JONATHAN FOSTER - 12 yo - (2010) Houston TX

Minutes after Mary Gifford learned that a child’s body had been found
in a northeast Houston ditch Tuesday, she clutched a stuffed animal
that belonged to her missing 12-year-old grandson and swore she’d give
it to him when he came home, safe and sound.
"I believe he’s out there, I believe he’ll be found," Gifford said, hugging the little gray-and-black toy raccoon to her chest.
But hopes faded Tuesday that Jonathan Foster -- a red-headed
fifth-grader at Durham Elementary who loves baseball and tree-climbing
-- will be found alive.
Pending the official notification from the Harris County Institute of
Forensic Sciences, Jonathan’s family has been prepared for the
possibility that the body in the ditch is Jonathan’s, and all
indications are that it’s him, a police source said.
The badly burned body was found half-stuffed inside a culvert outside Rolled Alloys offices at East Hardy and Schilder Drive.
No signs of a fire were near the culvert, indicating that the child
had been burned elsewhere and his body taken to the culvert.
"The finding of the body kind of confirmed our worst fears," said
Sgt. Brian Harris of Houston Police Department’s homicide division.
Police questioned Jonathan’s mother and stepfather, Angela and David
Davis, overnight Monday and spent hours sorting through conflicting
statements from family members, neighbors and friends to establish a time-line for Jonathan’s disappearance on Christmas Eve, Harris said.
"The whole thing kind of stunk from the beginning," he said.
Initial reports that Jonathan had disappeared after running home from
a babysitter’s house to retrieve a video game turned out to be false,
Harris said. The boy’s mother eventually admitted that Jonathan was not
in the care of a babysitter when he disappeared, he said.
"There was some shame and embarrassment about leaving a kid home
alone, but it’s not unusual for a 12-year-old to be home alone," Harris
said.
Jonathan, who used to live with his grandmother, had moved in with
his mother and stepfather at the Villa Nueva apartment complex in the
800 block of Oak in November, the sergeant said.
In mid-December, Jonathan and his mother moved to a nearby apartment
after "mom had some troubles with the step dad," Harris said.
The stepfather, reportedly is the last known person to see Jonathan, he said.
Davis told investigators Jonathan was at home playing video games when he went to check on the boy at 1:45 p.m. Friday.
That afternoon, someone called Angela Davis’ workplace, , Harris said.
"We believe Jonathan’s actually on the phone and asks to speak to his
mom," Harris said. A colleague who answered the phone said she was
working and she would call him back.
"And then a female gets on the phone and says this is an emergency," Harris said.
By the time Jonathan’s mother picked up, no one was there, he said.
Angela Davis called the land line where she and Jonathan live, and a
woman with a gruff voice answered, Harris said. Jonathan’s mother asked
for her roommate, and the woman said the roommate wasn’t there.
"Then Angela says, ‘Well, this is Angela, I’m Jonathan’s mother. Who
are you?’" Harris said. "And the woman is heard saying, ‘Is Angela your
mother?’ And the boy replies, ‘Yes ma’am, Angela’s my mother.’ And then
the phone went dead."
A few minutes later, the mother arrived home, Harris said. Jonathan was gone, and the cordless phone was missing, he said.
Within an hour, relatives called police, Harris said.
"Patrol responds by like 3:30 p.m. and they’re there from 3:30 to
4:15 or so," Harris said. "That interaction shakes up the mother because
the mother thinks that ‘I’m going to get in trouble for leaving
Jonathan alone.’"
The family was told to go to HPD’s station on Mykawa Road to file an
official missing child report with the juvenile division. Officers there
entered details about Jonathan into the national crime information
center database about 9:30 p.m., Harris said
Harris wouldn’t say whether police suspect Jonathan’s mother or stepfather in the boy’s disappearance.
He explained that the decision to hold off issuing an Amber Alert for
Jonathan until Tuesday evening was a deliberate strategy by
investigators.
Police knew that without a vehicle type or suspect description, a
vague alert would generate a flood of information, some of it
potentially useful, but much of it simply overwhelming, he said.
Investigators were focused on local leads and the likelihood that
someone close to Jonathan knew what had happened to him, Harris said.
"Unfortunately in life, often it’s not the strangers who we have to
fear, it’s the people we know that probably pose the most danger to us,
and that can be friends neighbors whatever," he said.
Despite the discovery of the body Tuesday, the search for Jonathan
continued until nightfall, when some 200 people gathered for a
candlelight vigil at Garden Oaks Baptist Church on North Shepherd.
An exhausted Mary Gifford told the group that she put her faith in God’s hands.
"I’ve had my faith tested in many, many ways, but this is really testing it," she said.

