Mona Nelson charged with capital murder after murdering 12 yr missing Jonathan Foster in Houston w/a blow torch. She will now spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole!

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on December 27, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Updated today at 6:57 PM



HOUSTON—The search for a missing 12-year-old Houston boy grew more desperate Monday afternoon as volunteers combed the woods near train tracks in a northwest Houston neighborhood.

An Amber Alert was issued Monday evening for  Jonathan Foster, who vanished from his Garden Oaks home sometime on Christmas Eve.

"Please hold on, because we’re doing the best to find you," said Mary Gifford, the missing boy’s grandmother.

Foster was last seen by his stepfather around 1:45 p.m. Friday.　A few minutes later, his mother received a mysterious phone call at work.

"Someone called and said it was an emergency," said Gifford. "But by the time she picked up the phone, no one was there."

Volunteers from Texas Equusearch searched through the woods Monday near the railroad tracks at T.C. Jester and 43rd Street.

Foster suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder and, according to his grandmother, gets easily confused.

"That’s why we want him home safe," she said.

Volunteers planned to search until dusk Monday evening and were expected to resume Tuesday morning.

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Amber Alert Issued For Missing Boy
Texas EquuSearch Looking For Jonathan Foster
POSTED: Monday, December 27, 2010
UPDATED: 7:18 pm CST December 27, 2010

HOUSTON -- An Amber Alert was issued Monday for a 12-year-old boy who has been missing since Christmas Eve.

Police said that he might be in the company of an adult woman with a raspy voice.

Jonathan's mother said he had been staying at a baby sitter's home a few doors down from where the family lived. He went home to get a video game but never returned to the baby sitter's home.

"He was supposed to run home, go get it and go back to the baby sitter's," mother Angela Davis said.

His family said he was looking forward to opening his Christmas presents and did well in school.

Texas EquuSearch volunteers are searching the area for any sign of Jonathan. They're concentrating their search in wooded areas.

Jonathan is white with a fair complexion, 4 feet 7 inches tall and 85 pounds with sandy blond hair and a very visible overbite.

He was last seen wearing a tan T-shirt with musical notes and a guitar printed on it, blue jeans and black and white tennis shoes with a red stripe.

Anyone with information about Jonathan's whereabouts is asked to call Houston police at 713-731-5223 or Texas EquuSearch at 281-309-9500.

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video on the above link

Watching this on NG tonight. They waited 72 hours to issue that Amber Alert. They are now questioning mom and step father separately.

Things don't look good for this little guy.

I missed NG last night. I am looking at wraps link and reading what his uncle Glenn is saying in the comments.

uncleglenn said on December 28, 2010 at 7:27 AM
It really bothers me after raising Jonathan for four years of his life that I let him go back to my mom and for her to give him back to my sister who is the reason I had him in the first place :(

uncleglenn said on December 28, 2010 at 12:46 AM
This is his uncle in missouri and yes we tried to report him missing but hpd blew us off said he was just a runaway how nice is that his mother my sister has told so many lies she dosnt know the truth anymore there is so many holes in her story that her husband who was separated at the time for three weeks is filling her head with more story's to tell the media how can they focus on Jonathan and where he is with all the lies. They weren't even at thier house Jonathan and my sister were staying at someone elses house watch Nancy grace tomorrow at 7:00 I will be speaking out

There is 3 pages of comments under the local story.

LM I can't find any comments under the story? Am I losing it? I have looked and looked.

This sounds like domestic abuse gone bad to me.
After reading the Uncles comments something tells me the stepfather or mother or both are involved. =It never ends does it.

There have been confusing statements as to where Jonathan was. One account is that he was at home with his step-father who last saw him around 1:45 p.m. Another account was that he was at his babysitters a few blocks away and had gone home to pick up a video game and never returned. Also, it has been reported that Jonathan's mother received a strange phone call at her job around the time that Jonathan disappeared saying there was an emergency, but by the time she got to the phone the caller had hung up.

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BJ♥OR wrote:

by jeanne1807 Today at 9:56 am LM I can't find any comments under the story? Am I losing it? I have looked and looked.

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Is this the link you are trying?

According to a statewide Amber Alert, he may be in the company of a woman with a raspy voice.

One armed man.......

Exactly!

They're starting their search at the apartment complex where Jonathan lives and then expanding from there. They're looking for any clues that may lead to his location, including a portable or cordless phone which is missing from the home.

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One of the comments from the above article says the family is not searching? Im not sure if they mean the mother and stepfather or extended family? Anyone else read this?

