Father who confessed to abusing, starving and murdering 7-year-old son before feeding his body to pigs changes his story
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A Kansas man who pleaded guilty to the brutal killing of his seven-year-old son has reversed his plea, claiming that he is not responsible for Adrian Jones’s death.

The Kansas City Star reports that Michael Jones, 46, testified in court late last month that his attorney pressured him to plead guilty to first-degree murder, but that he doesn’t believe he is guilty of that charge.

“There’s a lot I’m guilty for,” Jones reportedly said. “I’m just not guilty of first-degree murder.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Adrian Jones, 7, was mercilessly abused and starved before he died in late 2015 in the home of father and stepmother, Heather Jones. The abuse reportedly began after Adrian was removed from his biological mother’s home along with his sisters, who were not abused. After Jones died, presumably of starvation, his father reportedly fed his body to pigs he kept on the property. The tragic and horrifying case led to a lawsuit against child welfare agencies in two states, after records showed that Adrian himself had told social workers he was not being properly fed and that his father hurt him.

READ MORE: Adrian Jones was starved, abused and tortured before his body was fed to pigs — in a home child services sent him to

Michael and Heather Jones entered guilty pleas and were convicted of Adrian’s murder earlier this year.

Jones’s attorney, Joe Duma, reportedly said in court that he advised his client that a jury would likely convict him of a more serious charge, premeditated first-degree murder, had he not pled guilty to first-degree murder, but that Jones made the decision himself.  In doing so he now has the possibility of being released from jail in his lifetime; both he and Heather Jones were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

According to the Kansas City Star, Michael Jones will have to prove that he was a victim of manifest injustice before he can withdraw his plea. The judge reportedly said that he will issue a written decision within 60 days of last month’s hearing.

 

[Feature image: Handout]