JAIVON SANDIFER - 3 yo - Chicago IL

No bail for man accused of killing 3-year-old

Gregory Sandifer was charged with first-degree murder, criminal sexual assault and aggravated domestic battery

September 5, 2011

A pile of stuffed animals formed a small memorial to a
toddler allegedly stabbed to death by his father only moments after the
man pushed the boy's mother out of a second-story window.
Neighbors gathered in front of a homemade poster listing funeral arrangements for
Jaivon Sandifer beneath a picture of the 3-year-old, his smiling face
flanked by pictures of his favorite superhero, Iron Man.
Some of the same neighbors watched Friday as Jaivon's mother, Margaret
Jefferson, 25, struggled with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Gregory
Sandifer, just after 11 a.m. in the 5000 block of West Division Street.
A large kitchen knife fell from the window, then Jefferson toppled out,
shoved by Sandifer, and bleeding from multiple stab wounds.
Jefferson stumbled over to a neighbor, calling for someone to rescue her son from inside, neighbor Kathy Perez said.
"There wasn't any part of her body that wasn't covered with blood. She was
practically naked," Perez said. "She kept asking (police) to go get
(her) baby. 'He's gonna kill my baby.'"
Sandifer on Sunday remained at Stroger Hospital under police guard while he awaits surgery
on his ankle, which he broke leaping from the second-story porch as he
fled from police. Cook County Superior Court Judge Peggy Chiampas
ordered Sandifer, 27, who was charged with first-degree murder, criminal
sexual assault and aggravated domestic battery, held without bail at a
hearing in Central Bond Court on Sunday.
Prosecutors said Sunday that Sandifer and Jefferson were arguing Friday morning, and Sandifer
got a "large carving knife" from the kitchen and sexually assaulted
Jefferson at knifepoint in a bedroom. He then stabbed Jefferson,
wounding her twice in the left shoulder, once in the right arm and
"nicking" her left breast.
Jefferson struggled with him, freeing the knife from his grasp and throwing it out the window. As the two
fought, a television toppled onto her, prosecutors said, then Sandifer
pushed her out a tiny window that overlooked the front entrance to the building.
While Jefferson cried for help, Sandifer allegedly got a second knife from the kitchen and stabbed his son 10 times, inflicting
fatal wounds that included a 14-centimeter cut to the back of his neck,
prosecutors said. As police entered the apartment — neighbors said
officers waited outside before rushing the apartment, believing Sandifer
might have intended to take the boy hostage — Sandifer was running out a back door.
Neighbors said Sandifer likely leapt from the porch to avoid a neighbor's dogs. After a brief search, Perez said, Sandifer was
found in a neighbor's garageacross the alley, drinking beer.
Prosecutors said Sandifer admitted to the alleged rape and to stabbing
Jefferson and killing his son in a video confession.
Neighbor Cornelius Bussell, who runs a printing business from a basement
apartment, said Jefferson and Sandifer had a turbulent relationship.
Prosecutors said Sandifer had been arrested for a domestic violence incident involving Jefferson in 2007.
Jefferson moved back in with her mother several months ago, and Sandifer had moved in a few months later, Bussell said.
On Thursday, Bussell said, he helped the couple bring in their groceries,
with tiny Jaivon trying to carry in a small watermelon.
"(Sandifer) didn't seem like a guy who ... would lay hands on a woman like that.
But I told her to stay away from him," Bussell said. "She brought
(Sandifer) too close. What are you going to do with a guy like that when
he's already in the house with you?"
A sign taped to the Jefferson's fence said funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday
at Praise Temple Restoration Church, 5443 W. Huron St., Chicago.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-stabbings-20110905,0,5453259.story