The Misery Machine - ”Proud” Mother Throws Her Daughter In a Dumpster

Starting point is 00:00:00 October 11, 2011. The little girl was reported missing. Hello, hello, hello. I need an officer at my house. I can't find my daughter. The disappearance of five-year-old Jesse Shockley. Her mother, Jeree Hunter, is charged with killing her own daughter even though a body has never been found. When a person dies, we as humans naturally feel protective over the deceased remains and want to make sure that they are afforded a proper burial or send off into the afterlife. Whether that's a traditional funeral service or something more eco-friendly, we want to make sure that our loved ones are resting in peace. This is especially the case when the deceased is a minor. But what if your loved one's final resting place was deep within an Arizona landfill, and you had no option but to let them stay there? Jesse Joshua Shockley was born on April 1, 2006, to parents George Shockley and Jerees Yaten Hunter.

Starting point is 00:01:01 the two were later divorced. From the very beginning, things were not okay in the Shockley Hunter household. Jerees had an extensive history of crimes committed against her kids in Vallejo, California, where she lived with her then-husband George and Jesse's three older siblings. In October 2005, Juree was charged with five felonies, four counts of corporal injury to a minor, and one count of torture. She allegedly whipped her three-and-seven-year-old kids with an extension cord and a belt. She also punched her 14-year-old son during an argument and frequently beat him with sticks.

Starting point is 00:01:36 All of Jerese's kids that could advocate for themselves stated the crimes against them had been going on for years. With the judge presiding over the case stating that Jerese should never have had kids. You might be asking yourself, where was the father during all of this? It's actually a pretty common question that we get in the comment section. Well, prior to their divorce, Jerez married George Shockley, who was a woman. much better than she is. He was a convicted child predator who was on the registry and had crimes against kids spanning back to 1990. George actually participated in some of the beatings inflicted upon the kids and faced charges of CA as well as failure to register as an offender. George did time

Starting point is 00:02:17 for some of those crimes, and according to California's Megan's Law website, is currently listed as a transient and in violation. A search of the California's inmate directory showed no results of a George shockly as the date of this recording. In 2006, Jerees pled no contest to the four counts of corporal injury to a minor, and the torture charge was dropped as a result of her plea agreement. She was sentenced to eight years in prison, only served four of them, and was later paroled in 2010. Jesse and her siblings were raised by her mother's relatives during her incarceration, and Jerees got them back following her release.

Starting point is 00:02:55 Many of her family members were supportive of her, saying she loved her. her kids and had become a much better parent since her release from prison. However, other relatives had much deeper concerns about Jerees. On February 28, 2011, not even a year after her parole date, CPS received a report that Jerez Hunter was homeless, which was a cause for concern as she had been previously incarcerated and she had four kids. However, in an interview with the Arizona Republic, Jerees' cousin, Mahogany High Tower, told reports, that she repeatedly called CPS, both in California and Arizona. CPS and California told her that there was nothing they could do,

Starting point is 00:03:38 as Juries was paroled without any restrictions on her ability to see her kids. Hightower claimed that she talked with Arizona CPS caseworkers several times between February and May of 2011 to report that both Jesse and her older sister, whose beatings sent Jurez to prison, were in danger. One of those calls came after Hightower last saw Jesse on April 24th. at a family barbecue. The cousin claimed that when she was getting ready to go home, Jesse cried heavily and kept asking her not to leave. After that day, Hightower said she called CPS yet again and also mentioned her suspicion that Jerees was doing drugs. According to Hightower, the caseworker

Starting point is 00:04:15 visited the older girl's school in Jerees' home, but told them there was nothing she could do because the kids denied that they were ever being harmed. Fast forward to the start of the 2011 school year, Jerees Hunter was around eight months pregnant and living in an apartment near Glendale and 43rd Avenue in Glendale, Arizona, with 5-year-old Jesse and her siblings ages 6, 9, and 13. Jesse had just started kindergarten, but had been abruptly withdrawn from school on September 22, 2011, after Jerees claimed that she had pink eye and ringworm. Although both of these ailments are somewhat common among school-aged kids, neither were substantiated by a doctor.

