Coroner: Baby burned in oven died from stab wounds and breathing in heated air in oven [Update]

A Mississippi baby who died after her grandmother allegedly put her in an oven died from a combination of being stabbed and breathing in heated air, a coroner’s report confirms.

According to a report by the deputy coroner at the Bolivar County Coroner’s office, obtained by The Bolliver Commercial, 20-month-old Royalty Marie Floyd died “from sharp stab wounds and inhaling the heated air in the oven.” The little girl was found deceased inside the oven on October 15, when a family member discovered her at her grandmother’s small, tan home off of Martin Luther King Drive in Shaw.

Police said the baby’s grandmother, Carolyn Jones, put her in the oven after stabbing her several times.

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Bolivar County Sheriff Kelvin Williams indicated that the suspect’s brother is the one who found Royalty in the oven and called police. Jones was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder. She’s currently being held in jail on a $500,000 bond.

Carolyn Jones [Boliver County Sheriff’s Office]
Royalty apparently lived with Jones. Police found a barrel of toys, a scooter, high chair, and other children’s items on the curb of the house by the trash when they arrived. Williams said the items belonged to the baby. Royalty’s mother, Veronica Shant’e Jones, did not live with her baby, although it’s unclear why.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, one of Jones’ neighbors said she had no idea that anyone lived in the tiny home, which was generally desolate and quiet.

“It just shocked everybody,” neighbor Earlean Carter told CBS Memphis. “I thought the house was empty. I didn’t know no one lived there.”

The toddler’s mother, Veronica Jones, started a GoFundMe fundraiser, seeking assistance with funeral and burial experiences for her little girl.

“My daughter was stabbed and baked in the oven by her grandmother on October 15, 2018, in Shaw, Mississippi,” Royalty’s mother, Veronica Jones posted on a GoFundMe page. “My daughter would have been 21 months old on October 17, 2018. Royalty was so beautiful & I loved her more than anything in the world.”

Veronica Jones later said she never thought her mother would ever hurt Royalty, and claimed Carolyn Jones had always been caring toward the baby.

“She always treated Royalty like royalty and everybody that knows us knows that,” Jones wrote on Facebook. “To my daughter Royalty, ‘Mommy will always love you and you will live in all our hearts forever.’”

The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

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[Feature Photo: Royalty Floyd/GFM]