According to the court documents, the 38-year-old father, Jordan, pleaded to second-degree murder last week and will be sentenced on November 21, 2023. Prosecutors said the biological father and the victim’s, 11-year-old Roman, adoptive 40-year-old mother, Lindsay, reportedly killed the young child before reporting him missing.
The fatal incident occurred in February 2021. Authorities said the child’s body was found hidden in a storage bin in the family’s basement. The medical examiner reportedly told investigators that the 11-year-old boy was severely malnourished. Roman reprotedly weighed 42 lbs when he died. An autopsy also revealed that the child was beaten and restrained to his bed with zip ties. The father and adoptive mother insisted they were innocent.
The 40-year-old adoptive mother pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Jordan is also facing 15 years to life in prison. In Feb. 2021, Roman’s stepmom called 911 and told authorities that Roman was missing. On the same day, officers found the boy’s body.
District Attorney Vern released the following statement: “It is absolutely horrific and incomprehensible the way Roman was t0rtured, abused and murdered by his own father. Although I recognize that it will never seem like enough prison time for any parent who killed their child, today I believe we secured some measure of justice for Roman.”