Speechless.

I pray this isn't Jonathan, but then again, if it isn't him, it is still a child. Horrendous.

Ya know, I feel like starting a section called, "If you don't want your kids I'll take them."

Officials: Burned Body Could Be Missing Boy


snipped

Texas Equusearch organizers and volunteers suspended their search for Jonathan when they heard about the discovery of the body. It was burned so badly that the person who found it thought it was charred debris.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science could not tell the gender of the body Tuesday. Only DNA evidence can help them determine the gender and identity of the child.

A surveillance camera from a business overlooking the ditch where the body was found could bring clues as well, officials said.

About 100 people turned out for the vigil Tuesday evening, but the group did not include Jonathan's parents. They were at Houston Police Department headquarters downtown, meeting with detectives.

Authorities said that everyone close to Jonathan, including his parents and babysitter, are considered persons of interest in this case.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Jonathan or the identity of the body is urged to call HPD Homicide at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.



http://www.39online.com/news/local/kiah-missing-boy-and-burned-body-story,0,2652951.story

There is another missing child case in Houston,4 yo Jaiden Marin.I haven't started a topic for him yet,still looking for more info.

19-year-old surrenders in Stafford bar slayings



One of four suspects in the shooting deaths of two people at a Stafford ice house earlier this month surrendered on Monday, officials said.

Michael Marin surrendered to authorities at the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, said Raphael Virata, a Stafford Police Department detective.

Marin, 19, and three of his cousins are charged with capital murder in the deaths of Francisco Pena, 27, and Oscar Mejorado, 28. The two men were shot to death on Dec. 18. at Stafford Ice House, 3230 S. Main.

The other suspects, brothers Joe Edward Marin, Tony Angel Marin and Fabian Cruz Marin, are still at large. Joe Marin is believed to have his 4-year-old son, authorities said earlier.

One of the Marins had gotten into an argument with a family celebrating a birthday at the bar, Virata said. The brothers and their cousin were then asked to leave.

They returned about 2 a.m. and at least one of them was armed, Virata said. Gunfire erupted and at least six people were shot.

Pena and Mejorado arrived at the ice house after the initial altercation occurred, Virata said. Whether they were part of the birthday celebration was unclear.

Michael Marin is in the Fort Bend County jail on $200,000 bail.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7355428.html

Parents, babysitter questioned in 12-year-old boy’s disappearance by KHOU.com Staff

kens5.com

Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:29 AM

HOUSTON -- The mother, stepfather and baby sitter of a missing 12-year-old Houston boy were being questioned by police on Tuesday evening.

A car belonging to Jonathon Foster’s stepfather was also taken into police custody.

Jonathon was last seen by his stepfather around 1:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve, police said. A few minutes later, Jonathon's mother received a mysterious phone call at work, said Jonathon’s grandmother Mary Gifford.

"Someone called and said it was an emergency," said Gifford. "But by the time she picked up the phone, no one was there."

Jonathon's mother reported him missing around 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

An Amber Alert was issued Monday evening. Investigators waited three days to issue an Amber Alert following Jonathan's disappearance because of conflicting stories from the boy’s parents, police said.

On Tuesday around 9 a.m., a child’s burned body was found in a north Houston ditch along the West Park Tollway, HPD Homicide detectives said. But police investigators have not connected the two cases.
snipped
http://www.kens5.com/news/Parents-babysitter-questioned-in-12-year-old-boys-disappearance--112597229.html

Hopes Dim For Safe Recovery In Case Of Missing Jonathan Foster




Hopes for the safe recovery of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, missing since Christmas Eve, continued to dim Tuesday, with detectives privately saying they believe the burned body found in a ditch near the Hardy Toll Road was, in fact, that of the boy.

