Mother of Elaine Keene arrested in Sequoyah County
It was tragic news to all of us Sequoyah County and the Fort Smith area when little Elaine Keene was shot in the head and killed during a robbery fiasco north of
Roland, Oklahoma on February 27, 2010. I have already written twice about it, once right after it happened and again when charges were filed against the man who pulled the trigger and the two men who instigated the affair by robbing and beating him.
Devin Jeremiah has been charged with second-degree murder and Michael Clemente and Aaron Bowen have both been charged with first-degree murder. There has been a lot of talk in the area about this, asking very adamantly, why was the mother not charged in the death of her little girl. When the charges were filed against the three men, John David Luton, first assistant district attorney of Sequoyah County, said there was no evidence that the mother of the child knew what the two Fort Smith men were going to do when they asked her to drive them to Roland. That has evidently changed, as she was arrested on Friday. From Sequoyah County Times:
The mother of the 1-year-old girl who died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head during a robbery was arrested Friday.
The Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department re-interviewed Heather Jones, 19, of Fort Smith and it was determined there was enough evidence against Jones to make a probable cause arrest, according to Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart.
Jones was arrested at 1:15 p.m. and is currently being held without bond in Sequoyah County Jail. Lockhart said Jones is facing child endangerment and conspiracy to commit robbery charges. Jones’s arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday in Sequoyah County District Court, Sallisaw.
Throughout my coverage of this story, I have refrained from being overly harsh on the mother of Elaine Keene, who we now know is Heather Jones. There was already talk about how she may have used her little girl as a cover during the robbery, but no one truly knew the full extent of her involvement. As for me, I suppose I was erring on the side of caution and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. If these charges turn out to be true, I hope justice can be served, even if it is too late for Elaine Keene.
I hope there is a special place in hell for people who hurt children. A similar incident involving a lying parent happened in a town near me. A 2 year old boy was reported kidnapped by 3 men who had committed a home invasion robbery. The father of the boy claimed that these 3 men kicked in his door and hit him over the head knocking him out. When he woke up, the little boy was nowhere to be found. It turns out that there never was a home invasion and the father killed the little boy and put his body in a dumpster. The police found the little boy’s body in the local landfill. What is wrong with some people?
Forgotten Liberty´s last blog ..Paul Ryan vs. Louise Slaughter
I feel the same way you do, Liberty. There is no excuse for the mistreatment of a child, under any circumstances.