JACKSON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The autopsy results for 10-year-old Jayden Spicer, whose body was found in Breathitt County in August 2025, have been returned as the murder case against his mother and stepfather moves forward, according to the Breathitt County Circuit Clerk’s Office.
During a pretrial conference Friday morning, the cases against Felicia Gross and Joshua Gross were continued until Jan. 8, 2027. Both sides agreed to the continuance to allow time to review the autopsy findings.
The information in the autopsy was not released to the public.
Felicia Gross is charged with murder, falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse and witness tampering. Joshua Gross faces complicity to murder and other charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Jayden's body was found along Canoe Road in Jackson on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, six days after he was reported missing. Charges against his mother were announced the same day his body was found.
Joshua Gross, Jayden's stepfather, was indicted on Aug. 18, 2025.
A citation revealed that 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.
Police reported that Gross also admitted to 'coaching' Jayden's younger siblings about what to say before a police interview.
The cases against Felicia and Joshua Gross have faced legal complications. In October 2025, attorneys were seeking to disqualify counsel due to potential conflicts of interest.
Felicia Gross's attorneys filed a motion seeking to disqualify an attorney who previously represented both defendants. The motion argued that allowing Gross's former attorney to continue representing her husband creates a conflict of interest that could jeopardize her defense.
Ultimately, the attorney filed a motion to remove himself from the case, per court records.
In January, Kentucky state lawmakers began drafting "Jayden's Law" to address gaps in current child protection laws.
This is a developing story and LEX 18 will have additional information as it becomes available.
