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Chapter 1: What happened to Joseph 'Jo-Jo' King III?
Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt. One of the things I love the most about this community is how much we care about telling the right stories in the right way. That's exactly what Dark Down East is all about. Investigative journalist Kylie Lowe digs into cold cases and missing persons from New England, working closely with families and communities to advocate for the truth.
If you care about justice the way we do, this podcast belongs in your queue. Listen to Dark Down East now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt.
Chapter 2: What were the circumstances surrounding Jo-Jo's death?
And the story I have for you today, I'm going to warn you, it's going to be hard to hear. But when people don't listen to the tough stuff, that is what lets a system that doesn't protect kids perpetuate. So I beg you to hear today's story about a first grader found unresponsive in his own home in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The explanation his stepfather gives is that he got trapped inside a toy chest and just couldn't get out, couldn't breathe. But when that theory is put to the test, it doesn't add up. Yet no one has been held responsible for this young boy's death. So his father is making sure that no one forgets his son's name. This is the story of Joseph Jojo King III. Joseph King Jr.
's world collapsed a few weeks before the rest of us were rocked by lockdowns and a global pandemic.
Chapter 3: What did the autopsy reveal about Jo-Jo's cause of death?
It was February 23rd, 2020, when his phone rang just before midnight. No good call comes at that hour, so he was bracing himself when he answered. But there was nothing that could have prepared him for what was said. His six-year-old son, Joseph King III, his JoJo, was unconscious and at the hospital. Now, there wasn't much more information for him at that time. This is all pretty recent.
But he, dad, lives in Georgia and Jojo lives with his mom and stepfather in Texas. So he needs to get on the first flight out to be with his son. Joseph is in knots as he makes the trip and he still doesn't know much. I mean, he had just FaceTime with his son the day before.
Chapter 4: How did Jo-Jo's father respond to the investigation?
He was perfectly healthy and happy, pumped about starting baseball. Like, how could this possibly be happening? How could he be in the hospital now? Now, when he finally arrives at Children's Medical Center in Dallas that next morning, it is even worse than he imagined. Jojo is not just unconscious, he is on life support.
Doctors say that he suffered a brain injury from lack of oxygen, likely from being stuck in a toy chest where his stepdad found him. Like a... toy box thing? Like he climbed in and accidentally got stuck? That is what his stepdad is saying.
Chapter 5: What evidence raised doubts about the stepfather's story?
Brandon Hale, the stepdad, says that he was home with JoJo when it happened. JoJo's mom, Jessica, basically left for a baby shower at around 2.30 p.m. And then at some point that afternoon, Brandon took this short nap, but he was woken up not too long after, just before 5 o'clock, because he got a text from his wife reminding him to give JoJo his medication.
So he said he searched the townhouse and he couldn't find Jojo anywhere. So he even text Jessica back like five minutes later, asking if Jojo was with her. Which doesn't make sense because she's not going to text you about giving him medicine if she has him. I don't know what he was thinking, but no, he is obviously not with mom.
So then Brandon went downstairs to check the front door, make sure that JoJo didn't leave while he was sleeping, but he saw that it was still locked. So he goes back upstairs, and for some unknown reason, he decided to check in the toy chest in JoJo's bedroom. And there he was, not breathing.
Chapter 6: What inconsistencies were found in the timeline of events?
Now, JoJo's dad, Joseph, is standing there beside his son's hospital bed, listening to Brandon's explanation. And to him, something just doesn't sound right. And he's not just thinking that as a dad. He's thinking that as a detective. Because Joseph just so happens to be a homicide detective in Atlanta.
And hearing that his son was home alone with Brandon when something went down immediately sets off alarm bells. Because he knows something you don't. Let me rewind almost a year, back to March of 2019. One day, JoJo showed up to school and he couldn't sit down. Teachers noticed that he had a bit of a limp as well, so they like pull him aside.
Chapter 7: What new findings emerged during the court hearing?
And what becomes visible up close is that there are multiple loop-shaped bruises across the backs of both of his thighs. When they ask him about it, JoJo tells them that his dad, meaning his stepfather, Brandon, beat him with a belt. So police came, they responded, and the Texas Department of Family Protective Services, which is DFPS, they opened an investigation.
Brandon admits that he used a belt. And it sounds like he and Jessica both describe using some forms of corporal punishments as discipline. But DFPS ends up ruling reason to believe for physical abuse. That's officially documented then. Oh, yeah. Reason to believe means that DFPS determined abuse did occur. And so Brandon gets indicted for injury to a child.
Chapter 8: What is the current status of the investigation into Jo-Jo's death?
But here is where it gets complicated. Joseph, JoJo's biological father living in Georgia, isn't notified about any of this right away. Even though he had been active in his son's life, he saw him over summers and during holidays, talked to him nearly every day. But as soon as he does find out, he told our team that he started trying to get custody.
I mean, he goes right to DFPS, the very people who say that they have reason to believe that this young boy is being abused in his home. But he says that they told him they don't remove children in situations like this. In situations like this, abuse?
With abuse.
That's what they said. So he tried going through family court. He tried going to detectives at Grand Prairie PD, but they point him right back to DFPS. So as kind of a last resort, a way to protect his son from far away... He applied for a protective order on behalf of JoJo.
But according to him, a judge wouldn't sign it because JoJo lived in the same home as the person that he was asking for him to be protected from, a.k.a. Brandon. Domestic abuse happens in the home all the time.
Like, that's what domestic means. means i know that argument isn't even logical i know so basically if joseph wanted to get jojo out of that home the really only option that they left him with is to kidnap jojo and they'd have to go on the run because he'd be a fugitive as the non-custodial parent which is not much of an option no and brett this is the part that stays with him
Joseph said that he remembers literally asking officials, does my son have to die for someone to help us? That question now echoes in the ICU too. Because the man who admitted to striking his son with a belt is the same man who was home alone with him when he stopped breathing.
And he's able to stand there in that hospital on that day in February 2020 because even though DFPS said that they had reason to believe Brandon abused JoJo in 2019, they closed the case immediately. documenting that the risk level was low. He got four years deferred adjudication probation. Translation, no formal conviction as long as he complies with his probation. That is zero jail time.
So the fact that Brandon was home alone with JoJo, back living in the house with him at the time that this happened, apparently all of that is by the books as far as the court and DFPS were concerned. Doctors explained that JoJo's brain had suffered severe swelling from prolonged lack of oxygen. They tell Joseph the next 48 to 72 hours are going to determine everything for Jojo.
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