Stepmother of missing 7-year-old boy arrested in Kansas


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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The wife of a Kansas bail bondsman who is charged with abusing his missing 7-year-old son was arrested early Thursday on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse.

Heather Jones was being held without bond but has not been formally charged, according the Wyandotte County Detention Center's online records. The district attorney's office did not immediately return calls or emails seeking comment Thursday.

Jones was arrested at about 4 a.m. Thursday on a bench warrant from 2012 and is on a 48-hour hold, according to jail records. They did not provide details of why she was arrested or whether Jones had a lawyer.

It was also unclear when she would appear in court.

Heather Jones' husband, Michael Jones, was charged late last month with child abuse, aggravated battery and aggravated assault after authorities investigating a domestic disturbance found the remains of a juvenile on the family's property. He is jailed on $10 million bond.

No charges have been filed against him in connection with his son's disappearance or with the discovery of the human remains, which haven't been identified.

John Duma, a lawyer appointed for Michael Jones, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Heather Jones has said the missing 7-year-old boy was her husband's child from another relationship. In interviews with The Associated Press, she has alleged that her husband abused her and the missing boy. She also said she suspected her husband was going to kill her shortly before he was arrested because she "found out" what happened to the missing child.

"I am not God, and I could not save everyone," she said in a telephone conversation last week before her arrest.

Six girls from age 10 to less than 2 were taken from the home and are in state custody.

District Attorney Jerome Gorman has declined to address reports that the remains had been fed to pigs at the family's property, but has said investigators described the scene "as one of the worst things that they have ever seen."

He said the child abuse charge against Michael Jones, described as "torturing or cruelly beating," indicates the boy was abused between May 1 and Sept. 28.

The Kansas Insurance Department said it has taken steps to suspend Jones' bail bondsman license.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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