It was also disclosed that the story about the boy having been with a babysitter just before he disappeared was false. Foster was instead at home alone in his mother’s apartment.
While the search for the missing boy continued, the finding of a badly-burned body on Shilder Drive at the Hardy Toll Road appeared to trigger a rapid succession of events that led investigators to believe the boy is dead.
Because of the badly-burned condition of the body, no immediate identification could be made. The body was taken to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for identification.
Because the ground and grass around the body showed no signs of fire, police believe the victim was burned elsewhere and dumped in the ditch.
Foster’s family members were told to prepare themselves for the possibility the body is that of the Durham Elementary fifth-grader.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one detective said late Tuesday evening the focus of the investigation had turned to Foster’s mother and stepfather, Angela and David Davis. Without categorizing them as suspects, the veteran investigator said “it sure looks like there’s some involvement there.”
“At this point, I can’t say they’re responsible for the boy’s disappearance, but we’re certainly looking very closely at them. We have some very troubling evidence and some obviously false statements given to investigators early on,” he said.
The investigator also said “all indications” are that the burned body is that of Foster.
Police also said they had recovered some “significant evidence” from a surveillance camera at the Rolled Alloys facility next to where the body was found. They would not disclose the nature of that evidence, but the stepfather’s car was searched and impounded by police shortly after detectives completed their review of the video.
It was also revealed there had been recent domestic problems between Angela and David Davis.

read more

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/12/29/49682

Suspect Questioned About 12-Year-Old's Disappearance





HOUSTON -- A source close to the investigation of the disappearance of a 12-year-boy said Wednesday that a woman has been arrested in connection with the case.

Jonathan Foster has been missing since Christmas Eve. Houston police said they believe he was kidnapped. He was last seen at his home next door to the Villanueva Apartments in the 800 block of Oak Street.


An Amber Alert was issued on Monday.


Detectives have spent Wednesday interviewing the woman, who is considered to be a suspect. Her name has not been released. It is not clear what crime she might be charged with.


The woman was arrested in the neighborhood where Jonathan was last seen.
read more.....



http://www.click2houston.com/news/26308627/detail.html

http://levipageshow.blogspot.com/2010/12/breaking-arrest-in-jonathan-foster.html

Levi Page is reporting an arrest in the case.

"12-year-old Houston Texas boy Jonathan Foster vanished from his apartment complex, where he lived with his mother and father on Christmas Eve. New reports are saying that a suspect has been identified and taken into custody. We do not know the name of the suspect, but the suspect is a female, and was arrested in the neighborhood where Foster was last seen, and is now being questioned by investigators."

(From the link above - credit Levi Page)

http://www.click2houston.com/video/10903347/index.html
a man was arrested in connection with this case (large hispanic man) and they executed a search warrant and were removing items

Ovie, I can't get the link to pull up. I wonder if BOTH a man and woman have been arrested, or somebody got it wrong on the gender of the arrestee?

It's a large woman.Pic at link

Sources: Woman to be charged in 12-year-old boy's disappearance


HOUSTON – A woman is expected to be charged Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of 12-year-old Justin Foster, police sources said.
The woman, who is not a relative of the boy, was taken into custody Wednesday morning.
Police sources said she was not being cooperative with the investigation, but detectives have collected a considerable amount of evidence linking her to the boy’s disappearance.
Investigators could be seen removing evidence from the suspect's home after she was taken into custody Wednesday.
Foster was last seen by his stepfather around 1:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Foster’s mother reported him missing around 9:30 that night.
Police didn’t issue an Amber Alert for Foster until Monday, citing conflicting stories from the boy’s parents.
"Until we were able to narrow down and confirm that an abduction had taken place, we couldn’t issue [an Amber Alert]," said Kese Smith, an HPD spokesman.


read more

http://www.khou.com/news/HPD-defends-Amber-Alert-delay-112574489.html

Video
http://www.khou.com/video/featured-videos/Police-question-suspect-gather-evidence-in-case-of-missing-12-year-old--112613524.html

Source: Arrest made in case of missing boy




UPDATE: A close family friend has been arrested and is expected to be charged with the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, a police source close to the investigation said today.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was arrested this morning at her home, the source said.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has yet to formally identify the badly burned body as Jonathan’s, but the police source said investigators "are pretty convinced it’s him."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7356276.html

Thanks Mermaid. How very tragic and incomprehensible.

