The mother and stepfather of a 10-year-old Kentucky boy who was found dead last week following his mother’s report of him missing have been indicted on charges linked to the boy’s death.
Felicia Gross, 33, faces charges of murder, falsely reporting an incident, evidence tampering, witness tampering, and abusing a corpse, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King. Joshua Gross, 41, has been charged with complicity to commit murder, complicity in falsely reporting an incident, evidence tampering, witness tampering, and corpse abuse.
Initially, Felicia Gross faced a manslaughter charge last week after the body of Jayden Spicer was discovered in a shallow grave nearly 20 miles from their home. As reported by CrimeOnline, the discovery came after she informed police that she had given the boy sleeping medication and “believed” he died following a medical emergency.
Gross reported Jayden missing on August 6, stating that she and her husband went to bed the night before and found the boy missing when they awoke. Tearfully, she went to a neighbor’s house to call the police and later issued a handwritten appeal to the media, asking for prayers and assistance in locating the missing child.
According to the arrest citation, Gross admitted during an interview to moving Jayden’s body to a wooded area on Canoe Road near Joe Little Fork. A search warrant led to the discovery of Jayden’s remains buried in a plastic tote underground.
The witness tampering charges stem from allegations that the Grosses instructed their other children on what to say regarding their brother’s disappearance and death.
“On a personal note, as a mom of two that are my life, even the idea of this event seems unfathomable, but here we are in this unimaginable place,” King said. “In Jayden’s short life, he got less than he deserved, so we are going to give him everything we have got in ours.”
The Grosses are being held on $1 million bonds each.
