was inaccurate after they found numerous inconsistencies in the mom's abduction story.
Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joseph Waitz Jr. expects a grand jury indictment on first-degree murder charges for both Jones and Robinson, saying that the case could potentially have a death penalty sentence.
Waitz also noted that the toddler had been a victim of abuse in his short life, per The Sun.
Remembering Ezekiel Harry
Residents on Houma held a vigil for the boy on Wednesday night. Sarah Plaisance, a neighbor, reported that the yelling at Harry's house would get so aggressive that she feared for the safety of the children. She noted that she does not see the kids often as they are always inside the home. She called the police when the shouting got so bad, asking them to send "somebody out there because he's going to kill somebody in this house."
On Friday night, hundreds gathered to remember the two-year-old Harry, who was taken from the Houma community too soon. Cynthia Harry, Ezekiel's grandmother, fondly remembered her grandson, who likes Spiderman, running around the house, touching everything, knocking on doors, and loved playing with the keys.
Houma residents struggled to come to terms with the shocking death of the toddler. Clark Nixon, a neighbor, struggled to understand how anybody could think of doing "something like that."
Adrienne Frances shared that she met Harry at the Haven, a domestic violence shelter in Houma. She said she rocked the toddler to sleep on nights when he had nightmares and was crying. She added that Harry's two sisters and brother meant the world to her.
Jones' other kids are now in the custody of their father. Frances added that Harry was like her child. When she came to work at night, he would throw his arms around her and stay in her arms. She said that the boy needs his mother's love, 4WWL says.