Source: Woman Arrested in Connection to Missing Child


Source says woman to be charged with murder


snipped


HOUSTON - A source in the Houston Police Department says a woman is expected to be charged with capital murder in connection to the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy.
The woman, now in custody, is an acquaintance of Jonathan Foster’s stepfather. A second person, a male, is being searched for in connection with the boy's disappearance

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/101229-source-woman-arrested-in-connection-to-missing-child

Amber Alert Delay for Missing Child Under Scrutiny


Updated: Wednesday, 29 Dec 2010, 6:11 PM CST
Wednesday, 29 Dec 2010, 6:11 PM CST
HOUSTON - Police departments often struggle with the decision to issue an Amber Alert when a child is missing. According
to Beth Alberts, the director of Houston's Amber Alert system, it's not
unusual for investigators to have trouble determining whether a missing
child has really been abducted. "It's actually fairly typical.
It's almost always the point at which the investigation stalls,
determining, yes, it deserves and Amber Alert because it's an abduction
or not," Alberts says. Houston Police say they delayed issuing an
Amber Alert for 12-year-old Jonathan Foster because investigators
couldn't immediately determine that he had been abducted Christmas Eve.
The boy's fate hasn't been formally determined, although police suspect
the burned body of a child found Tuesday will be identified as
Jonathan's. Alberts says police have to use discretion in issuing the alerts. "In the area we have 10,000 to 12,000 missing children a year. So we don't want to do an Amber Alert every time," Alberts says.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/101229-amber-alert-delay-for-missing-child-under-scrutiny

Woman Faces Murder Charge In Foster Case
Medical Examiner Confirms Burned Body Is Missing Boy

HOUSTON -- Police said a woman arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy will face capital murder charges in his disappearance and death.

On Wednesday, the Houston Police Department said it will formally charge 44-year-old Mona Yvette Nelson with capital murder after the medical examiner confirmed a burned body found Tuesday belongs to Jonathan Foster, who has been missing since Christmas Eve.

Originally, Houston police said they believed he was kidnapped. He was last seen at his home next door to the Villanueva Apartments in the 800 block of Oak Street.

An Amber Alert was issued on Monday.

Detectives spent Wednesday interviewing Nelson and said they originally expected to charge her kidnapping before the medical examiner's confirmation.

Nelson was arrested in the neighborhood where Jonathan was last seen, police said. She is a family acquaintance or a friend of Jonathan's mother, Angela Davis, sources said.

Police said they found Jonathan's burned body in a drainage ditch about four miles from where he disappeared. The body was found near the Hardy Toll Road, and detectives said they believe it was dumped there.

Houston police said the suspect's car was seen on surveillance video near where the body was found.

read more
http://www.click2houston.com/news/26308627/detail.html

Poster's Note: BTW-the MSM reporting of this case has been awful.

A family acquaintance has been charged with capital murder in the case
of Jonathan Foster, a 12-year-old Texas boy last seen Christmas Eve
before a burned body believed to be his was found Tuesday, according to
local media reports.
Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, an acquaintance of Foster's family, was named a
person of interest early Wednesday and questioned by police, ABC News
station KTRK
in Houston reported. The Harris County, Texas, District Attorney's
Office later told KTRK that it had accepted capital murder charges
against Nelson.
The Houston Chronicle, citing police, reported Nelson was arrested Wednesday morning at her home.
According to the Chronicle, Nelson's truck was seen on surveillance
video from an office near where Texas authorities found the burned body
five miles from Foster's home.
After an autopsy, that body was identified as the fifth-grader's, police told KTRK.
A Houston 911 emergency supervisor declined to discuss the case with
ABCNews.com late Wednesday, referring all questions to the police media
relations department. However, a voicemail message indicated the
department was closed.
Earlier, police told ABCNews.com that the charred body had not been
identified and there was some hope Foster would be found alive.
"The body ... is that of a child, but it was so badly burned that we
can't determine the gender or identification," Houston Police Department
spokesman Kese Smith told ABCNews.com. "The Medical Examiner's office
has that unfortunate task to determine, and until that happens, we are
treating these two incidents as separate cases.
"We are still running leads down on Jonathan Foster, and we'd very much like to find him alive," Smith said at the time.
Calls made to the Houston Medical Examiner's office were not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.
Foster's grandmother also held out hope that the burned body was not her grandson's.
"I'm trying to stay positive and trying to stay strong and believe he's
still out there and will come home," said the grandmother, Mary Gifford.
Gifford told ABC News that the ordeal has been "like a roller coaster"
and that she prayed for the safe return of Jonathan, who last was seen
Dec. 24 at the Houston home he shared with his mother, Angela Davis, and
his stepfather, David Davis.
"My gut feeling is mixed," said Gifford. "Sometimes, I think that
something has happened to him, and he's not coming back, and other times
I think he's safe and he's coming home."
Gifford said she knows something must have happened to her grandson,
because he would never run away from his mother, whom he had just
started living with again last month. According to Gifford, Jonathan had
been counting down the days when he would be reunited with his mother,
who was "getting her stuff together" after "going through some things."
Disturbing Call Between Mother and Son

