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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

Calera woman Jacqueline Adams, age 58, has been charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the death of 13-year-old Ledarius Johnson.

Following a court hearing for the case on Jan. 9, new details have been released, including video footage that recorded incidents of the malnourished teen being verbally abused, deprived of food and hit with a skillet.

On Aug. 8, 2024, police arrived at Adams’ home on a medical assist call that turned into a cardiac arrest. Medical professionals attempted life-saving measures on an unresponsive male child before he was transported to Shelby Baptist Medical Center where further measures were unsuccessful. The child was later identified to be Johnson.

According to court documents, law enforcement noted several wounds to the child and that he appeared to be underweight which led patrol officers to call in detectives to investigate.

Medical personnel at Shelby Baptist Medical Center indicated that, in addition to several injuries, the child was underdeveloped and malnourished—weighing only 86 pounds at the time of death.

According to court documents, Johnson was one of four children that were in Adams’ care, including Johnson’s twin brother and two sisters, ages 14 and 16. Adams became the sole caretaker over the children after her brother, who was their adopted father, died in 2023. The children are now in the care of Adams’ daughter.

Adams told investigators she had spent the night away from the home and had left Johnson and his siblings alone overnight. Upon her return in the morning, she said that she found the girls asleep in the “pink room” and the twin boys asleep in her bed.

She indicated that she then heard a strong noise coming from one of the boys and found Johnson to be unresponsive. She told the court that she threw cold water on Johnson, panicked and then called 911 who walked her through CPR.

When Johnson was transported to the hospital, Adams and the remaining children allegedly remained at the residents. According to court records, it took approximately an hour after Johnson had arrived at the hospital for Adams to appear.

After viewing Johnson’s condition at the hospital, investigators determined that a search warrant should be executed on the defendant’s home which was then secured and a warrant was executed.

During the search, investigators discovered that the condition of the home and items within it that were previously present had been moved or disposed of. The search indicated that there had been an interior Vivint camera in operation during the incident. After a preservation request and search warrant, law enforcement were able to obtain video from Vivint of inside the home from July 17 through the date of Johnson’s death on Aug. 8.

According to court records, the video footage was “markedly inconsistent” with statements made by Adams. Through the footage, it was confirmed that when Adams arrived home on Aug. 8, three of the children were seen to have spent the entirety of the night on the bathroom floor where the victim was lying, unable to move or stand and was observed at points defecating himself.

Video footage displayed Adams placing the victim in the bathtub, removing his clothing and a blanket that he had been lying on. Additionally, Adams allegedly directed the children to dispose of the items and that she turned the camera and directed the television volume be turned up. Time stamps on the video indicated that more than an hour had elapsed from the time Adams arrived home to when she called authorities.

During open court for the case on Jan. 9, Calera Police Department Sgt. John Bores testified that his review of the video footage showed that Johnson had spent the majority of his last days on the floor of the bathroom and was provided little food or water and was repeatedly struck by Adams with a skillet.

Bores also testified that Johnson quickly deteriorated over the month of available footage and was often covered in wounds and bandages. It was also shared that Adams allegedly issued orders to the other children in the home to watch the victim and strike him with the skillet if he moved or did not lay correctly on the floor.

In open court, the state displayed four video clips of Adams making statements to Johnson as he lay on the bathroom floor saying that, “She doesn’t need him and he needs her and that she has food and he needs food.”

The state argued that the nature of the offense was egregious enough to necessitate the denial of bond for Adams, who was booked into the Shelby County Jail on Jan. 6 after being apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service in Gardendale. The defense argued that Adams has no criminal history, has ties to the community, was not made aware of law enforcement seeking her arrest and that she is not a flight risk.

After careful consideration of evidence, the court determined that Adams be charged with one class A felony and one class B felony and that she would not be entitled to bail under Aniah’s Law.

“The very nature of these alleged offenses, specifically the defendant’s pattern of abuse and neglect of the minor victim resulting in his death, her destruction/secreting of evidence and delay seeking medical attention for the dying child, the apparent probability of conviction(s) and sentence(s) and the applicable enhancement statute(s), all weigh heavily in this court’s decision regarding pretrial detention,” read the order denying bond by Judge Bill Bostick.