MEMPHIS, TN — A 25-year-old mother and her 21-year-old boyfriend in Tennessee have been indicted on multiple felony charges for allegedly fabricating a missing person report for the woman’s 4-year-old daughter, whom they are accused of beating to death.
Brittney Jackson and Jaylon Hobson were indicted this week by a Shelby County grand jury on two counts each of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Additional charges include abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and false reporting in connection with the death of Sequoia Samuels, according to court records.
Memphis Police Department issued a City Watch Endangered Child Alert for Samuels on Thursday, June 15, after Jackson and Hobson reported her missing. Jackson claimed she discovered her front door ajar that morning around 7:55 a.m. and Sequoia missing from the home located in the 200 block of Caldwell Avenue.
Sequoia was last seen in a neighbor’s doorbell video footage around 3 a.m. on Thursday, walking alone on the street. She was described as being 3 feet tall and weighing 30 pounds with a feeding tube on the left side of her stomach.
By Friday morning, police announced the discovery of a child’s remains in a dumpster servicing the apartment complex where Jackson and Hobson lived. The remains are believed to be Sequoia’s.
A probable cause affidavit revealed that investigators believe Sequoia had died “several weeks” before the couple reported her missing. During police questioning, Jackson allegedly confessed to filing a false report and disclosed that Hobson had physically attacked Sequoia multiple times over weeks, culminating in her death.
The affidavit also stated that Jackson never attempted to aid her daughter after the attacks. Sequoia’s body was placed in garbage bags and kept in the house until June 15, when it was dumped in a garbage container.
According to police, Jackson positively identified photographs of the garbage bag and container where Sequoia’s body was left. During the weeks the body was stored in the house, three other children, aged 4, 5, and 6, also resided there.
Hobson denied involvement in Sequoia’s disappearance or death. He last claimed to have seen her alive on June 11, a statement police said was contradicted by the state of decomposition of the discovered remains.