On June 15, Memphis, Tennessee, residents experienced shock when a City Watch Endangered Child Alert was set off. A mother’s urgent call about her missing four-year-old daughter prompted immediate action by the Memphis Police Department.
Brittany Jackson, aged 25, told authorities that she had awoken at approximately 7:55 AM to find her apartment’s front door open and her daughter missing.
The little girl, Sequoia Samuels, was about three feet in height, weighed about 30 pounds, and had a feeding tube on the left side of her abdomen.
The narrative became more ominous the following day. A child’s remains were found in a dumpster connected to the couple’s apartment building. These remains were presumed to be those of Sequoia.
A deeper look into the events revealed that Sequoia might have died weeks before her reported absence.
Upon further investigation, Jackson admitted to providing a misleading account. She relayed that Jaylon Hobson, her boyfriend, had consistently hurt her daughter over several weeks, ultimately resulting in a fatal assault. Following the beating, Sequoia became non-responsive. Although Hobson, 21, made attempts to revive her, they were fruitless. Strikingly, Jackson abstained from assisting her daughter.
After Sequoia’s death, her body was reportedly sealed in trash bags and stored in the apartment for weeks. On the reported day of her disappearance, her remains were placed in a waste container and shifted to the eastern section of the housing complex.
Further investigations shed light on another alarming fact. Three other young children, ages four, five, and six, were living in the apartment during the time Sequoia’s remains were allegedly present. This raised pressing concerns about the overall well-being of these children.
Confronted with the allegations, Hobson maintained his innocence, claiming he had last seen Sequoia on June 11, 2023. His statement, however, was disputed by law enforcement due to the condition of the remains found.
This week, both Jackson and Hobson were indicted by a grand jury. They now face charges including two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and additional counts for tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and false reporting.
Currently, both individuals are held at the Shelby County Detention Center. Bonds for Jackson and Hobson are set at $500,000 and $50,000, respectively.
