Update - Jhyesse Shockey's Disappearance Leads to Murder Conviction for Jerice Hunter

I have been working on this case since it aired on the news October 11, 2011. I have pondered it, talked about, researched and dug deep in any available information. Never once did I feel that 5 year old Jhyeese Shockley was kidnapped from her home in Glendale. It's sad that things ended how they did and all rays of hope were dashed when the evidence was presented. We all kind of knew she was dead.

 

New information was released in the homicide investigation of Jhessye Shockey.

As you may recall 5 year old Jhessye was reported missing by her Mother, Jerice Hunter on October 11, 2011. As time passed, candle light vigils were held and prayers for her safe return were sent up, the reality sat in that foul play was a major part of this case. Jerice Hunter was convicted of the murder of her own daughter.

The case files were released to CBS News 5 in Arizona. After reading 12,000 pages and combing through witness and family member interviews, I can safely conclude that Jerice Yaron Hunter is truly a despised and mentally ill woman. This report is listed in phases. It's a break down of what was in the police reports. There was a ton of information, people, names, dates and details. If you want to read the PDF files, please click on the link below.

http://www.kpho.com/story/19776484/police-report-released-on-jhessye-shockleys-murder

The various police departments, FBI agents and forensic teams who worked on the case truly gave Jhessye Shockely’s case first priority. No one, not even Shirley Johnson (Jerice’s Mother) could disagree with that.

 

Phase 1: When Jhessye was  reported missing on October 11, 2011, the Glendale police department sprang into action and began a search of the area. Passerby’s, family and friends were questioned. Thousands of tips and sightings were phoned in. As the investigation was underway, the close relatives of Jerice Hunter were questioned. Jerice’s past was mentioned by all individuals. Stories about her drug additions, lack of family planning and abusive personality stood in the forefront of the investigation.

Jerice was facing jail time for the abuse and possible molestation of her 13 year old daughter (George Shockley was found guilty of the molestation) when she was 8 months pregnant with Jhessye. When Jerice was near time to give birth, she left California (where Shirley Johnson lived) to go to Arizona to be near her Father’s side of the family. Jheesye was born in Arizona and was given to Jerice’s paternal cousin’s Tycora Cole and Mahogany Hightower. Tycora Cole was granted legal custody of Jhessye. Jerice’s other children were sent to live with Shirley Johnson. Shirley Johnson proceeded to adopt Jerice’s three older children. Shirley Johnson then sent the older 3 to live in Arizona after the adoption proceedings. Shirley was a surgical nurse who did not have time to raise Jerice’s kids. In order to keep them out of the “system”, Shirley sent them to family members. The state was under the impression that Shirley had the children because she was still receiving government benefits for them.

Tycora Cole and Mahogany Hightower were interviewed and questioned regarding the disappearance.  “Jhessye was treated like a princess,” was the tearful statement that Tycora made to the investigating officer. All photos of Jhyeese that were used for the flyers seen on the news were picture from photo shoots that Tycora paid for. Jerice never took pictures of Jhyeese and never submitted any photos to law enforcement or the media.  Tycora assured the officer that they would have never kidnapped Jhyeese. As an infant, she was shown photos of Jerice and was instructed to call Tycora and Mahogany “Auntie” not Mama.   Jerice was released from prison after a 4 ½ year sentence. Shirley Johnson took it upon herself to “reunify” Jerice with her children. Jerice in turn decided to disrupt the ideal household that Jhessye lived in. She called the police and proceeded to take Jhessye back from Tycora’s care. Tycora remembered the day this happened. She told the officer that she had raised Jhessye from 2 weeks old to 4 years old. The entire time she was there she was sure to teach Jhessye who her Mom was. Jerice was not touched by the tender care given to her child in her absence. She was loud and became angry and took Jhessye away. Tycora combed Jhessye’s hair and told her she was going to the store with her Mom and Jhessye asked if she (Tycora) was going too. She said not this time. She broke down crying during the questioning. This truly hurt the Auntie that had raised such a sweet, loving child.

