Third state worker suspended after child abuse death

Published 8:43 pm Friday, June 14, 2019

The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services has suspended a third employee after a death in a child abuse case.

Department spokeswoman Lea Anne Brandon tells the Clarion Ledger that the latest suspension happened Thursday.

A supervisor and another caseworker were suspended Tuesday.

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All three employees work in Adams County, where police say 4-year-old Armani Hill and her 3-year-old sister were beaten while in the care of their mother’s boyfriend, James Christopher Anderson of Natchez.

Armani died June 5, and her sister has been hospitalized.

The department previously received two abuse reports at the home.

The mother, 25-year-old Lakeisha Marie Jones, is charged with two counts of child deprivation, and 24-year-old Anderson is charged with two counts of felony child abuse. News outlets did not report whether they have attorneys.