Police believe 4-year-old died several weeks ago
The Memphis Police Department said a body was found Friday morning near where Sequoia Samuels went missing and that two people were charged in relation to her disappearance.
MPD said the remains have not been positively ID’d as Samuels’ but that they were found near where she lived. Public documents released Friday said Samuels did not go missing Thursday but died several weeks ago after being attacked by her mother’s alleged boyfriend Jaylon Hobson.
Brittney Jackson, Samuels’ mother, has been charged with aggravated child neglect, abuse of a corpse and making a false offense report. Hobson is charged with making a false offense report. (MPD originally identified the child’s mother as Brittany Jackson.)
Police said in an affidavit that Jackson made a false report about Samuels’ disappearance Thursday morning. She later told police that Hobson “physically attacked” Samuels multiple times over several weeks, according to the document.
“After the last attack, [Samuels] became unresponsive. Hobson attempted to revive Samuels; however, she never regained consciousness. Jackson never attempted to render aid to her daughter,” the affidavit said.
Hobson allegedly put the girl in several garbage bags and the bags were stored in the house until Thursday, the affidavit said.
There were three other children in the house — a 5-year-old child of Jackson’s and 4- and 6-year-old relatives of Hobson.
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services confirmed that it had opened an investigation into the case. A DCS statement said it was “unable to release case specific information.” It also said it’s working with law enforcement in the criminal investigation.
Samuels had been last seen on camera leaving her home at in the 200 block of Caldwell Avenue around 3:07 a.m., MPD initially said Thursday.
Chief Davis's update regarding Sequoia Samuels pic.twitter.com/eKZRpsxU7f
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) June 16, 2023
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Memphis Police DepartmentAarron Fleming
Aarron Fleming covers Memphis and Shelby County’s court system and is a member of The Daily Memphian’s public safety reporting team. He formerly covered education and earned his B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis.
Samuel Hardiman
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise and investigative reporter who focuses on local government and politics. A native Rhode Islander who lives Downtown, he enjoys tennis, golf and reading.
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