Brandon Walker took the witness stand on Thursday, and the defense rested its case on the fourth day of Walker’s murder trial.
Walker, 41, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of his 8-year-old son, Navin Jones, who died March 29, 2022 due to extreme neglect and abuse.
Stephanie Jones, Navin’s mother, pleaded guilty last week to one count of first-degree murder.
The defense stated its intention to call Jones, 31, as a witness. Gary Morris, Walker’s attorney, said because Jones had pleaded guilty, she no longer had her Fifth Amendment rights.
But Peoria County Circuit Court judge John Vespa ruled that because Jones still had 30 days to waive her plea and had not been sentenced, she had not yet been convicted. Because of this, he ruled she could still plead the fifth.
Jones made a brief appearance in court Thursday and executed her Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate herself. The ruling also meant that Morris could not use video footage of Jones’ interview with police.
The defense then called Navin’s pediatrician to testify. She said she began treating Navin when he was 9 months old and had last treated him during his 6-year-old visit.
A friend of Walker’s told jurors the last time he saw Navin was July 4, 2021. He said he spoke to Walker every day, and saw him about three to four days a week. The two worked together on cars.
He said he often saw Navin’s older brother at work with Walker, but rarely saw Navin. It was a sentiment echoed by other co-workers of Walker.
An employee of Lutheran Social Services testified she visited the house on Feb. 23, 2022, the day after an investigator from the Department of Children and Family Services did. She said she met with Stephanie and Navin’s brother, but only saw Navin for five to 10 seconds.
Lutheran Social Services is contracted with DCFS. She said that because DCFS had opened a case regarding the family, Lutheran Social Services’ involvement was no longer needed.
She said she spoke with the DCFS investigator about her visit to the house, but had no involvement after that.
Walker described his relationship with Jones as two people living in the same house. He said they hadn’t slept in the same bed for four to five years, and that he slept on the couch at night.
Walker testified he had four businesses at the time, all surrounding work with cars and motorcycles. He said he enjoyed his job and would often work seven days a week, anywhere from 12 to 15 hours a day.
He said the most time he spent with the two boys was when they came to work with him. He said Navin would rarely accompany him, but his older brother often did.
Walker also testified about an argument between Laura Walker, his mother and the boy's grandmother, and Jones. Laura had permanent legal guardianship of the boys from the time they were young. Walker said in 2017 he willingly gave up guardianship of them to his mother.
Laura had left the boys in the care of their parents’ to visit her elderly mother in the summer of 2021, and the parents did not return them to her.
Walker said he already had Navin’s brother in his care prior to that.
He said on Aug. 17, 2021, Jones and Laura Walker had an argument because the boys were supposed to accompany the parents to Florida. Laura had previously testified she was concerned about school starting for the boys.
Police were called during the argument, but the boys remained in the parents' care. They traveled to Florida so Walker could help tow cars as part of hurricane relief efforts, he said, adding they stayed in Florida for a few months.
He said he was not concerned about Navin’s weight while they were in Florida, but after they returned in October he noticed Navin wasn’t gaining weight. He later stated during cross examination that Navin appeared to be losing weight.
Walker told jurors he was planning to contact DCFS before the investigator reached out to them in February of 2022. He said that he was told DCFS would work to get him guardianship.
He said it was his understanding that he couldn’t take the brothers to the doctor or enroll them in school without guardianship.
After the DCFS investigator visited in February, Walker said temporary guardianship papers were mailed to Laura on March 3. DCFS did not receive those papers until March 29, the day Navin died.
Walker said he was concerned by how long it took to get the papers back, but he did not attempt to contact his mother.
He said the last time he saw Navin was March 27 when they watched a movie together. Walker said he thought Navin looked fine and that they had eaten after the movie.
Walker said he did not see Navin on March 28 because he worked all day and Navin was not awake when he left for work the morning of March 29. He said Jones called him that afternoon to say Navin was unresponsive and that the ambulance was there.
He said he only said a few words to Jones when he arrived at the house.
State prosecutors questioned Walker about his trip to Florida, which he said in an interview with police had been a planned vacation. Walker said that he had already intended to take both brothers to Florida, and that they considered the trip to still be a vacation.
He said that he had called Fulton County about getting guardianship back before DCFS contacted him in February, but he did not receive a response.
The state showed a series of photos of Navin from September 2021 to March 11, 2022. Walker acknowledged Navin’s weight loss and said “he looks bad,” referring to the March 11 photo. The photo is a close-up of Navin’s face, which was visibly thin with two bandages and an open cut.
The defense rested and the jury was sent home after Walker’s testimony. Another legal issue was brought up after Morris requested to enter Jones’ guilty plea into evidence.
Both sides and judge Vespa agreed they had not seen this before in court. Vespa asked both counsels to conduct research on the matter, and said he would do so himself.
The trial will continue Friday morning.