The investigation into the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy is intensifying. Both of his parents were taken in for questioning on Tuesday and their car was towed by police.

A 1990's model tan colored Mercedes Benz was towed away by the Houston Police Department just after noon Tuesday. It was towed from the home where Jonathan Foster lives with his mother and step father.

The young boy disappeared Christmas Eve from his mother's north Houston apartment.

The missing boy's parents were also driven away by HPD detectives in separate units just after the Mercedes was towed.

There was no indication the parents were taken into custody.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, police said a child's burned body found in northeast Harris County could not be confirmed to be the child because it was too badly burned.

When asked why it took three days for an Amber Alert to be issued in the case, police said it was because they didn't feel they were getting the full story behind the child's disappearance.

Meanwhile, volunteers from Texas Equusearch appear to be in standby mode until they hear word from detectives on the case.

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OMG I saw that story about a child's burned body but I didnt have time to click on it. I cannot believe this
could it be Jonathan?

Uncle Glenn will be on NG tonight.

They weren't even at thier house Jonathan and my sister were staying at someone elses house watch Nancy grace tomorrow at 7:00 I will be speaking out

Police are investigating the death of child whose apparently burned body was discovered early this morning in a ditch in northeast Houston. A passerby discovered the child's body at 9:28 a.m. near a culvert in the 1500 block of Schilder near Hardy Toll Road.

HPD investigator Leslie Martinez said the body was about 3 feet tall. Police believe the body was burned elsewhere and dumped there. There were no signs of fire around the ditch.

Officials say they can't determine the child's age or gender. It doesn't appear that the body was wrapped in anything. The body is at the end of a shallow ditch along the roadway between two large buildings.

Arson investigators are at the scene.



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In the picture of Jonathon upthread, he doesn't look well at all...dark circles under his eyes, looks almost desperate. So sad.

The body that was burned looked to be 3 feet tall.
Jonathan was about 4 1/2 feet - of course, with a burn
hard to tell actual size of the body - how can this be?
I dont understand the article said his close relatives lived very close - if so why did he even need a babysitter and where is the info on the babysitter - anyone see it?

There are no reports of any other missing children in Houston and now this burned body turns up. Im afraid its Jonathan.

Watched NG but there wasnt much new - I did read that the mother had been married to the step father for less than a year and that Jonathan had been raised by his Uncle for 6 years. Also there are a lot of inconsistencies with both parents story and that the mother had substance abuse problems. None of it sounded hopeful to finding this child alive.

I haven't heard any mention of the bio dad.

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Child who once lived in the Ozarks now missing in Texas

12-year-old Jonathan Foster vanished Christmas Eve. Jonathan's uncle, who lives in Springfield, MO, tells KY3 News the boy had been living with family in Houston, Texas for the last year.

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Minutes after Mary Gifford learned that a child's body had been found in a northeast Houston ditch Tuesday, she clutched a stuffed animal that belonged to her missing 12-year-old grandson and swore she'd give it to him when he came home, safe and sound.

"I believe he's out there, I believe he'll be found," Gifford said, hugging the little gray-and-black toy raccoon.

But hopes faded Tuesday that Jonathan Foster — a red-headed fifth-grader at Durham Elementary who loves baseball and tree-climbing - will be found alive.

Pending the official notification from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, Jonathan's family has been prepared for the possibility that the body in the ditch is his, and all indications are that it is, a police source said.

The badly burned body was found half-stuffed inside a culvert outside Rolled Alloys offices at East Hardy and Schilder Drive.

No signs of a fire were near the culvert, indicating that the child had been burned elsewhere and his body taken to the culvert.

"The finding of the body kind of confirmed our worst fears," said Sgt. Brian Harris of Houston Police Department's homicide division.

Police questioned Jonathan's mother and stepfather, Angela and David Davis, overnight Monday and spent hours sorting through conflicting statements from family members, neighbors and friends to establish a timeline for Jonathan's disappearance on Christmas Eve, Harris said.

Was not with babysitter
Initial reports that Jonathan had disappeared after running home from a babysitter's house to retrieve a video game turned out to be false, Harris said. The boy's mother eventually admitted that Jonathan was not in the care of a babysitter when he disappeared, he said.

"There was some shame and embarrassment about leaving a kid home alone, but it's not unusual for a 12-year-old to be home alone," Harris said.

Jonathan, who used to live with his grandmother, had moved in with his mother and stepfather at the Villa Nueva apartment complex in the 800 block of Oak in November, the sergeant said.