Starting point is 00:04:54 No truancy calls that we know of were made, nor was there any known contact from the school to check up on Jesse's extended absence. This brings us to October 11, 2011. A call was made to emergency services to report a missing young girl. The caller was Jeree's Hunter. According to Jerees, she had gone to a check cashing establishment, and when she came home, the front door to their apartment was open. Jesse was gone, and her siblings didn't know what had happened to her. Jerees allegedly searched around the apartment complex,

Starting point is 00:05:24 for her daughter and then subsequently made the call after she couldn't be located. Around that same time, Jesse vanished. A black woman who appeared to be between the ages of 25 to 35, was seen at Glendale and 45th Avenue, putting a young girl into a black four-door, 1998-2,000 Chevy Malibu. The young girl who didn't resist physically resembled Jesse, and authorities sought to identify and interview the woman. An extensive search of the area turned up no sign of.

Starting point is 00:05:54 of Jesse, and the woman could not be found. In the aftermath of Jesse's disappearance, her older sisters were taken into protective custody by CPS and placed in foster care. As we mentioned previously, Jerese was eight months pregnant at the time, and CPS took custody of her baby after it was born later that month. Jerees maintained her innocence in her daughter's disappearance and said she thought Jesse had been abducted by a stranger, but she refused to cooperate with the investigation or take a lie detector test. However, what ensued was a media circus where Juries called press conferences, claiming that police weren't doing all that they could. The mother even insisted that Jessie's race had something to do with the efforts of the police.

Starting point is 00:06:35 Still, police, members of the community, neighbors, and volunteers all worked tirelessly, handing out flyers, searching, and following up on leads. Please bring my baby bag, drop her off at a public place. Do I look like I hurt my daughter? Do I look like I hurt my daughter? She's scared. She's scared, please. I know she's scared. Don't ask me about my past.

Starting point is 00:07:01 You already know. You already know. You know what lies are lies. However, on November 21st, six weeks after five-year-old Jesse went missing, things took a sinister turn. Authorities arrested and charged Jeree's Hunter with felony CA,

Starting point is 00:07:18 and the victim named in the charge was her missing daughter, Jesse. Furthermore, police no longer believe that this was simply a missing person's investigation. They were confident that this was a homicide. But the conclusion wasn't the result of quality police work. Rather, it was a tip from a group of unexpected sources. Jesse's 13-year-old sister told investigators, as well as her own foster parents,

Starting point is 00:07:42 that her biological mother had kept Jesse in a closet several weeks prior to her reported disappearance on October 11th, and that she hadn't been feeding her. The sister said that she would sneak the five-year-old girl food and water and noticed that she had been inflicted with several different injuries, including cuts, bruises, hold out hair, and black eyes. When questioned, Jesse's other siblings confirmed that they'd seen bruises on their little sister. The 13-year-old even described her younger sister as looking like a zombie in the closet resembling a grave. Additionally, the 13-year-old claimed that several weeks before her sister was reported missing, that her mother had come home and found her watching TV with a little boy from the neighborhood.

Starting point is 00:08:26 Now, according to the 13-year-old sibling, Jerees called Jesse a ho and dragged her into the bedroom, where she subsequently began to scream and cry. Mind you, this is a five-year-old girl. Furthermore, Jesse's sibling stated that the closet started to smell like, dead people and that their mother burned incense and spent a whole day cleaning the apartment as well as her own shoes prior to reporting their sister missing. Investigators confirmed that Jerees had purchased bleach on October 9th at Walgreens, two days before Jesse's disappearance was reported. Now, I know some of you might be wondering how in the world three kids ages 6 to 13 would know what dead people smell like. Or was this something that Jerees told them? Either way, this entire situation is tragic.

Starting point is 00:09:14 Unfortunately, Jerees was released without charge a week later. Now, this might sound crazy, but this was due to the fact that police did not want to create a double jeopardy situation just in case homicide charges were filed against Jerees at a later date. Additionally, police believe that they did not have sufficient hard evidence to bring her to trial despite blood evidence being found in the closet where Jesse was allegedly held and also on a back cement patio. We've covered many cases on this channel, even some that hit close. to homes such as the case of Donna Parity, where the accused ends up being held in jail on a lesser unrelated charge until police can solidify probable cause for homicide charges. Do you think this is

Starting point is 00:09:56 something that should have been done in the case of Jerees Hunter? With Glendale being about a three-hour drive north of the Mexican border, do you think she was a flight risk? Let us know in the comment section down below. When asked if she hurt her daughter, Jeree went ballistic and stated, quote, I really think they should take the focus off of me and quit asking people, wasting time if I did something to my daughter. They should quit holding my babies hostage and trying to get them to say something about what happened to Jesse. Authorities are telling me your kids aren't saying anything. It's been 13 days. What do they expect my babies to say that they haven't already said?

