A stepmother accused of killing a young boy made her first court appearance Monday morning without setting foot in the courtroom.
Prosecutors charged Heather Jones and her husband, Michael Jones, with first-degree murder and child abuse.
Wyandotte County Judge Robert Serra held the arraignment via video link from the jail to his office a little before 9 a.m.
No one from the public saw Heather Jones for the hearing where the two charges were read to her. As of Monday morning, she doesn’t have a lawyer to represent her.
Prosecutors believe Heather and Michael Jones murdered 7-year-old Adrian, who is missing.
On Thanksgiving morning, police found human remains in a barn located on N. 99th Street in Kansas City, Kan. The couple rented the property. The property owner declined to speak with 41 Action News Monday morning.
The coroner said the remains that were found are of a young child, but he is still working to identify them, which he said might take another several weeks.
Heather Jones will be back in court Dec. 22 and is being held on a $5 million bond.
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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com.
