PARK FOREST, Ill. – Illinois grandparents were denied bond last week after being charged in the beating death of their grandchild, authorities said. Disturbing details were revealed during a bond hearing, according to reports.
Grandparents Klent Elwoods, 62, and his wife, Lisa Jones, 57, from Park Forest, a suburb of Chicago, have been charged with murder in the beating death of their 5-year-old granddaughter, Jada Moore, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
According to authorities, Moore was whipped a dozen times with a belt for defecating on herself. Elwoods reportedly admitted to being “a little too rough” during the deadly encounter.
Last Monday, Illinois prosecutors revealed horrifying details related to the July 14 killing of little Jada, telling the court the girl had been subjected to beatings for more than two months, leaving her with severe contusions most commonly seen in serious crash victims, reported NBC Chicago.
Jada Moore, 5, died in the hospital after being unmercifully whipped with a belt. (Park Forest Police Department)
In April, the grandparents had taken Jada into their home, promising to give her “a better home life” after her mother, who resides in Atlanta, had fallen on hard times. The brutal beatings reportedly began about a month into Jada’s stay with her grandparents, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
Prosecutors said in court that both grandparents allegedly admitted to beating Jada on a regular basis with a belt, their bare hands and a shoe.
An autopsy performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the case a homicide caused by several abuse related injuries. The examination discovered the little girl was covered from head to toe in “bruises, abrasions and scars in various stages of healing.”
An autopsy revealed the little girl had traumatic injuries all over the body. (Park Forest Police Department)
The child also had what is known as internal avulsion pockets in her back, buttocks and legs, the New York Post reported.
“Avulsion pockets are commonly seen in car accident injuries due to the force required to cause such an injury,” prosecutors noted. “The avulsion pockets are indicative of the victim losing blood into the soft tissue and are more dangerous in children due to their overall lower volume of blood.”
The trauma didn’t end there. Jada also had bleeding in the space between her brain and skull, indicating a brain injury.
Law enforcement authorities first became aware of the situation when police and paramedics were dispatched to the couple’s home on Osage Street after 11 p.m. Friday, July 14, regarding a report of an “unresponsive” child.
“I was beating my little granddaughter and now she is out of it,” Elwoods told a 911 dispatcher, according to prosecutors.
Responding officers found Jada “lying on the couch completely nude.”
The little girl was airlifted to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she died early Saturday.
Elwoods was quoted as telling officers that he began striking his granddaughter after she soiled her underwear, Law&Crime reported, citing the arrest report.
The grandfather spontaneously said, “I was a little too rough with my grandbaby,” while he was being transported in the back of a police unit.
During a later interview, Jones told investigators that Jada “had a history of ‘pooping’ on herself,” and that the last time she had a bathroom accident, Elwoods warned her that he would whip her with a belt if she were to soil herself again.
When she had another accident on Friday, July 14, the grandfather reportedly carried out his threat.
“Elwoods then reminded [Jada] what he would do if she defecated on herself again,” the report said.
“Elwoods then grabbed a belt and had [Jada] bend over. Elwoods then proceeded to strike [Jada] on her buttocks between 10 and 12 times.”
Jada fell to the floor with each blow, her grandmother was quoted as saying, according to the New York Post.
After the litany of strikes, the child failed to get up and became unresponsive.
Elwoods and Jones were denied bond on Monday, July 17. They are due to return to court August 2.