In mid-December, Jonathan and his mother moved to a nearby apartment after "mom had some troubles with the stepdad," Harris said.

The stepfather reportedly is the last known person to see Jonathan, he said.

David Davis told investigators Jonathan was at home playing video games when he went to check on the boy at 1:45 p.m. Friday.

That afternoon, someone called Angela Davis' workplace, Harris said.

"We believe Jonathan's actually on the phone and asks to speak to his mom," Harris said. A colleague who answered the phone said Angela Davis was working and would call him back.

"And then a female gets on the phone and says, 'This is an emergency,'" Harris said.

By the time Jonathan's mother picked up, no one was there, he said.

Angela Davis called the land line where she and Jonathan live, and a woman with a gruff voice answered, Harris said.

"Angela says, 'Well, this is Angela, I'm Jonathan's mother. Who are you?'" Harris said. "And the woman is heard saying, 'Is Angela your mother?' And the boy replies, 'Yes ma'am, Angela's my mother.' And then the phone went dead."

Amber Alert intentionally delayed
A few minutes later, the mother arrived home, Harris said. Jonathan was gone, and the cordless phone was missing, he said.

Within an hour, relatives called police, Harris said.

"Patrol responds by like 3:30 p.m. and they're there from 3:30 to 4:15 or so," Harris said.

The family was told to go to HPD's station on Mykawa Road to file an official missing child report with the juvenile division. Officers there entered details about Jonathan into the national crime information center database about 9:30 p.m., Harris said

He explained that the decision to hold off issuing an Amber Alert for Jonathan until Tuesday evening was a deliberate strategy by investigators.

Police knew that without a vehicle type or suspect description, a vague alert would generate a flood of information, some of it potentially useful, but much of it simply overwhelming, he said.

Faith in a higher power
Investigators were focused on local leads and the likelihood that someone close to Jonathan knew what had happened to him, Harris said.

"Unfortunately in life, often it's not the strangers who we have to fear, it's the people we know that probably pose the most danger to us, and that can be friends, neighbors, whatever," he said.

Despite the discovery of the body Tuesday, the search for Jonathan continued until nightfall, when some 200 people gathered for a candlelight vigil at Garden Oaks Baptist Church on North Shepherd.

An exhausted Mary Gifford told the group that she put her faith in God's hands.

"I've had my faith tested in many, many ways, but this is really testing it," she said.

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Does anyone know where the mother worked?

Angela Davis called the land line where she and Jonathan live, and a woman with a gruff voice answered, Harris said.
"Angela says, 'Well, this is Angela, I'm Jonathan's mother. Who are you?'" Harris said. "And the woman is heard saying, 'Is Angela your mother?' And the boy replies, 'Yes ma'am, Angela's my mother.' And then the phone went dead."

Why didn't the mother call LE when she had this strange call and the phone went dead. It was hours later that the 911 call was finally made. Something's rotten in Denmark.
I can't find any info about where the mother works.

We are also hearing more about an apparent "mysterious telephone call" concerning Jonathan Foster. Angela Davis told law enforcement that around 1:45 PM she got 2 telephone calls at work. Her boss had told her that her son called, saying it was an emergency, (Davis claims she never got the call). The second call, Davis claims she was told a woman needed to talk to her, but by the time she answered the phone, the person on the other end, hung up on her.

But that doesn't match up to what Angela had stated earlier... She had told a local media station that SHE was the one who talked to the mysterious woman on the telephone. Davis claims that she introduced herself as Angela and the woman on the other end of the phone asked someone "is your momma's name Angela" and then hung up.

I'd like to know if this is true... Did her boss actually receive those telephone calls? Did Angela actually talk to this woman? Could this "raspy" and "gruff" voiced woman be another imaginary "Zanny the Nanny" a la Casey Anthony?

One thing is for certain, this woman is telling multiple stories that don't add up...

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Good grief! Here's another version. Is it the media that's getting the facts wrong or does Jonathan's mother keep changing her story? Color me confused! The article below says that the call to LE was made soon after the mysterious calls...... I've also seen where the call wasn't made until after 9pm in the evening.

The Houston Chronicle reports on that afternoon, someone, believed to be Jonathan, called Angela’s workplace asking for her. A co-worker told him she was working and would call him back. A female then got on the phone and stated “…this is an emergency,” said Harris.

By the time Angela got on the line, no one was on the phone. Angela called the home phone where she and Jonathan live and a woman answered. Angela asked to speak to her roommate and the woman, who is described as having a gruff voice, said the roommate was not home.

