Death of Dee’ago Jones: Case moves forward against father Shane Flowers accused of murdering young son

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A mother whose young son was allegedly beaten and killed by his father at a south Los Angeles motel in 2021 spoke out during a court hearing on Thursday, recalling that horrifying day.

Dee’ago Alexander Jones was 18 months old when he was found dead in July 2021.

Authorities were called to the Rosa Bell Motel at 5606 S. Western Avenue and found the child unconscious and not breathing. He was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead.

“I can’t look at my baby like that,” said Dee’ago’s mother, Ryanna Jones, who testified in court against the boy’s father, Shane Flowers, on Thursday. “No parent should go through that.”

Jones said she and her son came to California from St. Louis to get away from Flowers. She said it was an abusive relationship and claims Flowers hit her.

“He hit me with his fists and hands,” Jones said. “He’s very angry, so if he hit my son and I said something, I’d get hit ten times worse. I’m afraid of this man. Very scared…he is very violent. I’m very afraid of him.”

Flowers also came to California and the couple were staying at the hotel with the child at the time. Jones said Flowers woke her up and said Dee’ago wasn’t breathing.

They called 911, but the child was reportedly already dead. Jones claims Flowers told her what he had done.

“He told me he punched him in the chest and he fell and hit his head on the floor and acted like he didn’t know what to do,” Jones said. “It looks like he just wanted to leave at this point. He left me there alone.”

Defense attorneys declined to comment on the case. Thursday’s trial was a preliminary hearing to see if there was enough evidence against Flowers to stand trial.

“A lot of people in the department did a great job investigating the case and putting the case together,” said LA Child Abuse Prosecutor Jon Hatami. “Because of their good investigations, we were able to bring forward one count of murder and assault on a child causing death.”

Later that afternoon, the judge ruled that the case could go ahead. Although the preliminary hearing was completed in one day, the case likely won’t go to court until next year.