Jerice, with her 4 children in tow, moved into homeless and battered women shelters. Everyone was aware of this because all members of the family recanted the same story. Jerice was turned away from the homes of several family members because of her cruel ways and lazy, shiftless behavior. No one wanted to deal with her. On a particular day, Jerice fled a battered women shelter in Glendale because she was in trouble for beating her 9 year old child. According to Andrea (Jerice’s lover at the shelter), Jerice hit the child in head and blood was on the floor and bed where the child slept. Another shelter mate reported this and Jerice knew she would be taken back to jail for child abuse so she left. Jerice then found an apartment with the help of a fellow drug user and her Father Jessie Johnson. Jesse was responsible for assisting Jerice with rent and Shirley set up a separate account for Jerice’s other bills. Jerice also received public assistance in the form of foodstamps, welfare and Medicaid for all children.

Jerice was a Mother of 7 and has a 20 year old son and a 19 year old daughter. The other children are living with their Fathers and have no contact with Jerice or her family.

Andrea was questioned about the whereabouts of Jhessye and she told police that at the time when she lived with Jerice at the apartment, she noticed that Jerice was very heavy handed with the children, Jhessye mostly. She used to grab her up and punch and slap her very hard. When Jerice was told by Andrea to stop Jerice became angry and told Andrea they were her kids and she has the right to beat them. Andrea was asked if she felt that Jerice would harm Jhessye. She said she wasn’t sure. She wouldn’t want to think that but you never know. Jerice had a violent temper. Andrea had several personal belongings at Jerice’s home when she lived there. One such item was a large, black and red suitcase with a broken handle. Inside the case was Andrea’s photo albums. Andrea tried to get her suitcase back from Jerice but she would say she was too busy to look for it or she was 8 months pregnant and didn’t feel like looking in the shed for it. On one occasion, Andrea asked a family member of Jerice who goes by the nickname Lisa (real name Felicia Belamy) to go to Jerice’s apartment and get it for her. Jerice refused to let Lisa have it. Andrea never got her suitcase from Jerice. This was the last time she had contact with her.

An uncle on Jessie Johnson’s side of the family also was questioned about Jerice and he also mentioned her bad temper and her habit of dishing out cruel beatings. He mentioned to police that he would not be surprised if Jerice did indeed beat Jhessye to death and probably threw her in a dumpster. Note: This statement shocked me a bit because there were no notations of searching dumpsters until later in the investigation. How this uncle knew this..we have no idea. 

Phase 2: More tips poured in and countless people claimed to have seen Jhessye walking into stores and getting out of cars. Even though all evidence led police to believe that Jerice’s story of leaving the kids home alone and Jhessye walking out was a lie, they still followed up on every single lead.

Shirley Johnson’s family was interview heavily. They all painted Jerice to be a mean, hardened woman who didn’t mind inflicting hurt and pain on others around her. Jerice’s Grandmother and Aunt’s confirmed that Jerice was pregnant more than 14 times and had many abortions. Shirley Johnson was a surgical nurse and was known for beating her children and Grandchildren. Shirley was said to have beaten the children until they had open wounds. Shirley would then stitch the wounds shut with supplies from the hospital where she worked.  When Jerice would contract an STD, Shirley would bring her shots to take to rid her of infections. Shirley was well aware of the horrid conditions her daughter surrounded herself in. Jerice had no motivation to work and was in fact pregnant at the time Jhessye went missing! Jerice was said to have still been using drugs while she was pregnant. She had not been employed since 2005. She depended on government assistance and selling food stamps to buy drugs and pay bills.

Several family members said they witnessed Jerice treating Jhessye differently from the way the older 3 were treated. It seemed as if she was jealous of Jhessye and hated the fact that she was raised in better conditions than the older siblings. There was also an incident that Andrea mentioned that Jhessye was playing with Play-Doh and got some on the rug. Jerice was so angry that she took Jhessye in the bedroom and beat her very badly. She was screaming to a point that Andrea had to confront Jerice and make her stop beating her. Jerice was mad and told Andrea that Jhessye is not her child and she can’t tell her how to raise her child. Andrea did say that this was an everyday occurrence in Jerice’s home.

Jerice was interviewed by police about the disappearance of Jhessye Shockley. She gave the same cock and bull story she told the media. She denied using drugs and drinking. Then when she was asked about the relationship she had with her children, she made her house sound a Laura Ingles-Wilder book! Needless to say, I wanted to puke! She made the statement that they are a normal family with rules and her kids and her are close. She blamed her Mother (Shirley Johnson) for turning her into CPS. But they have since then agreed that this was one big mix-up and she forgave her Mother. Jerice is truly a sick woman. No blame for anything ever went to her. She lied the entire time. She was the only person who had something even remotely positive to say about herself or her household.