Jonathan is believed to have been last seen Christmas Eve day at 1:45
p.m. by his stepfather, but a disturbing phone call between the child
and his mother had Gifford and authorities worried.
Gifford said that when her daughter returned a call from her son, who
had left a message at her office Friday, a woman she did not know picked
up the phone.
"My daughter asked to speak with her son, and then the woman asked
[Jonathan] if Angela was his mother," said Gifford. "He said, 'Yes m'am,
Angela is my mother,' and then the phone went dead."
Gifford said neither she nor her daughter, who ABC News could not immediately reach, had any idea who this mystery woman may be.
An Amber Alert was issued for Jonathan Foster Monday afternoon, which Gifford said was far too late.
"Regardless of how this turns out, my goal is to get the Amber Alert law
changed," she said. "There should not be criteria for an Amber Alert
that depends on whether cops think the kid has run away.
"The cops kept thinking [Jonathan] ran away," she said. "But he had
waited too many years to go back with his mama, that's what he wished
for on his birthdays, to be back with his mama.
"That doesn't sound like a kid who wants to run," said Gifford.
Smith defended the timing of the Amber Alert, saying that conflicting
accounts of what happened the day Jonathan went missing made the case
even harder for investigators.
While he wouldn't specify what the conflicting stories were about in
great detail, Smith said that the mother had originally said that
Jonathan was home with a babysitter when he went missing but later said
he had been at home alone.
Only when they could pin down an accurate description of the boy, as
well as identify the person who might have been with him at the time of
his disappearance -- a woman with a raspy voice -- the officers issued
an Amber Alert.
"If we issued an Amber Alert on every case we'd be inundating the public
with alerts for children who really did just run away," said Smith.

"If we issued an Amber Alert on every case we'd be inundating the public
with alerts for children who really did just run away," said Smith.

---Better to err on the side of caution.
So, is a child who ran away in any less danger than one who has been abducted. Perhaps, to a certain degree. The fact remains however that A CHILD IS MISSING...

Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, was charged Wednesday night with capital murder for the death of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster.

According to investigators, Nelson is a family acquaintance from the North Forest area.

Officials said surveillance video from an office building near the
culvert where a burned body was found captured Nelson's truck.

The body was spotted by a passerby Tuesday morning in a ditch in
northeast Houston near the Hardy Toll Rd. It was charred beyond
recognition and dental records had to be used to determine who it was.

Harris County Insititute of Forensic Sciences identified the body late
Wednesday as Jonathan's. It was a discovery his loved ones have been
fearing and police have been expecting.

Jonathan was last seen alive Christmas Eve. His mother first told
investigators he was with a babysitter, but she later admitted he was
home alone.

Nelson's criminal record dates back to 1984 with charges for criminal
mischief, aggravated robbery, possession of marijuana, theft and terrorist threat.

Motive unknown in missing boy's killing

Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, was arrested at her home Wednesday morning.

HPD officers walk near a body that was discovered in a ditch near East Hardy and Schilder Dr. on Tuesday.




A family acquaintance has been charged with capital murder in the
death of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, a Houston boy who police say was
kidnapped from his home on Christmas Eve before being killed, badly
burned and dumped in a ditch.Mona Yvette Nelson, 44, was arrested Wednesday morning at her home."Mona
Nelson has made what investigators call a self-serving statement, which
places her with Jonathan. However, she has not admitted to killing
him," said HPD spokesman Kese Smith. "She is the only suspect."Jonathan
disappeared before 2 p.m. on Friday. Smith said the Harris County
Institute of Forensic Sciences late Wednesday identified a body found in
a culvert Tuesday near East Hardy and Schilder Drive as Jonathan's. No
signs of a fire were near his body, indicating he had been burned
elsewhere. A break in the case came when Nelson's Ford F-150
truck was spotted on surveillance video taken from an office building
near the culvert.Investigators spent hours Wednesday questioning
Nelson. They believe she took Jonathan to her home near U.S. 59 and
Laura Koppe, where she likely killed him and burned his body, said HPD
homicide investigator Mike Miller.He said a search of Nelson's
house turned up an "incredible amount of evidence" that points to Nelson
as the killer, but investigators are still trying to discern her
motive."That's the million-dollar question," Miller said.