Angela then told the woman she was Jonathan’s mother and asked her name. The woman was heard asking Jonathan “Is Angela your mother?” to which Jonathan replied, “Yes ma’am, Angela’s my mother.” The phone then went dead.

Angela headed home and when she arrived a few minutes later Jonathan and the cordless phone were missing. The Chronicle notes that within the hour authorities were called.

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Tonight on NG someone said that if an accelerant is used to burn a body it will only burn until the accelerant is gone. The internal organs of the body would still be intact. The gender of the body that was found was not able to be identified, but if it was a female the ovaries would still be there.

Such a sad story at this happy time of year... may God be with this boy wherever he is!

When I saw that embedded video upthread, I got cold chills. Something is not right. I know the mom is beyond upset but she seems like she is on drugs to me, and did you hear the stepfather start to say when he finds out who did this...bla bla bla..it reminded me of Ron Cummings.

Something is definitely rotten in Denmark. Did Jonathan have a babysitter at all or was he alone? Did he leave the babysitter to get a video or did someone come in his house (the stepfather IMHO) and do him harm? Who is the lady with the gruff voice? IS there a lady with a gruff voice?

I do believe the burnt body that was found is Jonathan's. My question would be WHY? The only motive/reason I can come up with was he was in the way and the stepfather got rid of him. This is only MY speculation. Not an accusation.

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The investigation into the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy intensified Tuesday as both of his parents were taken in for questioning and their car was towed by police, MyFoxHouston.com reports.

A 1990's model tan colored Mercedes-Benz was towed away by the Houston Police Department just after noon from the home where Jonathan Foster lives with his mother and step father.

The missing boy's parents were driven away by HPD detectives in separate units just after the Mercedes was towed.

There was no indication the parents were taken into custody.

Foster, described as 4-feet-8-inches with red hair and an overbite, was last seen Friday afternoon at the Houston apartment complex wearing a tan colored shirt with a picture of a guitar, blue jeans and white sneakers. His mother says when she last called the house an unknown woman with a raspy voice picked up the phone then hung up.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, police said they could not confirm whether a child's body found in northeast Harris County was Foster’s because it was too badly burned.

"There's no identification so we're not sure if the two cases are connected," Kese Smith with HPD said.
In light of this news, the missing 12-year-old’s family hopes that he will be found alive.

"I believe he is out there," Mary Gifford, Jonathan’s maternal grandmother, said. “Let him come home, please.”

Sgt. Stuart Harris said that the boy's father and other relatives live within walking distance of the complex and he would often visit them. Harris said relatives have been cooperative with investigators. He said Child Protective Services has no history of the boy.
"I don't know if it's an abduction. I don't know if he just walked off," Harris said. "I don't know if there's foul play involved. We have no reason to think he's a runaway. He's missing under suspicious circumstances, which is always a major concern for us."

When asked why it took three days for an Amber Alert to be issued in the case, police said it was because they didn't feel they were getting the full story behind the child's disappearance.

Meanwhile, volunteers from Texas Equusearch, a mounted search and recovery organization, appear to be in standby mode until they hear word from detectives on the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call Houston Police Homicide at 713-308-3600.

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Updated at 05:04 AM today

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A burned body found in northeast Houston is believed to be that of a 12-year-old boy missing since Christmas Eve, according to a police source.

Jonathan Foster, 12, was last seen Friday afternoon at the north Houston apartment complex where he lives with his mother and stepfather.

Houston police are still waiting for official identification from the Medical Examiner's Office, but we're told investigators are proceeding as if the body found earlier today is that of Jonathan Foster.

We know the boy's mother and stepfather are at police headquarters while others spent Tuesday night to honor Jonathan.

Family and friends gathered together to draw strength Tuesday night. With every candle, there is still hope Jonathan Foster will come home.

I know the Lord is not going to let me down," said Mary Gifford, Jonathan's grandmother.

Gifford spoke to the crowd that included search volunteers, church members and loved ones. The 12-year-old has been missing for four days and while the search intensified today, so did the wait.

"Pure hell. It's hard. It tears you apart. You're on a roller coaster ride," said Gifford.
Adding to the agony, the discovery of a child's badly burned body Tuesday morning, just five miles away from the home where he was last seen. Police on East Hardy told us the body had been dumped there.

At the time, they didn't know whether there was a link. But Tuesday night, police sources confirmed there is.

On Monday, Jonathan's stepfather told us his theory about what happened.
"I think a pedophile took him. That's what I think and I want him back. I want revenge. Something, something like that, you know," said stepfather David Davis.
He faced additional police questions and was not seen publicly. Houston police towed away his car, but wouldn't say why. As is standard, all family members have been extensively interviewed.

