JADA RUIZ - 6 Months (2010) - Akron OH

Akron OH ---- At stake are potentially two lives. The fate of 6-month-old Jada
Ruiz, on life support at Akron Children's Hospital for more than a month, and
that of her biological father, 17-year-old John Jones.

Jada has been given little hope of survival off of life support, suffering from brain injuries
experts say are consistent with shaken baby syndrome, and broken bones in her arms and legs.
Jones, who is accused of causing the injuries, faces a potential homicide charge as an adult if Jada dies.



In court on Tuesday, attorneys for Jones are arguing to keep the infant alive at all cost. Attorneys
for the baby's mother, 18-year-old Deja Ruiz, are trying to convince the court
that it is in the baby's best interest to discontinue life support and let nature take its course.

Both parents arrived in the courtroom of Judge Bill Spicer, sitting at a table across from each other.
Deja kept her head down trying not to look at Jones.

Pamella Hawkins, representing Jones, told the judge they do not support removal
of Jada from life support. Attorneys for the mother say they support the removal
of life support. A representative of the
Summit County Prosecutor's Office told the court they could not take a position,
as did a representative of Children Services.

Hawkins argues Summit
County Juvenile Court, and not Judge Spicer, has exclusive jurisdiction in this
case because Jones is currently charged as a juvenile. Judge Spicer says the
juvenile court has told him they do not have jurisdiction. Despite her client
being charged with felonious assault and felony child endangering, Hawkins said
how the injuries occurred remains under investigation.

Children Services
has filed for temporary custody of Jada and the couple's two other children.
Hawkins told the jury that means it could be as long as two years before the
process can return custody to either of the parents.

She said there is nothing in the juvenile court's language
that speaks to the issue of the removal of life support.

Hawkins referred to the Aiden Stein case as a benchmark
for such cases. However, because the father in this case is a juvenile, she said
there are differences. Attorneys for the mother argued that because the child
has not yet been legally determined to be an abused or neglected child, the
juvenile court does not have jurisdiction.

Another major difference in
this and the Stein case is that in the Stein case there were two parents who
agreed. In this case, the parents disagree. Jones and Ruiz are also not married.

Attorneys for the mother say although the case deals with the
decision to ultimately remove the child from life support, "the crux of the case
is the health care of this child." Children services, she argued, is authorized
and, in fact, mandated to provide health care for the child.

Jones' mother stood to tell the court she supports the decision to keep Jada on life support.

Nancy Flower, the attorney appointed by the juvenile court to
represent Jada, also stood to tell the court that she had no position regarding
the jurisdiction of the case.

A relative of Deja told the court she believes the doctors, and not the court, should make the decision.

Jada's great-grandmother told the court, "We can love her to the day she expires, but
why should we take her through all of this pain? The baby is in God's hands. I
just dont like seeing her like that.

"We can do this, but I can't see her
laying up there all this time not able to even open her eyes."

Deja's mother addressed the court in tears saying, "I hate to see my baby suffer like
that. The only thing I have left of Jada is her smile. She was the happiest baby
I have ever seen, and I don't want to see her suffer like that. I'm hurt, and I
just hope the judge makes the best decision for my baby."

Judge Spicer said he would take the matter into advisement.

