'Teen Mom' star Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason charged with child abuse after stepson runs away again
OAK ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA: Reality TV star Jenelle Evans married David Eason in September 2017. Evans' second husband, Eason, has been a central figure in her life.
Their relationship has weathered its share of storms, and the cracks have been evident.
However, it's not just the couple's relationship that has faced challenges. Jenelle's eldest son, Jace, born to a previous partner, has run away not once, but twice before the most recent incident of him fleeing again, for the third time.
As if this wasn't disheartening enough, Jace running away for the third time in the span of two months prompted a thorough police investigation.
The situation took an even more concerning turn when Eason was charged with child abuse involving Jace, who is now 14 years old. This charge, classified as a misdemeanor, opened a window into the complexities within the Evans-Eason family, according to TMZ.
During their inquiry, law enforcement allegedly discovered a video that captured David assaulting his stepson Jace, further adding to the turmoil that has become a headline-grabbing chapter in the life of Jenelle Evans, who has dismissed charges against her husband Eason since then.
On October 2, on X, formerly Twitter, she wrote, "This isn’t about David whether you want to blame him or not. My mom says a lot of untrue things lately to everyone about me but wanted me to have custody? Imagine what you don’t hear from my side."
This isn’t about David whether you want to blame him or not. My mom says a lot of untrue things lately to everyone about me but wanted me to have custody? Imagine what you don’t hear from my side 🧐 https://t.co/wDBjlVGOLm
— Jenelle Evans ⭐️ (@PBandJenelley_1) October 2, 2023
She also posted a series of stories on Instagram on Tuesday, October 24, regarding the investigation.
How many biological children does Jenelle Evans have?
The life of reality TV star Jenelle Evans has been a rollercoaster ride of motherhood, with each of her three children representing a distinct chapter in her story.
At the tender age of 16, she was a part of MTV's '16 and Pregnant' while expecting her first son, Jace Vahn, who is now 14 years old.
The father of this child, Andrew Lewis, exited the picture as soon as pregnancy was announced, leading to the custody of the baby being entrusted to Evans' mother, Barbara. She got full custody of her first son in 2023.
Later, she added to her family with son Kaiser Orion, now 9, fathered by her ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith.
Her youngest addition, daughter Ensley Jolie, aged 6, was born within her marriage to David Eason. But in a shocking turn of events in May 2019, the Evans-Eason family made headlines when their pet dog, Nugget, bit their youngest, Ensley, who was just 2 years old at the time.
What ensued was a controversy of epic proportions, as David Eason, Ensley's stepfather, made the disturbing decision to shoot and kill the dog. The dramatic incident sent shockwaves through the reality TV world and had severe consequences for Jenelle Evans, who was subsequently terminated from her role in 'Teen Mom 2'.
The aftermath of the Nugget episode was equally tumultuous, leading to a temporary loss of custody of both Ensley and her brother Kaiser. However, Jenelle Evans managed to regain custody in July 2019.
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What happened with Jenelle Evans' first son?
Jenelle Evans, an original star of '16 and Pregnant', was thrust into the spotlight once more when her son, Jace, whose father is Andrew Lewis, went missing in August 2023.
The distressing situation unfolded in Brunswick County, North Carolina when Jace failed to return home from school, prompting his mother to report him as missing on August 15.
Thankfully, the ordeal was short-lived, as he was located safely a few hours later.
Jenelle explained his initial disappearance as mere teenage rebellion. But the saga didn't end there. Jace ran away once again at the end of August. This time, he was eventually found near a local gas station close to their family residence.
The frequent escapades of Jace, the third being at the end of September, raised concerns among many, with Jenelle assuring that her son is, in fact, okay, and attributing his actions to the common trials of teenage life.
She disclosed that Jace's runaways might be linked to several factors, including disputes with his girlfriend and his mother's monitoring of his phone, according to Page Six.
Yet, even as speculations circulated, Jenelle vehemently maintained that her son's actions were unrelated to her complex custody arrangements with her mother, Barbara, or her tumultuous marriage with David Eason, continuing that her son's privacy was very important to her.
However, earlier this month, it was reported that Jenelle and David lost custody of Jace, and he was back with his grandmother Barbara.
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Who was Janelle Evans married to?
Jenelle has seen her fair share of romantic twists and turns. Since 2012, she's been engaged a remarkable four times and married twice, making her love life quite the whirlwind.
It all started in May 2012, when Jenelle became engaged to Gary Head, a relationship that sparked in 2011. But she didn't stop there. Later that same year, in November 2012, Evans found herself engaged once again, this time to Courtland Rogers, only two months into their courtship.
Their whirlwind romance led to a courthouse wedding that December, but it was short-lived, with the couple parting ways after just a month.
The love story of Jenelle Evans and David Eason began when they crossed paths on the dating app Tinder in 2015. A couple of years later, in February 2017, Eason popped the question, marking the beginning of their engagement.
Their whirlwind romance culminated in a wedding held in September of the same year. Since then, Jenelle, a 30-year-old mother and TV personality, has been married to David Eason, for just over six years.
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Jenelle Evans calls husband David Eason innocent amid child abuse charges
The storm surrounding Jenelle Evans and her family took another twist when her son, Jace, ran away for the third time, grabbing headlines. In the midst of this tumultuous period, David Eason, Jenelle's husband, found himself facing charges of child abuse.
However, the reality TV star has come to her husband's defense, vehemently claiming his innocence.
In a series of Instagram stories posted shortly after the news of Eason's child abuse charge broke, Evans laid the blame squarely at the feet of the police department.
She staunchly maintained that her husband was innocent, shedding light on the complexity of her family's ongoing issues that have been playing out in the public eye.
"You would think the Police wouldn't make a one-sided police investigation," she wrote in her Instagram stories.
"They didn't conduct interviews, didn't ask any information from the parents. This seems like a very bias situation like every time before. I trusted that detective with all my heart.. Forgot you can't trust cops... silly me. I do not trust anyone around me. Going MIA for a while," she added.
As news spread on Instagram, fans were angry about Jenelle Evans' staunch defense of her husband David Eason in the face of child abuse charges.
"Guess now its the police fault instead of theirs," wrote one. "The cops didn’t interview the parents because they knew jenelle would lie for david. these poor kids," wrote another. "Sad excuse of a mother," wrote a third.
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