Child Protective Services confirms they have no record of abuse or neglect. Jonathan's mother was a wreck today.

Investigators also spoke with the 50 or so registered sex offenders in the area as well as neighbors.

The vigil Tuesday night served as support during such a difficult time.

"I'm trying to stay positive, stay strong, believing he's still out there and will come home," said Gifford.

Texas Equusearch has suspended its search, but the Amber Alert is still in effect.
We're told police are zeroing in on a suspect.

Earlier Tuesday
Tuesday was another agonizing day for Jonathan's family. Mary Gifford, Jonathan's maternal grandmother, sat down with us only seconds before she received a call. GIfford wouldn't say who called, but she left immediately.

A few minutes later, we saw Gifford with her daughter, Angela Davis, at Davis' apartment off North Shepherd. This is where Davis lived with her son, Jonathan, and his stepfather, David Davis. Houston police towed a Mercedes we found registered to a David Davis. However, neither the family nor police would say to whom the car belongs.

Meanwhile, less than five miles away off East Hardy, police were investigating a gruesome discovery. A body believed to be a child was found.

"The body is not identified right now. The body is burned. The burn location is not here. That's all we know," said Lt. Leslie Martinez with the Houston Police Department.

Jonathan's grandmother was taken for a second time Tuesday to be questioned by police. Authorities say she has been cooperating with the investigation and say that it is routine for them to interview family members in these types of cases.

Police and Equusearch say until the child's body is identified, they will continue their search for Jonathan, who was last seen inside his apartment playing video games.
"We're going to be expandng our search for Jonathan and searching for an area that looks like its been burned or disturbed," said Tim Miller of Equussearch.

At Garden Oaks Baptist Church on North Shepherd, there was a prayer vigil being scheduled for Tuesday evening for Jonathan.

Jonathan was last seen wearing a tan shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers with a red stripe and a zip-up grey hoodie. He is about 5 feet tall and about 100 pounds.
If you know anything about Jonathan's whereabouts, you're asked to call Houston police at 713-731-5223 or Texas Equusearch at 281-309-9500.
Volunteers gather to search

Dozens of volunteers gathered this morning at the Garden Oaks Baptist Church and are planning to go to eight to 10 possible locations to look for the fifth-grader.

Jonathan was last seen Friday night at his home on Oak Street near Garden Oaks. He had run home from a babysitter's house in the neighborhood. He was home playing video games when his stepfather says he stopped in, but Jonathan was gone just 25 minutes later when his mother came home from work.

The FBI and Texas Equusearch are assisting in the search. They spent time this morning mapping out search strategies. They're starting their search at the apartment complex where Jonathan lives and then expanding from there. They're looking for any clues that may lead to his location, including a portable or cordless phone which is missing from the home.

"We are doing some driving and actually looking at these areas and then if they see an area where they could have dumped something, or a wooded or field area, they are going to be searching that," said Tim Miller with Texas Equusearch.

"I really have no expectations going into this," said volunteer Sydney Suarez. "I've never done this before, but just having a chance to help out is really helping me a lot."

Jonathan's family is not involved with the search although his stepfather was at the command center earlier this morning.

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HOUSTON — Tuesday brought possible new developments in the case of a missing 12-year-old boy from northwest Houston.

A child's body was found Tuesday, burned beyond recognition, and medical examiners were working to try to find out if the body is that of Jonathan Foster.

A vigil was also held in the child's honor tonight with some of his family members holding out hope that he will be found alive.

Those hopes dashed early this morning when the burned body was found in a ditch off the Hardy Toll Road near Tidwell in northeast Houston.

Texas Equusearch organizers and volunteers suspended their search for Jonathan when they heard about the discovery of the body. It was burned so badly that the person who found it thought it was charred debris.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science could not tell the gender of the body Tuesday. Only DNA evidence can help them determine the gender and identity of the child.

A surveillance camera from a business overlooking the ditch where the body was found could bring clues as well, officials said.

About 100 people turned out for the vigil Tuesday evening, but the group did not include Jonathan's parents. They were at Houston Police Department headquarters downtown, meeting with detectives.

Authorities said that everyone close to Jonathan, including his parents and babysitter, are considered persons of interest in this case.

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Anyone with information about the disappearance of Jonathan or the identity of the body is urged to call HPD Homicide at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.