Nearly every day, 18-year-old Deja Ruiz sits
bedside with her infant daughter at Akron Children's Hospital.
Beneath the wires and tubes keeping her
child alive, there is little hope for 6-month-old Jada, Ruiz said.
Bones are broken. Her brain is essentially lifeless.
The visits with her daughter, Ruiz said,
need to end. It has been nearly a month, and she wants to lift her
daughter from life support and into God's hands.
''I'm trying to stay strong, and sometimes I break down, but I have to leave it all to God,'' Ruiz said Thursday.
Across the city sits the infant's father, 17-year-old John Jones, an inmate inside the Summit County Juvenile
Detention Center. The teen, accused of beating the infant, hasn't given
up on his daughter, his attorney said.
Jones has filed court papers seeking to
stop Ruiz from removing the life support. A hearing is set for Tuesday
in Summit County Probate Court.
''He's very concerned,'' said Jones'
attorney, Pamela A. Hawkins. ''He's kind of depressed, as any parent
would be when their child is in that kind of condition.''
The case could set a legal precedent in
that it pits a juvenile father against an adult mother and their
difference of opinion on life support.
At issue, as well, is who should speak for Baby Jada.
It was Jones who first called authorities
the morning of March 19. He was home with Jada, her twin, Jzmine, and
their 2-year-old brother, Ty'shaun.
Ruiz was away from the Springdale Avenue
apartment in Akron, attending classes at Akron Digital Academy that morning.
Ruiz and Jones had dated for three years,
but were never married. The twin girls were born four months premature,
according to police reports.
Jones, who was holding the infant when
Akron officers arrived, told detectives that when he went to change
Jada's diaper, the infant was unresponsive. She has been hospitalized ever since.
Officials say the girl is brain damaged from shaken baby syndrome and also
has multiple fractures to her legs and arms.
Jzmine also had fractures to her legs. She has recovered, officials said.
All three children have been placed in
the temporary custody of the county's Children Services Board.
Jones was arrested in late March, charged
with felonious assault and felony child endangering.
Prosecutors are seeking to try him as an
adult. Hearings are scheduled in juvenile court for May and June.
A homicide charge could be brought against Jones, if Jada dies.
In an interview Thursday, Ruiz said she no longer speaks with Jones.
She is trying to regain custody of each
child. She visits with Jzmine and Ty'shaun twice a week and nearly every
day with Jada at the hospital.
Doctors have told her that Jada has no chance of recovery.
''It's difficult, really difficult,'' Ruiz said. ''For me to see Jada like that, it breaks my heart every
time. She's not getting better. She's getting worse. I just want to make
the right decision for her.''
Hawkins, who represents Jones in the
life-support case, and Joseph Gorman, an attorney appointed to Jones'
criminal case, said Thursday that their client maintains he did not
assault his daughters.
''He has his suspicions as to how she was hurt,'' Hawkins said.
In her motion, Hawkins wrote that Jones
became aware late last month of a planned meeting between Ruiz and
medical staff regarding Jada's life support.
He also alleged that CSB sought to return
Ruiz's children to her under a protective supervision plan, a move that
would allow for the mother to approve the removal of life support.
''[CSB] is currently seeking a legal means for the mother to give consent to terminate the life support of
[Jada] in spite of [Jones'] clearly stated objections . . . ,'' Hawkins wrote in court papers.
John Saros, CSB's executive director, said the girl is suffering from ''very, very, severe, profoundly
involved injuries'' that require life support.
He said Thursday the agency's attempt to
change the custody was made to allow both parents to make a decision on
Jada's medical care. CSB was unaware of the parents' conflict at the
time the change was requested, he said.
The agency, which had only nutritional
involvement with the family prior to last month, has taken no position
on the infant's care, he said.
''What we support is that the parents
make the decision, especially in something as extreme as this,'' Saros said.
Juvenile Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio denied the custody change. She also referred Jones' life-support motion
to Probate Judge Bill Spicer.
Baby Aiden is now 6.
Spicer ruled in a similar case in 2004 involving an infant on life support and a father charged with his beating.
The parents of 1-year-old Aiden Stein sought to stop Akron attorney Ellen Kaforey, the child's court-appointed
guardian who wanted Aiden removed from life support.
Spicer granted the guardian's request, but the Ohio Supreme Court later ruled that the probate court lacked
jurisdiction in the case.
''The right to withdraw life-supporting treatment for a child remains with the child's parents until the
parents' rights are permanently terminated,'' the court found.
Aiden Stein, who was left blind, deaf and brain damaged, is now 6 years old and living in a medical facility,
attorneys said. His father, Mathew Stein, is nearing the end of an
eight-year prison term he received for felonious assault.
Nancy Flower, an Akron attorney appointed as guardian ad litem for Jada, declined comment.
A spokeswoman for Children's Hospital did not return a message seeking comment.
Gina D'Aurelio, an attorney representing Jones' guardian, his grandmother Christine Billings, said the teen's
efforts are designed to allow further examination of Jada's condition.
''There's still a lot of investigation that has to be done, and John and his [grandmother] want everything
explored before the termination of any life support,'' D'Aurelio said.
In an interview Thursday, Kaforey said Jada's case is unusual because of the conflicting wishes of her parents
and Jones' status as a juvenile.
She said it would be unlikely that Akron Children's medical staff would go forward with removing life support
without the consent of both parents or a court order.
The issue could be fought in courts for months — or longer, attorneys said.
Further complicating the case, Kaforey
said, is the fact that the couple is not married, lessening, at least
for now, the legal standing of Jones.
''The law says that the mother, by virtue
of giving birth, is the custodial parent and decision maker,'' Kaforey
said. ''The dad is kind of left out.''

OMG these kids have a 2 year old and twin babies and are only 17 and 19 themselves. Who in their right mind would think a 17 year old boy could cope looking after a 2 year old and twin babies without a disaster happening? Their families need to take some responsibility for this too IMO.

All you young people out there and parents of teenagers WAKE UP! Babies and children are being murdered and maimed in their thousands!

Akron youth indicted on murder charge in death of infant daughter
Published: Tuesday, November 02, 2010, 8:45 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 02, 2010, 10:56 PM



AKRON, Ohio -- A 17-year-old Akron youth was indicted Tuesday in Summit County Common Pleas Court in connection with the death of his infant daughter.

