Jones found guilty of murder in 2009 death of infant

 Opelika, Al.
A Lee County jury took almost six hours to find a Kenneth Gerald Jones Jr. guilty of murder for the 2009 death of his the n-girlfriend’s infant son.

Attorney William Whatley             Kenneth Gerald Jones Jr.

Jones was convicted of killing 14-month-old Gabriel James Barfield on March 22, 2009.

The jury reached the verdict Tuesday after three days of testimony. Lee County Circuit Court Judge Chris Hughes is scheduled to sentence Jones, 26, of Smiths Station, on Dec. 16.

Jones’ family declined to comment, but Jones’ attorney William Whatley said he felt from the beginning that the death was never a capital murder offense because it could not be proved his client intended to kill the infant. Whatley said he believes the jury carefully considered the evidence in its finding.

Whatley said he expects his client’s youth and lack of prior convictions to be mitigating circumstances during sentencing. Jones faces a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison.

The Lee County District Attorney’s Office and Gabriel Barfield’s father said they were disappointed the jury did not return a capital murder conviction, but accepted the verdict.

“Because we can’t take things into our own hands, this is as close as we can get to closure,” Michael Barfield said.

Barfield, of Phenix City, said he wished Jones could experience the same pain his son did.

“I hope he gets beat every day and never comes up for parole,” Barfield said. “He destroyed my life, and I hope someone does the same thing to him.”

Barfield described his first son as a happy child.

“He was the joy of my life …” Barfield said. “All I ever wanted was to have children.”

Jones was charged with capital murder, but murder, along with manslaughter, were lesser included charges from which the jury could choose. Jones was charged with capital murder because the victim was younger than 14 years old.

During the trial, the Lee County District Attorney’s Office argued Jones beat the infant and attempted to hide his involvement by cleaning up afterward. Jones denied hurting the boy or attempting a cover-up, and his attorneys said there was no evidence of how the infant sustained the blunt-force trauma injuries a state medical examiner said killed him.

The state medical examiner testified multiple blunt-force trauma injuries caused the infant’s brain to swell, eventually leading to a painful hourslong death. The doctor said the infant suffered multiple bruises on his head, hemorrhages in the membranes over his brain and spreading in the sutures between the plates of his skull.

Exactly what happened on the morning of March 22, 2009, while Jones cared for infant was the focus of the three days of testimony during the trial.

Jones claimed he spent the morning cleaning the home he shared with Whitney Marie Barfield on Lee Road 240 and playing with her son. Jones said the infant may have hit his head on the couch as they played, and that he called 911 after he discovered the child unresponsive in his crib. Jones said he initially noticed the child making gurgling noises before it spat up blood and phlegm, and testified he consulted with relatives and Barfield, who was at work, about what to do with the baby.

The state alleged during the morning Jones, for unknown reasons, struck the infant repeatedly, then cleaned up the scene before calling for help. Prosecutors say Jones changed his story as he repeated it to investigators and others, nothing witnesses’ testimony showed Jones varied details of his account of what happened. In his first statement to sheriff’s investigators, Jones omitted details about the infant hitting his head on the couch.

Investigators found clothing and paper towels with traces of the infant’s blood at the home. Sheriff’s deputies responding to the 911 call testified the intense smell of cleaners in the home and a child that appeared to have just been bathed were suspicious.

Barfield’s son was taken to a Phenix City hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Jones was arrested March 24, 2009, after the child’s autopsy revealed the blunt-force trauma injuries.