Winston-Salem man was charged Thursday in the death of a toddler in July, authorities said.
Fernanda Lavon Jones, 34, of Peachtree Street is charged with murder and felony child abuse, inflicting serious physical injury, Winston-Salem police said. Jones is being held in the Forsyth County Jail with no bond allowed, police said.
Officers, city firefighters and emergency medical technicians responded to Peachtree Street at 4:20 a.m. July 27 to a report of “unknown trouble,” police said.
The first responders found the child, Thomas Ryan Jones Thompson, in distress, police said. Despite efforts to save his life, Thomas, who was 23 months old, died at the scene.
Detectives later learned that the boy had been in Jones’ care, police said. Jones and the child share similar last names but are not related, according to police.
An autopsy determined that the child died of blunt force trauma, and the boy’s manner of death was homicide.
Jones is accused of assaulting the boy on July 27, causing injuries to the toddler’s abdomen, according to an arrest warrant. The toddler suffered an injury to his abdominal vein and a lacerated liver.
According to the autopsy report, the toddler was in cardiac arrest when EMTs arrived. They noticed bruising around the child’s neck before putting in an endotracheal tube, the report said.
According to the autopsy report, Jones, who was the boyfriend of the boy’s aunt, and other family members could not provide an explanation for the toddler’s injuries.
The boy had multiple scrapes and bruises around his neck and jaw. There was also a bruise on his right ear.