Phase 3: The police met with the teachers of the Jhessye and her siblings. Numerous teachers were questioned about the behavior of the children and Jerice’s cooperation as a parent. All of the teachers mentioned that Jerice was quick to blame them for the behavior of the children. She would never return calls and the children missed a lot days at school. They asked about Jhessye and how she behaved in class. Jhessye’s teacher said that she was a bright student that got along well with the other children in class. She was a leader and loved school. Jerice was not very involved in her education. Child Protective Services was also questioned about the reports regarding the abuse of the children. Barbara Weaver (CPS worker) was interviewed. She confirmed that Jhessye’s last day of school was September 22, 2011. According to school attendance logs, Jerice was contacted about the absence of her child, but never returned the calls. Several cases were open on Jerice Hunter because of reports of neglect, physical and emotional abuse towards the children. The CPS worker would visit the home. Write in the report that the home was clean, there was food for the children so there was no problem.  CPS clearly dropped the ball in this case. They were question as to why Jerice was allowed to have her children back after serving 4 ½ years in prison for child abuse. They responded with this, “Children need to be with their parents.”  No regard was given for Jerice Hunter’s past situation or the fact that she was a drug user. They knew that Shirley Johnson was receiving government aid for all the children, but never really had them in her care. But yet they allowed this to happen.

A few weeks after the interviews with family members and schools, a neighbor came forward and told her story to the police. She said that her daughter was playing with Jerice’s 13 year old sometime in late September or early October 2011. She said that her daughter never mentioned what she had seen until the first candle light vigil for Jhessye. They were at the vigil and her daughter saw Jerice sitting in a lawn chair and said to her Mother, “I hope she gets what she deserves!” The lady hushed her daughter and on the way home she asked her why she said such a thing. The girl was afraid she would get in trouble if she told what she saw at Jerice’s home that day. But her Mother told her she needed to tell her. The girl said they were playing hide and seek and she wandered into Jerice’s bedroom. Jhessye was in the closet and her hair was all over her head. She looked very bad. Her eyes were big and swollen. She tried to get up to  use the restroom but had trouble standing the girl helped her up. She said that when Jheesye stood up and sat on the toilet, the bruises were black and large all over her legs and a large part of her face. Jhessye was wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts (as mentioned in the missing child report). After the restroom visit, she returned to the pile of clothes where she was laying in the closet. The 13 year old sister notice the girl was in Jerice’s room and told her she needed to leave. She said Jheesye couldn’t come out because she was punished.

When this statement was given to the police, this was a major break in the case. The police then requested an additional search warrant for Jerice Hunter’s apartment. Forensic teams and the FBI then came to take samples of the carpets, walls and other items in the home. The police also needed DNA samples for Jhessye. They in turn contacted George Shockley (Jheesye’s father). George was serving a sentence for child abuse and molestation (of Jerice’s 13 year old child) in a California state prison. George was very helpful with the investigation. He mentioned that Jerice was lying to the media and saying that they were not married but in truth they were married and had never filed for separation or divorce. He said that Jerice was a mean and angry woman. She was raised in a household (with Shirley Johnson) where beatings were often and brutal. Jerice did the same with her children. He recalled the incident that the 13 year was beaten badly (the beating that landed Jerice in jail). He said Jerice was angry over the girl stealing and beat her with an extension cord. She didn’t target any particular area of her body so the open wounds, scars and blisters were all over her body. George tried to stop her and pull her off of the child and she hit George with the cord and open up the skin on his chest. The wound was so deep that it had to be stitched up. He said that the children were never safe with her. He was also asked if she knew that he (George Shockley) was a registered sex offender. He said yes she knew and didn’t seem to have a problem with him being around the children from day one. George was asked to give a DNA swab for analyzes. He agreed and he wanted to help find his child.

A friend of Jerice (her name was not given) came to the Glendale police about a time in October when Jerice asked for a ride to another apartment complex. She said that Jerice had something to dump. Jerice came downstairs with a red and black suitcase (was most likely the suitcase that Andrea left there), she popped the trunk and Jerice got in the car and apologized for the odor of the suitcase. Jerice went to the dumpster (marked City of Tempe) threw the case in, got in the car and the friend brought her home. The vehicle was described as a gold 4 door Chevy Lumina with Arizona license plates. The police impounded the vehicle for forensic testing. The carpet samples taken from right passenger side of the trunk tested positive for blood. It was never stated in the report if the blood was indeed Jhessye’s blood.