I really hope that surveillance camera caught whoever did this horrendous deed...I'm sure whoever did this had no idea that camera was there. Also, wonder where the body was burned. For it to have been burned that badly, I would think that would take a pretty big fire. I also wonder if the mother's workplace records calls. That would be interesting to see if she actually did receive these calls that she claims to have gotten.

Jonathan Foster is reported to have gone missing on Christmas Eve under rather hinky circumstances. It is the “hinky” of the circumstances, and the now confessed lies that were told law enforcement when the 12-year-old boy was first reported missing, that delayed an Amber Alert for 3 days to prevent distracting false leads, according to Houston Police. Yesterday a child’s small body, burned beyond recognition, was found partially stuffed in a culvert of a drainage ditch in northeast Houston. While official identification of the body is pending, a source close to the investigation has told local media it is believed to be the body of Jonathan.

Jonathan lived with his mother in a north Houston apartment complex. They had moved there in November. Now, his stepfather also lives in the apartment complex, but is reported to live in a separate apartment after some trouble between he and Jonathan’s mother forced her to move out in the past couple of months. And this is probably where things begin to get hinky. It is reported that Jonathan’s stepfather was the last to see him alive.

But originally, that wasn’t the story. Houston Police are currently stating that the mother lied about the situation out of shame of having to admit she left her 12-year-old son home alone while she worked. When she first reported Jonathan missing she stated he had been at babysitter’s just down the road and had walked home to retrieve a video game when he disappeared. After hours and days of questioning she admitted she had left Jonathan at home alone while she went to work. So the question becomes, if he was home alone was the stepfather just dropping by to check on him, or was he not home alone and staying with the stepfather.

Jonathan’s stepfather reportedly told police he checked on Jonathan at 1:45 pm and he was in his room playing a video game. Some time (I have not seen the exact time reported) that afternoon, Jonathan’s mother received a phone call at her work which is first picked up by someone in her company. On the other end of the line is a woman described as having a “raspy voice”. Some reports state that the initial call had Jonathan on the line asking for his mother. Whomever took the call at the workplace told Jonathan’s mother he wanted to speak to her and she asked them to tell Jonathan she would return his call in a bit. The reports then state the “woman” got on the phone and told whomever was handling the call at the workplace that it was an emergency. By the time Jonathan’s mother got to the phone the line was dead.

Jonathan’s mother then called the apartment and the “raspy voiced woman” answered the phone. Jonathan’s mother identified herself and claims she heard the woman ask Jonathan if this was his mother’s name and he confirmed it was. The lady then hung up. Jonathan’s mother is reported to have left work and went straight home. When she arrived at the apartment, it is reported, she found Jonathan gone along with the cordless telephone. It is reported that “within the hour” “the family” called the police and reported Jonathan missing. The Houston police responded at 3:30 pm

Here’s are my questions:

■I would like to hear if the person at the workplace who took the phone call has verified that Jonathan was on the line at first and whether the “woman” with the raspy voice did speak and was definitively identifiable as a woman.
■If you are told by a co-worker that your 12-year-old son has called you at work and a strange “raspy-voiced woman” gets on the line and says it is an emergency, and you call home and this stranger answers your phone and then hangs up on you when your identity is confirmed. Why would you:
■Drive home first….
■And wait an hour to call the cops???
■I would like to know what time the call came in to the workplace. Because if Jonathan’s stepfather allegedly saw him playing videos at 1:45 pm, it does not give much time for an intruder to break into an apartment, make a phone call to the workplace, allow the mother to travel from the workplace to home (on a very busy travel day in Houston, mind you), an hour pass before the decision is made to call police, and then police respond at 3:30 pm. Basically all that had of occurred in 1 hour, 45 minutes.
■When the mom arrived home was the stepfather in the apartment? Because the reports state Jonathan was missing and the cordless phone missing, but they do not state that the stepfather was not there.
■Who was “family”? The reports state one hour passed before “the family” contacted police to report Jonathan missing. Was that the mother and her family or was that the mother and the stepfather? If it was the stepfather, again, was he there when she arrived home or did she have to contact him to come over to the apartment? Did he come straight over, or was there a delay?
■Why would a total stranger (or a non-family kidnapper) take the cordless phone? There’s no real benefit to taking the phone. If the fear is being identified then wipe the phone down and drop it in a pot of boiling water or a sink full of bleach, but to take the phone with you (if you are a kidnapper) is to take a piece of evidence that ties you to a crime scene that you must now dispose of in a manner that won’t link you, or your travel path. Why?
■An hour from what? Did an hour pass after the mom had received the initial call at work? Or did an hour pass after she got home? Because, again, unless she worked right next to the apartment complex, leaving work and driving to the apartment in northeast Houston on an extremely busy travel day such as Christmas Eve would take some time, so if the hour started after she got home and found Jonathan missing, I’m having a hard time believing the current timeline with the police responding at 3:30 pm
After the burned body was found yesterday Jonathan’s mother and stepfather were taken in for further questioning and their car taken in as evidence. A computer was also taken from the apartment, reportedly to find out if Jonathan may have fallen victim to an online predator.

