Inset: Jamarr Hill (Detroit Police Dept.). Background: Authorities at the home where Hill killed his 8-year-old stepson (WJBK).
A 37-year-old man from Michigan is facing decades of imprisonment for the death of his 8-year-old stepson, whom he starved for months before fatally assaulting. On Thursday, Wayne County Circuit Judge John C. Gillis sentenced Jamarr Hill to serve between 18 and 40 years in prison for killing Adren Thimes Jr., according to authorities.
The sentencing followed a plea agreement in which Hill admitted guilt to second-degree murder. As a part of the deal, prosecutors dropped charges of first-degree child abuse and felony murder.
Adren’s mother, 32-year-old Kentoria Latricia Moss, has also been charged in connection with her son’s death. She is facing charges of second-degree murder and providing false information to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation.
Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy described the case as horrifying. “The alleged facts in this case are chilling,” Worthy stated. “The defendants collaborated to beat and eventually kill this innocent child – two adults against an 8-year-old. Little Adren had no chance of survival.”
In a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, it was reported that Detroit Police Department officers arrived at a home on Clairmont Avenue just past midnight on Nov. 8, 2024, following reports of Adren’s injuries. Emergency medical services transported him to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
An autopsy conducted by the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Adren’s death was a homicide, primarily due to “multiple blunt force trauma to the head.”
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Adren’s aunt and grandmother both addressed the court with victim impact statements that maligned Hill and Moss for using all of their money to flaunt their lavish lifestyles while the well-being of Adren and his siblings was ignored, according to a report from Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV.
“They ate well, but the kids didn’t,” Adren’s aunt reportedly told the court. “They dressed well, they rode in the best car. I think they had the best of everything, but the kids didn’t.”
The grandmother reportedly told the court that Adren’s murder was “premeditated.”
“He is a monster,” she said, adding, “Whatever time you give him, it’s not enough.”
Judge Gillis also reserved some harsh words for the convicted killer, reportedly saying he would agree to abide by the terms of the negotiated plea deal, but telling Hill he believed he should spend the rest of his life in prison.
“That is an 8-year-old boy. What is wrong with you? How can you do that?” he reportedly told Hill. “I don’t know how you could do something like that to someone you claim you love. I hope you take these next 18 to 40 years to really think long and hard about what you did to Adren Thimes.”
Moss is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary examination on Aug. 29.
