8-year-old Illinois boy ‘was like a little skeleton,’ weighed just 30 pounds at time of death: testimony

An 8-year-old Illinois boy who was allegedly starved to death by his parents weighed just 30 pounds at the time of his death and was covered in bruises, according to testimony during his murder trial.

Little Navin Jones was found unresponsive at his parents’ home and later died at the hospital on March 29, 2022.

His cause of death was chronic malnutrition and physical abuse and both his parents were charged with his murder.

His mother Stephanie Jones, 37, pleaded guilty last week to first-degree murder in exchange for less prison time, while his father Brandon Walker, 41, is on trial this week for the same charge.

During the first three days of Walker’s trial, jurors were shown horrific photographs of his son’s body — with his bones clearly visible through his skin — as well as images of the squalid conditions the boy was forced in, WMBD-TV reported.

Navin’s muscles had wasted away, his skin was discolored, his body fat was all gone and his internal organs shrunk below their normal sizes and weights at the time of his death, Dr. Amanda Youmans of the Peoria County Coroner’s Office testified Tuesday, according to the local station.

His wrists showed signs of being tied up and he was covered in bruises that his body was no longer able to heal, she said.

“He was so malnourished, he couldn’t even make a response to an injury,” Youmans said.

His muscles were in such a state of atrophy that was likely that he was unable to move around for a long time, she added.

Other evidence presented during the trial showed that Navin’s parents limited his access to food and the bathroom.

They reportedly exchanged texts with each other expressing anger when the boy ate food from the trash or peed on the wall in his bedroom — which they kept him locked inside with a rope, according to police testimony and crime scene images shown to the court.

A note taped to the boy’s door instructed his older brother not to give Navin food or let him out of his room.

“Do NOT give Navin any food or drinks! Do NOT let him out the room!” the note addressed to the child’s older brother reads. “He has what he needs til I wake up! Do NOT be loud!”

Prosecutors painted an image of parents who treated their two sons very differently.

Navin’s older brother Bently, who was 12 at the time of his brother’s death, had a nicely furnished room with video games and nerf guns while Navin’s barebone room contained just one toy and a bed with a dirty mattress and no sheets or blankets, according to police and photos. A closet in the room was full of urine and feces.

Detective Roberto Vasquez shared what he saw and smelt in the home during a search during testimony.

He described a “horrendous” odor permeating from Navin’s room that was like “nothing I have ever smelled before.

He also noted that the rest of the family’s house was typical of a family of four and that they had a well-stocked fridge.

Navin’s grandmother Laura Walker had full custody of the boys and had raised them from when they were babies but would take them to visit their parents often. She left them in their parents’ care when she had to go to Florida to care for her sick mother in July 2021, according to WMBD-TV.

When she returned two weeks later, they refused to give the boys back to her, she told the court.

She recounted seeing Navin for the last time in the hospital right before he died in an emotional testimony Tuesday.

“He didn’t look human. I touched his shoulder and there was nothing there but bone sticking out,” she said through tears, according to the local station. “There were bruises all over his face. I’ve never seen a human being that thin. It was like a little skeleton.”

Brandon Walker’s attorneys have tried to make the case that the boy’s chronic constipation for his inability to gain weight and intake calories. They also said the boy’s mother was to blame for the abuse as their client worked long hours as a trucker and was not often home.

Walker faces up to life in prison if convicted.