A Kentucky man has been accused of helping his wife conceal the death of her 10-year-old son. Felicia Gross was charged with manslaughter earlier this month in connection with the boy’s death, and now local first responders are stepping in to help escort the child’s body to his final resting place.
Joshua Gross became the second person charged this week in connection with the death of 10-year-old Jayden Spicer. His mother, Felicia Gross, had initially reported him missing on Aug. 6 — a week before police say she admitted to killing her son, PEOPLE previously reported.
Joshua faces charges including falsely reporting an accident, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and two counts of tampering with a witness, WLKY and WKYT reported.
PEOPLE reported last week that authorities claim Felicia admitted to killing her son after allegedly filing a false missing person report and posting pleas for help on social media.
“We want him safe at home,” the mother wrote in a note shared online. “Please if anybody see my son Jayden Spicer please report it to the Jackson Police Department.”
However, police say that Felicia and Joshua — the boy’s stepfather — were the last to see him alive.
Felicia allegedly confessed to giving Jayden sleeping pills and later burying him in a plastic tote, according to an arrest document obtained by the Lexington Herald Leader. She reportedly told investigators she believed the child died from an emergency related to the medication he took. She also allegedly admitted to “coaching” his siblings for their police interviews.
Felicia faces charges of manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and falsely reporting.
The case has deeply affected city officials. WLKY reported Wednesday that a Breathitt County jailer called on first responders to help escort Jayden’s body from a local funeral home to the cemetery where he will be buried.
“In the 25 years I’ve been doing this, this is probably one of the sadder ones that I’ve been involved in,” the jailer said in his post, according to the outlet. “I hope to see nothing blue and red as far as we can see, and I hope that we can take Jayden to his final resting place in a way that he would be proud.”