John Jones was indicted on charges of murder, child endangerment, and felonious assault for the death of Jada Ruiz-Jones, 9 months old, who was taken off of life support July 16, according to the Summit County Prosecutors Office.

Jada had been on life support at Akron Children's Hospital since March 19 after she stopped breathing. According to the medical examiner's office, Jada suffered from brain damage and fractures.
Jones was arrested about 10 days after Jada was hospitalized.

Jada was eventually taken off life support after the child's mother, Deja Ruiz, asked the court to grant her request.

Jones and Ruiz have two other children together: a brother and Jada's twin sister.

His case was bound over from juvenile court to Summit County Common Pleas Court and he is currently being held at the Dan Street Detention Hall until Dec. 16, Jones 18th birthday.

His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 5.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/11/akron_youth_indicted_in_connec.html

Man Sentenced in Murder of Infant Daughter
May 12, 2011
AKRON, Ohio— Summit County Common Pleas Judge Patricia Cosgrove on Thursday sentenced John Jones to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of his five-month-old daughter, Jada Ruiz.

Jones, 18, was convicted by a jury after a week long trial in which they heard expert testimony that the child suffered irreversable brain damage and fractures.

Prosecutors said the fatal injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome, and that Jones inflicted them while he was watching the infant in March 2010.

Jones' attorneys on Thursday initially asked Judge Cosgrove for a new trial, arguing that the guilty verdict was "not sustained by sufficient evidence."

Judge Cosgove denied the motion saying "this trial involved medical testimony regarding numerous fractures to Jada Ruiz Jones, bilateral hemmhorages behind her eyes, she had bi-lateral breakage of the bones."

"From the time this child was born, until she died, quite frankly, her life must have been a living hell. She must have been in pain every day," the judge continued.

During trial, defense attorneys questioned whether the baby's mother, Deja Ruiz, could have been responsible for Jada's death, inflicting the injuries before she left the home more than an hour before Jones called for help.

At sentencing, Judge Cosgrove rejected that argument.

"It is impossible, according to medical testimony and according to common sense, that you can sustain these life threatening injuries causing the baby to be unresponsive, not breathing, have no pulse, when EMS arrived...and according to some testimony presented by the defense, that the baby had been in that state for an hour," Cosgrove concluded

When asked to give a statement for himself on Thursday, Jones told the court "I didn't do nothing wrong, and that's the honest to God truth. And whether you believe me or not, I shouldn't be the one standing here."

Throughout the sentencing, Deja Ruiz sat quietly in the back of the courtroom surrounded by family and friends.

Her mother, JoNetta Ruiz, attempted to read a victim impact statement she had written but was too emotional. The statement was read instead by a victim advocate.

After sentencing, JoNetta Ruiz told Fox 8 News that all she really wanted to hear in court from Jones was an apology.

"I prayed for an apology, we asked for forgiveness but it never came out of his mouth," Ruiz said.

For several months after the injury, Jada Ruiz was kept alive on life support while her father and mother battled over whether or not it should be discontinued.

Jones had already been charged with felonious assault. Attorneys for Deja Ruiz argued that Jones did not want the infant to remain on life support for her own well being, but because he knew if she died he could be charged with murder.

In July, a judge ruled the life support should be discontinued.

JoNetta Ruiz said after sentencing that the four months during which it became clear the baby was unable to recover were difficult.

"It was hard," she said. "To have to see her every day like that, it's a hurting feeling, especially when you know that conditions were getting worse they were not getting better."

"It was just too much to handle. I feel deep in my heart that we made the right decision as a family for Jada," JoNetta said.

Jones, who was 17 at the time of Jada's death, was initially charged as a juvenile.

Prosecutor Teri Burnside said on Thursday that trying him for the murder as an adult was the right thing to do.

"As I told the jury in closing arguments, this is a sad situation all the way around," Burnside told Fox 8 News after sentencing. "But thankfully, the jury came back and gave Jada, that little baby, some justice."

The sentence means Jones will not be eligible for parole until after he spends at least 15 years in prison, with credit for the 14 months he has already served.

After that, it is still possible he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

His grandmother, Christine Billings, was also in court for the sentencing. She told Fox 8 News afterward that she still believes in her grandson and his innocence.

"We are going to appeal to the highest court in this land, until someone can tell me that my grandson is not innocent, somebody can prove to me that my grandson is guilty, and no one had proven it yet," said Billings.

http://www.fox8.com/news/akroncanton/wjw-news-akron-father-sentenced-for-infant-murder,0,3541640.story

i would think that he lost his right as a parent when he hurt that baby-stupid punk