5-year-old girl whipped to death with belt for soiling herself, grandparents charged

Grandparents from suburban Chicago have been charged with murder in the beating death of their 5-year-old granddaughter, who was whipped a dozen times with a belt for defecating on herself — with the granddad allegedly confessing to being “a little too rough” during the fatal assault.

Illinois prosecutors on Monday revealed horrifying details related to the July 14 killing of 5-year-old Jada Moore, telling the court that the girl had been subjected to beatings for more than two months, leaving her with severe contusions most commonly seen in car crash victims, reported NBC Chicago.

The victim’s grandparents, Klent Elwoods, 62, and his wife, Lisa Jones, 57, from Park Forest, have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Jada’s death, which the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled a homicide caused by multiple injuries due to child abuse.

The horrific crime came to light when police and paramedics were dispatched to the couple’s home on Osage Street after 11 p.m. Friday for a report of an “unresponsive” child.

Elwoods was the person who called 911, admitting to a dispatcher, “I was beating my little granddaughter and now she is out of it,” prosecutors said.

Officers found Jada “lying on the couch completely nude.” EMTs performed CPR on the girl before she was airlifted to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she died early Saturday.

The grandfather was quoted as telling the police that he began beating Jada after she soiled her underwear, according to a police report obtained by Law&Crime.com.

While he was riding in the back of a police cruiser, Elwoods allegedly said, unprompted: “I was a little too rough with my grandbaby.”

When questioned by police, Jones allegedly said her granddaughter “had a history of ‘pooping’ on herself,” and that the last time she had a bathroom accident, Elwoods warned her that he would whip her with a belt if she were to soil herself again.

The grandfather allegedly made good on his threat when he discovered Friday night that the 5-year-old had yet again gone to the bathroom on herself.

“Elwoods then reminded [Jada] what he would do if she defecated on herself again,” the report stated. “Elwoods then grabbed a belt and had [Jada] bend over. Elwoods then proceeded to strike [Jada] on her buttocks between 10 and 12 times.”

With each blow, the child fell on the floor, her grandmother was quoted as saying. The last time she was struck, the 5-year-old did not get back up.

A search of the suspects’ home turned up a pair of soiled children’s underwear, a belt, a notarized letter from Jada’s mom giving the grandparents custody for school and medical decisions, and a calendar with four dates marked in the month of June allegedly indicating when Jada had previously defecated on herself. 

Prosecutors said in court that both grandparents allegedly admitted to beating Jada on a regular basis with a belt, their bare hands and a shoe.

An autopsy found that the little girl was covered from head to toe in “bruises, abrasions and scars in various stages of healing.” 

She also had what is known as internal avulsion — or contusion — pockets in her back, buttocks and legs.

“Avulsion pockets are commonly seen in car accident injuries due to the force required to cause such an injury,” prosecutors said. “The avulsion pockets are indicative of the victim losing blood into the soft tissue and are more dangerous in children due to their overall lower volume of blood.”

Jada additionally had bleeding in the space between her brain and skull, pointing to a brain injury.

The beatings had started just a month into Jada’s stay with her grandparents, who had taken her in back in early April, promising to give the 5-year-old “a better home life” after her mother, who lives in Atlanta, had fallen on hard times, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

During Monday’s hearing, both grandparents were denied bond. They are due back in court August 2.