The drawn-out torture and murder of young Adrian Jones is one of the most shocking crimes against a child imaginable. The 7-year-old’s body was found in a pig stye, where his father and stepmother threw the corpse to be eaten by swine.
The child’s suffering, starvation and neglect in the house of horrors is shockingly documented in photos and videos recorded by the parents, Michael and Heather Jones, who are now serving life sentences.
Still, questions remain about why the state agency charged with protecting Adrian failed to intervene despite numerous calls from people reporting the abuse, which lasted for at least nine months, if not longer.
Kansas City-based journalist Jessica McMaster’s investigative reporting revealed the gruesome details of Adrian’s final months. Her three-part series includes hard-to-watch images of the abuse, a confrontation with an uncle who apparently knew about it, and an expose’ of the Kansas City Department of Children and Families practice of keeping secrets.
McMaster’s reporting is already creating change, prompting Kansas lawmakers to consider “Adrian’s law” to make it illegal for anyone with knowledge of child abuse to ignore it and not call authorities.
Nancy Grace discusses the case with Jessica McMaster in this episode of “Crime Stories.” Listen here:
