The other day I was watching CNN and there was like a 30-second blurb on a missing 2-year-old named Jada Justice from Gary, IN. The story was that her baby-sitter had reported her missing after leaving the child in a car while going inside a store to buy cigarettes and milk. When she returned to the car, she said the child was gone.
Unfortunately, that story was untrue. Turns out little Jada was murdered by that babysitter-who happened to be her cousin- and her boyfriend. Adding to the tragedy of the story, the eff’d up media barely reported anything…perhaps because Jada was Black. (Shaking my head) This is disgusting. Below is the story from the Chicago Sun Times:
BY JON SEIDEL Post-Tribune
The gruesome details of Jada Justice’s death were revealed Friday when prosecutors charged the 2-year-old girl’s cousin and her boyfriend with murder.
Engelica Castillo, 18, and her live-in boyfriend, Tim Tkachik, 23, of Hobart, also are charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing. Both were being held without bond in the Lake County, Ind., jail.
Jada’s mother, Melissa Swiontek, said Friday that she never thought Castillo or Tkachik would harm her daughter. Prosecutors said Jada’s body was burned, encased in concrete and left in a LaPorte County swamp. “They should have the same fate she had, if you ask me,” Swiontek said.
T. Edward Page, Castillo’s attorney, said his client is devastated by her cousin’s death and distraught because she’s charged with killing her.
Police said Jada was already dead when Castillo, her baby-sitter, reported her missing June 16.
In an interview with police the next day, an officer accused Castillo of lying and held up a picture of Jada. Castillo became angry and tried to hit the officer, according to reports. “God is taking care of her,” Castillo told police. “God is watching over her.”
Tkachik went to a Portage hospital to be treated for burns on June 18, claiming he suffered the injuries when a propane tank blew up, police said.
Tkachik eventually led police to Jada’s body Thursday, according to court documents. Tkachik told police that Castillo spanked and beat Jada repeatedly on June 13, causing the girl to hit her head on a table, according to court documents. At one point, Tkachik told police, he tried to stop Castillo, but when he couldn’t, he went to another room to watch TV. That night, while they were on their way to buy heroin, the couple realized that Jada was dead.
Police said the couple returned to their home and put Jada’s body into garbage bags. The next morning, they allegedly tried to burn the body. When that didn’t work, the documents say, Tkachik dumped Jada’s body in a tub and poured concrete over it. The couple drove to a swamp in LaPorte, where they dumped the concrete slab, the documents said. Then they returned home, took some heroin, and decided to report Justice’s abduction the next day.
Like I said, the crime is disgusting and the lack of coverage is disgusting. I could really go in about this, but….man, I don’t even feel like it. Something similar to this happened to a young cousin of mine in TX…she was reported missing and later found, beaten and raped, drowned in a lake. The media completely glossed over it. At times I think racism is much better, but situations like this let me know that at the end of the day…I guess it aint. Prayers and sympathy go out to Jada’s family.