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I would add to Val's very astute questions, what exactly was the "trouble" between the mother and stepfather? Was it violence directed at the mother or possibly Jonathan? Was that trouble reported to the police? It must have been bad for her to move to another unit in the complex and for them to pay two rents.

artgal asks, ■

If you are told by a co-worker that your 12-year-old son has called you at work and a strange “raspy-voiced woman” gets on the line and says it is an emergency, and you call home and this stranger answers your phone and then hangs up on you when your identity is confirmed. Why would you:
■Drive home first….
■And wait an hour to call the cops???

Very good questions...I would immediately call the police. If this phone call happened she would not know what she was walking into when she arrived home, plus the police could get to her home and son faster, if she feared he was in danger.

Sorry to say, this sounds too familiar. Same story, different names, different town.

I dont understand if she was living apart from the Stepfather why should would protect him unless she was involved.

The grandmother of the fifth-grader who has been missing since Christmas Eve still holds out hope that the burned body found by Texas authorities Tuesday is not her grandson.

"I'm trying to stay positive and trying to stay strong and believe he's still out there and will come home," said Mary Gifford, the grandmother of missing 12-year-old Jonathan Foster.

Gifford told ABC News that the ordeal has been "like a roller coaster" and that she is still praying for the safe return of Jonathan, who was last seen on Dec. 24 at the Houston home he shared with his mother, Angela Davis, and his stepfather, David Davis.

"My gut feeling is mixed," said Gifford. "Sometimes I think that something has happened to him, and he's not coming back, and other times I think he's safe and he's coming home."

Authorities with the Houston Police Department have said that they suspect foul play in Jonathan's disappearance but have yet to make any arrests in the case.

The burned body, which was found five miles from Jonathan Foster's home, has yet to be identified.

The body, which was very badly burned, is that of a child, but it was so badly burned that we can't determine the gender or identification," said Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith. "The Medical Examiner's office has that unfortunate task to determine, and until that happens we are treating these two incidents as separate cases."

"We are still running leads down on Jonathan Foster, and we'd very much like to find him alive," he said.

Calls made to to the Houston Medical Examiner's office were not immediately returned.

Gifford said that she knows something must have happened to her grandson because he would never run away from his mother, whom he had just started living with again last month. According to Gifford, Jonathan had been counting down the days when he would be reunited with his mother, who was "getting her stuff together" after "going through some things."

Jonathan is believed to have been last seen at 1:45 p.m. by his stepfather, but a disturbing phone call between the child and his mother has Gifford and authorities worried.

Disturbing Call Between Mother and Son
Gifford said that when her daughter returned a call from her son who had left a message at her office Friday, a woman she did not know picked up the phone.

"My daughter asked to speak with her son, and then the woman asked [Jonathan] if Angela was his mother," said Gifford. "He said 'Yes m'am, Angela is my mother,' and then the phone went dead."

Gifford said neither she nor her daughter, who ABC News could not immediately reach, has any idea who this mystery woman may be.

An Amber Alert was issued for Jonathan Foster Monday afternoon, which Gifford said was far too late.

"Regardless of how this turns out, my goal is to get the Amber Alert law changed," she said. "There should not be criteria for an Amber Alert that depends on whether cops think the kid has run away.

"The cops kept thinking [Jonathan] ran away," she said. "But he had waited too many years to go back with his mama, that's what he wished for on his birthdays, to be back with his mama."

"That doesn't sound like a kid who wants to run," said Gifford.

Smith defended the timing of the Amber Alert, saying that conflicting accounts of what happened the day Jonathan went missing made the case even harder for investigators.

While he wouldn't specify what the conflicting stories were about in great detail, Smith said that the mother had originally claimed that Jonathn was home with a babysitter when he went missing but later said he had been at home alone.

By the time they could pin down an accurate description of the boy, as well as identify the person who might have been with him at the time of his disappearance -- a woman with a raspy voice, according to the alert -- the officers issued an Amber Alert.

