The system failed her 7-year-old grandson, a grandmother said today about the Adrian Jones case.
Adrian was the 7-year-old whose body was discovered in a barn or shed at a rural Wyandotte County address on 99th Street in November 2015. His remains were allegedly partly consumed by pigs. He was the victim of what authorities here called the worst child abuse case they had ever seen.
Adrian’s father and stepmother pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the case. The stepmother, Heather Jones, received a life in prison, 29-year sentence. Michael A. Jones, Adrian’s father, may be sentenced Wednesday, May 3, in Wyandotte County District Court, and is expected to receive a life in prison “hard 25”-year sentence.
Judy Conway of Emporia, Kan., the grandmother of Adrian, said today that she didn’t think 25 years in prison was enough.
The day that Mike Jones, a former bail bondsman, pleaded guilty, Conway was relieved about not having to go through the trial, but she was “really upset about it” – that she wasn’t called in advance that day for her feelings about the plea agreement. “I should not have found out from a reporter after it was tweeted out,” she said. She added she thought a “hard 50” sentence would have been better for him, and she also thought Heather Jones should have received a longer sentence.
Mike Jones, 46, could be released in his early 70s if he served 25 years in prison, she said.
“I’m hoping as a family we will be notified when he’s up for parole,” Conway said. “I don’t think he should ever get out.”
Conway said the Department for Children and Families and the entire system failed Adrian. She said child social welfare authorities here in Kansas and in other states had received reports about Adrian being abused. The Jones family lived in Wyandotte County only a year or less before Adrian’s death, she said.
Conway criticized the DCF for sealing all the records shortly after Adrian’s death, and said she was not able to have access to the records. She said they were told the records would not be available until after the sentencing was over.
“We want all the records, and we feel as a family we should have had access to those records from the very beginning,” Conway said.
Conway has lobbied state legislators to get more oversight of home schools. Adrian was home-schooled, and Conway believes that the state should be checking on these children. Although most home-schooled children are not abused, there may be a few, and that is why the state should remain vigilant. She believes the state should do a background check for high-risk children.
Conway said the Jones family had 32 surveillance cameras inside their home, and there was video evidence of abuse against Adrian. Conway said there was a video of Adrian being hit with a broom. Conway said there was a text message from Heather Jones’ phone with a screenshot of Adrian being strapped to an inversion table, his hands and feet bound, and tape over his eyes.
“In my eyes as a grandmother … they are equally responsible,” Conway said. “I never thought in a million years Mike would ever do anything to hurt his kids. I was entirely wrong.”
The late Detective Brad Lancaster was working on the Adrian Jones case at the time of Lancaster’s death in a carjacking near the Hollywood Casino last year.
“Detective Lancaster had made a promise that whatever happened, he would find justice for Adrian,” Conway said.
Conway said she had tried to see her grandchildren when Mike and Heather Jones had custody, but she was told by Heather that she could not see them. When the grandchildren were out of state, there was nothing she could do, she said.
Since the tragedy, Conway has found that abuse victims are often isolated. She believes home-schooling is part of the isolation for such victims.
In the Adrian Jones case, despite multiple reports of child abuse to state agencies, not enough action was taken in time to save him from death.