Mother and Stepfather Charged in Connection with Jayden Spicer’s Disappearance and Death

The mother and stepfather of a missing child from Kentucky, who was found deceased after allegedly being overdosed with sleeping medication, have been charged in connection with the boy’s death.

Felicia Gross, 33, is facing charges including murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting an incident to police, and tampering with a witness. This information comes from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for the 39th Judicial Circuit. She has been incarcerated since last week.

Her husband, Joshua Gross, is accused of complicity to murder, complicity to falsely report an incident to law enforcement, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and complicity in tampering with a witness.

The case stems from the disappearance of 10-year-old Jayden Spicer, who was found dead in a shallow grave on Tuesday.

“On Tuesday afternoon, they did a job that no one should ever have to do, and there’s just no way we can ever adequately thank them for that service — but we can try,” wrote Commonwealth Attorney Miranda King. “On Tuesday night, I told you that Jayden was in good hands now and we were going to take care of him. Today was the next phase in that promise.”

Felicia and Joshua Gross are being held at the Three Forks Regional Jail on $1 million bonds.

As previously reported by Law&Crime, Jayden was reported missing on Aug. 6 in Jackson, a small town about 100 miles southeast of Lexington.

State troopers dedicated substantial resources to the search and rescue mission. Less than a week later, authorities discovered the deception, as noted in an arrest citation obtained by Law&Crime.

Felicia Gross allegedly penned this handwritten plea for the public to help find her missing son (Kentucky State Police).

Troopers say Gross admitted to her role in her boy’s death during a Mirandized interview at the Jackson Police Department headquarters.

“[S]he confessed to providing Jayden a type of sleeping medication,” the citation reads. “Ms. Gross further stated that this medication caused Jayden to have a medical emergency and she believed that he had passed away from this medical emergency.”

Jayden was last seen alive on Aug. 5 — both parents reported the child went to sleep that evening but had gone missing by the next morning, and “his whereabouts were unknown,” police said.

Details about the little boy were shared to help the search – he was believed to be wearing blue “Sonic the Hedgehog” pajamas. Jayden was described as 5-foot-1, with a slim build, blonde hair and blue eyes.

“We have a lot of different tools in place and we’re going to continue to search until our resources are exhausted,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said as the search went on for days.

During a press conference on Aug. 12, Gayheart said the boy’s remains were discovered at around 3 p.m. earlier that same day  – buried in a shallow grave amid a wooded area on Canoe Road in Jackson, according to reports by Charleston, West Virginia-based ABC affiliate WCHS and Lexington-based CBS affiliate WKYT.

The mother’s alleged confession led to the discovery, roughly 19 miles southwest of the family’s home on Panbowl Branch Road.

“Ms. Gross further stated in the interview that she had transported Jayden’s body to a wooded area on Canoe Road near the mouth of Joe Little Fork,” the arrest citation continued. “A search warrant was prepared and executed on this property and Jayden’s remains were located buried underground in a plastic tote.”

Troopers also alleged Gross instructed her other children to lie about their brother’s death, as the search for the boy continued.

The defendant even penned a handwritten note, pleading for the public’s help in finding Jayden, according to the state police.

“Two of Jayden’s siblings were interviewed at the Care Cottage in Hazard several days prior to this confession,” the citation goes on, referring to a child advocacy center. “Ms. Gross admitted to ‘coaching’ the siblings into what to say during the interview.”

During the search, Jayden’s aunts publicly questioned the official narrative.

“He’s a good boy. He is very sweet, loving. He is very hyperactive. He likes to be on the go 24/7,” one of his aunts told WKYT. “He does not like insects at all, or the dark. Up in the hills, any child can go anywhere, but it seems so unreal he would go up there.”

An autopsy will be performed on Jayden’s body to determine the precise cause of his death.

“While this is not the outcome that we had hoped for, we certainly are grateful that we were able to bring him out of the woods today,” King said during the press conference, according to Lexington-based ABC and MyNetworkTV affiliate WTVQ. “I would like to assure the public that now, thanks to these guys, Jayden is now in good hands, and we’re gonna take care of him.”