WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Two people facing charges in the death of a 9-year-old Detroit boy, who prosecutors say was locked away and abused, before he died from untreated pneumonia, appeared in court on Wednesday.
Sherman D. Jones, 46, and Sampaguita L. Jones, 41, both of Detroit, were charged with felony murder, torture and involuntary manslaughter in connection with his death.
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Medics responded to a home in the 3700 block of Gladstone Street at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2024, after they received a report of an unresponsive child.
The 9-year-old boy, Owen, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His cause of death was pneumonia.
Sherman and Sampaguita are accused of neglecting and physically abusing the boy. Prosecutors say the trauma from the continued abuse and neglect resulted in his death.
Background --> Detroit boy, 9, who was locked away and abused, died from ignored pneumonia, prosecutors say
The defendants were the boy’s legal guardians and were allegedly licensed foster care workers who had been running a foster care home since at least 2018.
The boy’s biological mother told Local 4 that Sherman and Sampaguita were family friends and were only supposed to have custody of Owen for a year. She called them “manipulators and liars” and said that they stopped letting her contact Owen.
The defendants appeared in court before Shawn K. Jacque on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, for a preliminary examination. The purpose of this type of hearing is for the judge to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case to trial.
Read our previous coverage on Tuesday’s hearing.
Three witnesses testified during the hearing on Oct. 7, including a doctor and child abuse expert, who said there would have been “clear signs” the boy would have needed to get medical care.
The hearing resumed on Wednesday, Oct. 8. There were two witnesses who testified—a former foster care child who lived with the Jones’ and the chief medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Owen.
Former foster child testifies
A 24-year-old testified in the hearing on Oct. 8 that she lived with the Jones’ until she was 17 years old. She described the guardians as her life and school mentors.
She said she had met Owen during her time living with the Jones’ and house sat for them while they had to travel for work.
She saw Owen numerous times until 2022. She said he used to be active in school and participated in after-school activities. However, he was homeschooled, stayed at home and stopped going to church before she moved out.
She said Owen was good “most of the time,” but said he acted like a kid. She testified there were times when Owen was taken upstairs to his bedroom by the Jones’ to be chastised.
She said she would hear thumps upstairs, assuming Owen was getting hit. She would then hear Owen crying.
She also said she never saw the Jones’ excessively beat Owen in front of her.
The last time she saw Owen was in October 2023. She said her fiancé at the time was at the Jones’ home and called her in a panic about Owen.
Her fiancé said Owen wouldn’t eat, so he was sent upstairs to his room.
Her fiancé told her the door was closed and heard bumping and crying and the water turning on in the bathroom.
Her fiancé then sent photos of Owen to her. The photos were of Owen with injuries. The photos were presented in court, and the woman testified the photos were real.
Wayne County Chief Medical Examiner testifies
Dr. LokMan Sung, the Chief Medical Examiner at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office, testified on Oct. 8, detailing Owen’s autopsy.
He said he performed an autopsy on Owen on Sept. 20, 2024, at the medical examiner’s office.
He said the scars on Owen’s body were “too many to count.”
Sung described the countless healed or healing scars on Owen’s body from head to toe. He said Owen also had a healed rib fracture and appeared malnourished.
Notably, he said there was a “spectrum” of scarring specifically on the back of Owen’s head.
Sung also said Owen had fluid in his lungs, which is common for people with pneumonia. However, he said he typically only finds pneumonia cases in this severity in elderly people.
He determined Owen’s death as homicide, saying there were no medical documents indicating Owen’s caregivers sought medical attention prior to his death.
Sung said it is not often for him to declare a pneumonia-related death as a homicide.
During cross-examination, the defense attorneys claimed the injuries on Owen’s body could be from horseplaying. Sung did not deny those claims, but mentioned there was a significant number of scars.
Hearing continues
Due to timing on Oct. 7, the court hearing ended before one of the doctors was cross-examined by the defense attorneys.
In the hearing on Oct. 8, the judge scheduled for the continuation of the preliminary hearing for Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.