"If we issued an Amber Alert on every case we'd be inundating the public with alerts for children who really did just run away," said Smith.

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Oh, b.s!!! Are there THAT many children that go missing that it would "inundate" the "system"? I would rather have the "system inundated" and save the life of a child than presume the child "really did just run away."

Laga, I completely agree with your last sentence. I think we all know who committed this crime. :FBI:

artgal16 wrote:I dont understand if she was living apart from the Stepfather why should would protect him unless she was involved.

Blind, stupid love. I am no Beverly Glass but I watched her interview and it is obvious she is extremely upset. Now, the stepfather is saying a perv took him and he will get revenge. Another Ron Cummings.

■I would like to know what time the call came in to the workplace. Because if Jonathan’s stepfather allegedly saw him playing videos at 1:45 pm, it does not give much time for an intruder to break into an apartment, make a phone call to the workplace, allow the mother to travel from the workplace to home (on a very busy travel day in Houston, mind you), an hour pass before the decision is made to call police, and then police respond at 3:30 pm. Basically all that had of occurred in 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Angela Davis then says that she received a phone call at her workplace roughly 15 minutes after David says he last saw his stepson.
Davis said he saw him at 1:45. The call must have come in at 2:00. IF there was a call to Angela, I bet it was made by Davis.....not a raspy voiced woman. Did Angela rush home to help dispose of the body? There's no limit to what some woman will do for "their MAN".

"The cops kept thinking [Jonathan] ran away," she said. "But he had waited too many years to go back with his mama, that's what he wished for on his birthdays, to be back with his mama.

Gifford said she knows something must have happened to her grandson, because he would never run away from his mother, whom he had just started living with again last month. According to Gifford, Jonathan had been counting down the days when he would be reunited with his mother, who was "getting her stuff together "after "going through some things."

What things? And she was going through the things 'for years' while Jonathan patiently waited to live with her again?

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Just because the stepfather claims to have checked on Jonathan at 1:45 on the day he was reported missing doesn't make it so. LE needs to find out when ANOTHER person besides the mother or step father saw Jonathan. Look at the Zahra Baker case. LE has not been able to determine how long she was actually missing before the call to 911.

Police also said they had recovered some “significant evidence” from a surveillance camera at the Rolled Alloys facility next to where the body was found. They would not disclose the nature of that evidence, but the stepfather’s car was searched and impounded by police shortly after detectives completed their review of the video.

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I want to know where the mother worked and what time she went in and if they verified the phone call with anyone else at her work. Also the "things" the mother needed to straighten out were drugs is my understanding or substance abuse (could be alcohol
as well I guess)

It just doesn't look good

HOUSTON (CBS/KHOU) A woman is expected to be charged Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster, police sources said.

The woman, who is not a relative of the boy, was taken into custody Wednesday morning, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

source:
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Police sources said she was not being cooperative with the investigation, but detectives have collected a considerable amount of evidence linking her to the boy's disappearance.

Investigators could be seen removing evidence from the suspect's home after she was taken into custody Wednesday.

Foster was last seen by his stepfather around 1:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Foster's mother reported him missing around 9:30 that night.

Police didn't issue an Amber Alert for Foster until Monday, citing conflicting stories from the boy's parents.

"Until we were able to narrow down and confirm that an abduction had taken place, we couldn't issue [an Amber Alert]," said Kese Smith, an HPD spokesman.


According to Smith, police must follow certain criteria - or there's a danger that too many Amber Alerts may be issued and the public might ignore them.

The criteria include the following: the missing child must be 17 years old or younger. Investigators must believe the child has been abducted and that he or she is in "immediate danger." They must also conduct a thorough investigation to eliminate other possible reasons for the disappearance. Finally, they must have a "sufficient description" of the child, the suspect, or the vehicle used in the abduction.

Investigators questioned Foster's mother, stepfather and babysitter on Tuesday, but no arrests were made.

Texas EquuSearch was called in to help find Foster, and volunteers were focusing Tuesday on a wooded area near some railroad tracks at T.C. Jester and 43rd Street.

Meanwhile, the burned body of an unidentified child was found in a ditch in north Houston Tuesday, fueling speculation that it might be Foster.

Police would not confirm if the cases were related.

A woman described as a family friend was arrested Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster who was last seen on Christmas Eve at the apartment complex where he lives with his mother and stepfather, according to newspaper and television reports.

The Houston Chronicle reported the woman was arrested Wednesday morning after investigators reviewed a surveillance video from an office building near the culvert where a child’s badly burned body was found Tuesday.

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