The incident occurred in a modest apartment on the city’s east side, where authorities found the lifeless body of little Janiya Thompson on Monday afternoon. The baby was alone, unsupervised and in deplorable condition. According to the preliminary police report, the mother, identified as 21-year-old Kristen Jones , had locked her daughter in the apartment on March 18 to go on vacation with her partner, returning only nine days later.

According to the investigation, upon arriving at the home and finding her daughter lifeless, the young mother called 911. However, emergency services were unable to do anything: Janiya had already been dead for several days. The scene was described by paramedics as “heartbreaking and extremely negligent.”

Jones was arrested that same day and faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated child neglect, and abandonment. During her initial court appearance, prosecutors requested that she be held without bail, citing the extreme seriousness of the case and the risk of flight.Read more below