Starting point is 00:10:30 CPS don't want to hear we love our mama. We want to go home. We want our mommy. They don't want to hear that. They won't let me see them because they don't want them running into my arms. They don't want to hear them scream mommy. end quote. Around the same time, police received another tip with regards to the events of October 11, 2011,

Starting point is 00:10:47 this time from a neighbor. According to the neighbor, Jerees had asked for a ride to sell shoes roughly 31 minutes away in Tempe, Arizona. This contradicted Jerees' statements that she had left to run an errand at a check-cashing establishments. But what the neighbor told investigators next was the magic bullet that sealed the deal on Jerees' fate. When the neighbor went to give her a ride, Jerez allegedly brought along a big head. heavy suitcase, which he subsequently deposited inside of a dumpster at a Tempey apartment complex. The suitcase emitted a foul odor. Further examination of the neighbor's car revealed biological evidence in the trunk to include

Starting point is 00:11:25 blood and hair. From that point on, Jeree's Hunter was now the main and only suspect in Jesse's disappearance. I think this should be talked about a little bit. So we have a neighbor who is bringing Jerees on a trip. For no reason whatsoever, we've got a suitcase that's heavy, it smells, and is clearly seeping biological fluids. Dorese is eight months pregnant, and in being eight months pregnant, I highly doubt she's able to pick up this suitcase and put it into the dumpster. Let us know in the comment section if something should have been done about this neighbor as well. So we don't know if the neighbor helped her, but depending on the size and weight of this, it really does make you wonder.

Starting point is 00:12:05 On February 6, 2012, the tips sparked a search in the Butterfield landfill in Mobile Arizona that lasted months. With the help of cadaver dogs and other recovery technology, police and 280 volunteers searched in vain for 5-year-old Jesse Shockley. In the hot Arizona sun, volunteers from Glendale and surrounding police departments carefully sifted through approximately 9,500 tons of trash. To be clear, this is the equivalent of two football fields and length, and 20 feet. deep. It's been estimated that $750,000 was spent on this search. In early July, authorities held an emotional press conference to announce the cease of the landfill search. Police detectives and volunteers choked back tears, as they said they were sorry they weren't able to find Jesse's remains and were unable to fulfill their promise of bringing justice to her. After almost 11 months,

Starting point is 00:12:59 Jerees Hunter, now 40 years old, was taken into custody by Glendale Police Detectives for the Homicide of Jesse Shockley on September 6, 2012. Ingram Glendale Police Chief Deborah Black addressed media during a press conference held at the Glendale Police headquarters later that day. For the past 11 months, the men and women of the Glendale Police Department and our partners from local, state, and federal law enforcement worked tirelessly to accomplish two goals, to find Jesse and to hold the person responsible for her disappearance accountable. We are confident that with the indictment and arrest today, we will achieve our second goal of securing justice for Jesse, end quote. On Monday, April 27, 2015, Jeree Hunter was convicted of first-degree homicide and CA with regards to Jesse Shockley's death. Jorese showed no emotion as the verdict was read. She's currently serving a natural life sentence at the ASPC Perryville Lumley Unit,

Starting point is 00:14:00 the same correctional institution that houses infamous killer Jody Arias. A sentence of natural life means there are no parole hearings, no credit for time served, and no possibility of release. In a news conference, Jesse's grandmother, Shirley Johnson, said she believes her granddaughter is still alive and should not be taken off the National Missing Persons list. She claimed that the media and police didn't do enough to spread the word and look for the little girl because she is black. She stated, quote, Black Lives Matter just like everybody else. Don't stop looking for my grandbaby, end quote.

Starting point is 00:14:37 It's been almost 11 years as of the day of this recording that Jesse was killed. And it's questionable if she even got the justice that she deserved. Today, Jesse would be 16 years old. And she should be hanging out with friends and doing all of the fun things that normal high school girls get to do. She should be getting her license. She should be playing sports. She should be thinking about prom. But instead, Jesse Shockley is in her final resting place, the Butterfield landfill.

Starting point is 00:15:03 Cast aside like the garbage that makes up her grave. And nobody is looking for her any longer. According to Jesse's aunt, Lisa Vance, who spoke with new sources last year, the 10-year anniversary of Jesse's death. I believe the Glendale police got it right. I think the correct person is in prison. She said that she misses Jesse every day for the past 10 years. but she believes that she is in heaven.

The Misery Machine - ”Proud” Mother Throws Her Daughter In a Dumpster

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.