Coroner confirms remains found among pigs are that of a child

Human remains found at a Kansas City, Kansas, barn are believed to be those of a child, a coroner said Tuesday.

However, tests to determine whether the bones belong to a missing 7-year-old boy could take weeks, Wyandotte County Coroner Dr. Alan Hancock said.

The new information comes in the case of a missing boy who investigators fear was killed by his father and his remains fed to pigs on their property. The child, Adrian Jones, had not been seen for weeks.

Family members who did not want to be identified said the state has been called over the years on concerns of alleged abuse and neglect for the seven children, ranging from ages 1 to 11, who live inside Michael Jones’ Piper neighborhood home.

Jones is facing charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery against his wife, Heather Jones, and child abuse charges against his son, Adrian. No charges have been filed in connection with the child’s disappearance or with the discovery of the human remains.

“The officers that have been out there describe this as one of the worst things they have ever seen,” said Jerome Gorman, the district attorney for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.

As investigators work to positively identify the remains found as Adrian’s, prosecutors are urging family members not to talk to the media as they try to piece together what went on inside the home in the 5200 block of N. 99th Street.

But Heather Jones’ father, Jeff Coon, spoke off-camera to KCTV5 News at his home in McFarland, KS.

He said his daughter called him on Thanksgiving Day and calmly told him her husband had killed his son and fed him to their pigs. He also said it is the first time he had talked to his daughter in six months and that he hadn’t been to her home in two years.

He has not talked to his daughter since.

Coon said he believes his step-grandson is dead, but he wants to know what the young boy could have done to deserve this.

Michael Jones’ father, Jerome Jones, is also speaking out, defending his son. He says, “Mike loved kids” and he “is not the type of person that would do what he’s accused of doing.”

The family member said Michael Jones had at least four children in his custody, including Adrian, before he met and married 29-year-old Heather Jones. Together they had four more children.

Adrian’s older sister lives with other family members. Their biological mother is not involved in the children’s lives.

Adrian lived with his sisters and half-sisters in the home.

Family members said the children were home schooled through what their parents registered as Jones Academy – they suspect to hide the abuse. Friends of the family who have cared for the children told KCTV5 Adrian was kept locked in the basement of the home. The six other children were put in state custody after the bones were found.

Jones is being held on a $10 million bond. He’s due back in court next week.