Dad faces capital murder charges in death of 27-day-old son (Covington, Virginia)

Given dad JARED MEADOW's lengthy rapsheet, who the hell though he'd make a great infant caretaker? And where is Mom? Erased from the picture, though the murdered baby wasn't even a month old.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/299326

Father faces capital charge in baby's death in Covington

In Alleghany County's first capital murder case in nearly a decade, a 25-year-old is accused of killing his 27-day-old son last month in Covington.

By Matt Chittum

The father of an infant boy who died under what police called suspicious circumstances last week has been charged with capital murder and felony child abuse, Covington police said Wednesday.

Jared Meadows, 25, was arrested Tuesday evening and was being held without bond at the Alleghany Regional Jail.

It's the first capital murder case in Covington or Alleghany County in nearly 10 years.

Commonwealth's Attorney Ed Stein said the basis for the charge is the "willful premeditation" on Meadows' part in the killing of a victim younger than 14 years old by someone 21 or older. Meadows is also charged with child abuse causing serious injury, a felony.

Stein declined to give details of the killing except to say the child had "multiple injuries that were clearly of a nonaccidental nature."

The case originated as a call for help at 9:45 a.m. Sept. 24 with an infant boy who was experiencing difficulty in breathing. Police and rescue crews went to the residence in the 200 block of North Magazine Avenue, and the child was taken to LewisGale Hospital Alleghany and later to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The baby died there Sept. 26. He was 27 days old.

Court records show Meadows has extensive experience with the criminal justice system, dating to at least 2004, when he was convicted of malicious wounding in Alleghany County and sentenced to a year in jail. That same year, he was also convicted of eluding police and reckless driving in Botetourt County.

The following year, Meadows was convicted of assault and battery, underage possession of alcohol, and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In 2008, he was arrested in Alleghany County on a fugitive warrant from Colorado. Later that year, he was convicted of multiple drug abuse charges in El Paso County, Colo.


Earlier this year, Meadows was convicted of petit larceny and obstruction of justice in Alleghany County. He is awaiting trial on charges there of breaking and entering and destruction of property from events that happened in May.