Jeremy White arrested over 18-month-old Iowa toddler William Moore-Groves’ 2021 death after 16-month investigation
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PLEASANT HILL, IOWA: A 16-month investigation involving local and federal law enforcement authorities over the December 2021 death of 18-month-old William Moore-Groves came to an end following the arrest of a man named Jeremy White. The suspect has been charged with child endangerment causing death and is being held without bond. He was reportedly caught in Roseville, California, on Friday, April 7. A search warrant filed in April 2022 reportedly detailed the events leading up to the toddler’s death on December 11, 2021, KCCI Des Moines 8 reported.
According to the warrant, White was dating baby Moore-Groves’ mother at the time of his death and was the only person present with the child in the house on Sugarberry Lane in Pleasant Hill on the day he died. Nearly six months after the baby's death, a material witness warrant was issued for White before it was recalled. He was believed to be in Hawaii at the time, Hawaii County police told the publication. Since his arrest, White has been held in the Placer County Jail and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Jeremy White claimed victim’s injuries were accidental
On December 11, 2021, White was present with baby William Moore-Groves at a house on Sugarberry Lane in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. As per a search warrant, the child’s mother was reportedly with him in the morning while running errands before leaving the napping toddler to go for tanning at approximately 2.55 pm, the Des Moines Register reported.
The warrant reveals that White told investigators he was sitting in the family room downstairs when he heard a “thud” over the baby monitor and rushed to the child’s room. He said that he found the child face down on the floor and claimed that the toddler rolled off the bed during a nap. White also said that he attempted to conduct a “fingers sweep” in the child’s mouth after realizing that the child was have “having difficulty breathing.” However, this led to the child “gagging and vomiting” before he eventually stopped breathing, the warrant mentioned.
White reportedly called the child’s mother before contacting 911 to alert authorities about the situation. The toddler was taken to UnityPoint Methodist Hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival. An autopsy showed that Moore-Groves had a few hours old injuries on the back of his head alongside bruising on the top part of his brain, KCCI reported. “The child had been shaken and his head struck against or struck by a hard object shortly before the child was found in the bedroom. The mechanism of injury could not have been from a fall in the bedroom onto a carpeted floor and has ruled the death as a homicide,” the autopsy report stated.
‘I just didn’t want to accept it’
William Moore-Groves’ father Anthony Groves told KCCI that he did not want to accept his son’s tragic fate on the day of his death. “I saw the doctor checking her watch, I knew she was trying to call time. I just didn't want to accept it.” Speaking about the suspect, Groves said, “Didn't know much about him. I was just trusting that, obviously, she's not going to bring anyone around my son that would be harmful or unsafe to any of the kids in the house.”
“The smile would change your mood in, you know, no time. [If you] have a bad day, come home, pick them up. Smile, hug and kiss. Nothing else mattered,” Groves said while remembering his son. “I want justice for my son. I want the truth to come out,” he stated in reference to White’s arrest.