UPDATE: Sept. 5 at 11:25 a.m.
The mother and step-father of Jayden Spicer entered not guilty pleas in Breathitt County Circuit Court Friday morning.
Felicia Gross is charged with murder, falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and two counts of tampering with a witness. Her bail remains set at $1 million.
Joshua Gross is charged with complicity to murder and similar charges.
In court, Commonwealth's Attorney Miranda King said she is trying to get Jayden's medical and school records.
The couple is due back in court November 7, 2025, for a pre-trial hearing.
UPDATE: August 18 at 11:30 a.m.
A Breathitt County grand jury has indicted Felicia Gross for murder in the death of her son Jayden Spicer, upgrading the original manslaughter charge filed by police. The indictment comes nearly two weeks after Gross first reported her son missing. In addition, Spicer's step-father Joshua Gross has been indicted in the case.
Gross has been indicted for falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and two counts of tampering with a witness. Her bail is set at $1 million.
Commonwealth's Attorney Miranda King announced the indictment Tuesday morning during what was scheduled to be a preliminary hearing for Gross.
"In addition to their action against Felicia Gross, the grand jury also saw fit to return an indictment on Joshua Gross," King said.
Spicer's step-father, Joshua Gross, has been indicted for complicity to murder, complicity to falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and two counts of complicity to tampering with a witness. His bail is set at $1 million.
Police arrested Joshua Gross Tuesday morning shortly after the indictment was issued. He is currently being held at the Kentucky River Regional Jail.
UPDATE: August 14 at 12 p.m.
A judge entered a not guilty plea for Felicia Gross, the mother charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection to her son Jayden Spicer's death, during a hearing on Thursday afternoon.
Gross appeared in court through video and was appointed a public defender by the judge.
The judge noted that Gross has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and 2 more counts of tampering with physical evidence.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Monday, Aug. 18.
UPDATE: August 13 at 6 p.m.
Court records indicate that Jayden Spicer's mother, Felicia Gross, was involved with Child Protective Services in the past. In 2017, Breathitt County court records show she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a minor and served a year in jail. At the time her name was listed as Felicia Spicer, according to electronic court records.
LEX 18 requested copies from Breathitt County District Court but were told the records are confidential due to a minor being involved. It is unclear if the 2015 case involved Jayden Spicer.
Other online court records dating back to 2013 and 2019, indicate Gross' mother Shirley Johnson had petitioned for child support from Gross. Again, it is unclear if the case involved Jayden.
Currently, Gross is charged with second-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting an incident, and two counts of witness tampering.
According to the police citation, Gross confessed to burying Jayden's body. In it, it states she told police she gave the child sleeping medication and believed he died from a medical emergency. The citation also states that Gross took his body to a wooded area on Canoe Road where police report they found him buried in a plastic tote.
Police reported that Gross also admitted to 'coaching' Jayden's younger siblings about what to say before a police interview.
She is currently housed at the Kentucky River Regional Jail.
UPDATE: August 13 at 9:40 a.m.
A citation provided additional information on the death of Jayden Spicer, revealing that his mother, Felicia Gross, confessed to providing her son with sleeping medication and she believed that he had died from a "medical emergency" before officials found his body buried.
The citation detailed that on Aug. 6, Gross reported that her son went missing on the night of Aug. 5. Authorities conducted an interview with Gross on Aug. 12 where she confessed to providing Spicer with sleeping medication. Gross alleged to police that the medication caused a "medical emergency" resulting in her son's death.
Further, the citation reported that Gross added that she had taken Spicer's body to a wooded area on Canoe Road near Joe Little Fork Road. Authorities then searched the area where they found Spicer's body buried underground in a plastic tote, according to the citation.
Gross was arrested and charged with false report of an incident to law enforcement; second-degree manslaughter; tampering with physical evidence; abuse of corpse; and tampering with witnesses.
UPDATE: August 12 at 9 p.m.
Kentucky State Police have identified the body discovered in Breathitt County on Tuesday as 10-year-old Jayden Spicer, and have charged his mother, 33-year-old Felicia Gross, with his death.
Gross was charged with second degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and falsely reporting an incident.
According to KSP Trooper Matt Gayheart, a new tip earlier today led officers to a wooded area off of Canoe Road. At 3 p.m., Spicer's remains were found buried.
Gross is being held in Kentucky River Regional Jail. She previously served one year in jail for endangering the welfare of a minor.
Gayheart thanked the public and those who spent countless hours searching for Jayden, including sharing social media posts.
"The community is devastated and heartbroken," said Miranda King, the Commonwealth's Attorney for Breathitt, Powell and Wolfe Counties.
King assured the public that Jayden was now in good hands, and thanked the public for their help and response.
Original Story:
Breathitt County Coroner Hargis Epperson has confirmed that the body of a "young person" has been located on Canoe Road in Jackson.
The body is being transported to Frankfort for positive identification and autopsy, and no official identification will be reported until the examination is complete.
However, multiple sources, including two relatives, have confirmed that the body belongs to 10-year-old Jayden Spicer.
Spicer's mother previously told authorities that she last saw Jayden sometime last Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Police and rescue teams have been searching the area of Jayden's home off Panbowl Branch Road in Jackson since Jayden was reported missing.
Father Jim Sichsko, who serves as a Missionary of Mercy, posted to social media on Tuesday that he is covering the expenses of Spicer's funeral.
This is a developing story and LEX 18 will have additional information as it becomes available.
