Roy Antonio Jones III
Age 11 Aug 2010
Southampton, New York (USA)
Beaten
TDoR list ref: tdor.info/1 Aug 2010/Roy Antonio Jones III
Roy was a 16 month old toddler beaten to death by their mother's boyfriend, 20 year old Pedro Jones.
Jones told police he had struck the infant several times with a closed fist, saying that he was "trying to make him act like a boy instead of a little girl."
We'll obviously never know what Roy's gender identity would ultimately turn out to be, but given how they died it is fitting that they be remembered by our community. Rest in power, little one.
The Shinnecock Indian Nation came together on Monday night to mourn the death of one of their youngest members, 16-month-old Roy Antonio Jones III.
Nearly 100 tribe members shed tears and honored the life of the toddler, who died Sunday evening of cardiac arrest after authorities said he was beaten by his mother’s boyfriend at her home on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.
The candlelight prayer vigil was held hours after 20-year-old Pedro Jones of Southampton, who is not a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Southampton Town Justice Court in connection with the toddler’s death. If convicted of the Class B violent felony, he faces five to 25 years in prison, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.
According to a felony complaint filed with the Town Justice Court on Monday, August 2, police said that Mr. Jones caused the child’s death by “striking him several times throughout his body with his closed fists and grabbing him by the neck.”
Also, according to court documents of a police interview, Mr. Jones reportedly spoke with his parents from Southampton Hospital, where Roy was pronounced dead, and told them that he “killed Vanessa’s son and that he punched him too hard.” According to his comments in the documents, Mr. Jones said he was “trying to make him act like a boy instead of a little girl.”