Due to Jerice’s second arrest, her remaining children were taken from her a put in state foster care. The 13 year old wrote a letter to “Mah” ( we assume this being Jerice). The foster parent found the letter and discussed it with her. She said that she was tired of hold back the truth and that her Mother made her lie to the family and police about what happened to Jheesye. The letter was given to Glendale police and sent for analyses. Then Shirley Johnson was called in the office for another interview. Shirley was told that this was important and that she needed to arrive ASAP. In the meantime, Jerice was being arrested for child abuse. This case was no longer a missing persons case but a homicide case. Too much evidence pointed to the fact that Jheesye was dead and Jerice Hunter was the killer. Note: Jheesye’s body had not been found. And this arrest was risking double jeopardy, however; the chance was taken and she was named suspect number 1. Shirley arrived at the Glendale Family Advocacy Center (used to interview all family and friends in question) to meet with the detectives.  She was told that her daughter was in custody for child abuse and she asked why. They then gave her the letter to read.

The letter was a detailed description of what happened to Jheesye. The 13 year old mentioned how “Mah” (Jerice Hunter) kept Jheesye in a closet because she came home from running an errand, and Jheesye was in the living room watching TV with a little boy from the apartment complex. Jerice snatched Jheesye by her white long sleeve T-Shirt, called her a little “Ho” and drug her into the bedroom. She said how she screamed and cried. Jerice beat her for a long time. When she saw Jheesye, she was beaten very badly and there were cuts all over her face. Her hair was ripped out of her head and her eyes looked wide and sick. She was told not to feed Jheesye or allow her out of the closet. When Jerice would leave the home (for short periods of time) the 13 year old would give Jheesye food and water and allow her to use the restroom. But one day she said that Jheesye looked like a “zombie” her eyes were wide open and it smelled like a grave yard in the closet. When the children left for school, and came home Jheesye was no longer in the closet. In fact the closet was clean. The girl said that Jerice made her clean the shoes from the floor of the closet in a big blue bowl. Jerice scrubbed the carpets and walls and burned incense to get rid of the smell.

Shirley Johnson was not willing to believe that this happened to Jheesye or that Jerice did this and mostly that the 13 year old wrote this letter. She wanted to see the original letter. The detective told her this is a photo copy of the original letter. She felt like Jerice was being set up. Shirley was clearly taking Jerice’s side. She was told that this was no longer a missing person’s case but now a homicide case and that Jerice looked very guilty. Other family members came forth and now believe that Jerice Hunter did indeed kill her own child. One cousin said that they didn’t want this to be true but the evidence doesn’t lie.

Jerice Hunter has since then been charged with the murder of Jheesye Shockley and child abuse. I am sure other charges will follow for the welfare and food stamp fraud. All information given spawned the mass search if the Butterfield Landfill. People in Glendale complain about the time that was being wasting looking in a landfill for a body. The police didn’t leak this information to the media because of the seriousness of the case and not wanting Jerice’s defense lawyer to get wind of this. Shirley Johnson continued to tell the media that this was a witch hunt and the police needed to look for her Grandchild because someone has her. But she knew that Jerice was fully responsible for Jhessye’s death.  Due to months passing, heat and weather conditions  Jheesye’s body was never found at the Butterfield Landfill. The Glendale Police, FBI and other agencies gave there all to working and processing this case. No stone was left unturned. Jhessye’s body still has not been found.

This case shows the grievous error in the system when it comes to protecting children. CPS was alerted by the schools and family members and didn’t care enough to dig deeper into the complaints. Their main focus was keeping children out of the system. Countless cases like Jheesye Shockley’s go ignored by Child Protective Services and law enforcement every day. Punishment for child abusers and molesters is weak. The sentences are like slaps on the wrist. A few years is not enough and giving children back to worthless parents surely not the answer.  Jerice Hunter served 4 ½ years in jail for the abuse of her daughter, got out of jail bullied her family into giving the Jhessye back and now she is dead.

We as a country need to implement stronger law with longer sentences for would be child killers and abusers. Maybe a few young lives will be saved in the process.

 

Justice For Jhyesse!!!