Had spent time in prison
In 1984, Nelson was charged with aggravated robbery and later pleaded
guilty in exchange for 10 years' probation, court records show. In 1991,
her probation was revoked and she was sent to prison. It was unclear
from court documents late Wednesday how she violated probation or how
long she spent behind bars.Jonathan's mother, Angela Davis,
crumpled into a couch Wednesday afternoon in the small cottage in
northwest Houston where her son was last seen alive."I feel
responsible because I left him here," she said, crying and staring
blankly at the front door. "I'm his mama. I'm supposed to protect him."She
knew little about the fate of her son, nicknamed J.P. for Jonathan
Paul, and sometimes called "Frog" by his aunt for the stick-skinny legs
he had as a newborn.She did know that police had a woman in custody, someone she said she'd met only once, on the night of Jonathan's disappearance.Nelson
was friends with her roommate and Jonathan's frequent babysitter,
Sharon Ennamorato. Ennamorato described Nelson as a friend who used to
work in maintenance at an apartment complex across the street.On
Friday morning, both Davis and Ennamorato had to work, and Jonathan was
going to stay home alone until his mom could make it home, around 1 or 2
p.m. They said they left Jonathan with specific instructions: He was
not to leave the house, which is nestled next to an apartment complex on
Oak Street in northwest Houston. If he had any problems, he should run
next door and tell his neighbor.Davis had moved into the little cottage with Ennamorato on Dec. 14,
after she and Jonathan's stepfather, David Davis, split up. She said he
had gotten angry and slapped the boy. Davis considered taking Jonathan
to her mother's house, she said, but she didn't want to uproot him when
he'd just started classes at Durham Elementary School in November.That
morning at work, a colleague told Davis her son had called the office,
and had asked for Ennamorato's number. She was only told about the call
after the fact, she said.
Then a woman called back, saying it was an emergency. By the time Davis made it to the phone, she said, the line was dead.Concerned,
Davis called the house phone again and again as she drove to the
cottage, she said. Someone picked up just minutes before she pulled up
around 2 p.m.A woman answered, she said, and Davis identified
herself and asked to speak her son. She heard a woman say: "Is your
mama's name Angela?" she said.And she heard Jonathan say: "Yes ma'am, my mama's name is Angela." And then the phone went dead.When
she opened the door moments later, cartoons were still on the TV, and a
game was up on the computer screen. A can of Tootsie rolls sat on the
computer desk."I hollered, 'Jonathan, mama's home! Where are you?'" There was no answer."The
only thing missing in this house is his tan T-shirt with a guitar on
it, a pair of jeans, his white sneakers and his black stuffed cat that
my grandmother made him," Davis said. "There was no struggle."That night, she said, Nelson stopped by the house. She told Davis she
had come to the house that morning looking for Ennamorato, and that
Jonathan had answered the door wearing no shirt, and it seemed like
someone was in the house with him.

'A gift from God'
Davis said she's not pretending to be a perfect parent. When felt her
life spiraling out of control years ago, she sent her children to live
with relatives.
"He hasn't seen his father since he was 4 years old," she said.
"When he was 6, his father told him on the phone that he was a problem
in his life and he didn't want nothing to do with him." She calls
him a twice-born child, because his heart had stopped when she was
pregnant with him, and the doctors thought he'd died. But they picked up
the heartbeat, and he was born a healthy little boy."That's why
his name is Jonathan, which means a gift from God," she said. "I don't
know how God could give me that gift, and then take him from me."

http://www.ultimatealdine.com/stories/225417-motive-unknown-in-missing-boy-s-killing

This just doesn't make any sense to me. What would her motive be? I can't help wondering if the ex boyfriend could be involved. Jonathan's mother just broke up with him because he hit the boy and he seems to be the only person who may have a motive. Just thinking out loud. It's bizarre. And why did the woman answer the phone? Obviously she didn't want to speak to his mother so was she expecting someone else to call?
Or maybe she's just a complete nutter who went round there looking for the flatmate and finding Jonathan alone decided she'd kill him. Hard to imagine a mind like that though.