Who is Alegray Jones? Florida man kills girlfriend's son, 2, for peeing on couch, video-calls her to show body
LAKELAND, FLORIDA: A 30-year-old Lakeland man is accused of beating his girlfriend's son to death. The 2-year-old child died from his injuries, according to the Lakeland Police Department. Alegray Jones was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
Jail records show he has a criminal history, including arrests for narcotics possession and driving on a suspended license. He allegedly killed the young boy at his Lakeland apartment while the victim’s mother was at work on Thursday night, April 8, around 11 pm.
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Lakeland police were informed about an unresponsive child when officers went to an apartment on Woodlake Drive at 12.45 am on Friday, April 9. Investigators discovered that the toddler was in the care of Jones, who is the boyfriend of the child's mother. Police said Jones admitted to the investigators that he had hit the boy after he urinated on the couch. Police say Jones did not try to get help for the child. Instead, he sent a text to the boy's mother and said he wasn't waking up. When she came home from work she finally called 911. The child was found to have injuries all over his body.
Jones reportedly told the detectives that he yelled at the boy, "popped" him on the hand and leg, threw him on an air mattress on which the boy threw up. He then "snatched" the boy from the mattress and held him forcefully against his own body by squeezing tight with his arm against the boy’s stomach. He later took the boy to the bathroom, where the boy vomited, then put him back on the air mattress. Jones left the boy there and went to the living room. When he later checked on the boy, Jones told detectives the child was unresponsive. Jones said he tried to wake the child up by biting his forearm.
The boy's mother called Jones over Facetime, this is when he said the child wasn't waking up and showed the unresponsive boy on the video. The boy was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed the boy died by blunt force trauma and ruled the death as a homicide, the report said.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Detective Tammy Hathcock at 863.834.6975 or tammy.hathcock@lakelandgov.net. To remain anonymous, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers Florida - call 1-800-226-8477, dial **TIPS from your cell phone, visit the website www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com and click on "Submit A Tip," or download the free "P3tips" app on your smartphone or tablet.