Who Killed Jayda? The 3-Year-Old's Mom's Boyfriend Allegedly Confessed To Her Brutal Murder, But Many Are Pointing Fingers Elsewhere
Jalen Vaden is facing second-degree murder charges.
Crime Online As the trial for the murder of a 3-year-old Kansas girl begins, people are questioning if the suspect in custody is really the person who did it.
On November 27, 2017, police followed up on reports of an unresponsive child. They found Jayda Kyle bleeding and lying unconscious on the floor. She died from her injuries three days later.
An autopsy report determined that the girl had suffered multiple injuries to her head that were consistent with child abuse. Her official cause of death was "abusive head trauma."
According to Jasper County police, the boyfriend of Jayda's mother confessed to murdering the toddler on Dec. 6. Jalen Vaden reportedly killed her because she wouldn't put on her pajamas.
“Vaden returned and observed Juvenile not dressed as he instructed. Vaden again picked Juvenile up throwing her on to the bed. Vaden then grabbed Juvenile’s leg, ‘tossing’ her ‘face first’ onto the floor,” police alleged.
With Vaden facing second-degree murder charges, his family and the community "Justice for Jayda" is questioning if he really did it.
Vaden's sister, Quianna Vaden, told Crime Online that Jayda's mother, Devyn Kyle, reportedly had a history of posting about her daughter's injuries on Facebook. Jayda's father, Mack Kyle, also called attention to Devyn Kyle's behavior online in a motion to modify custody in December.
He accused her of creating a "Prayers for Jayda" Facebook group and collecting donations even though she knew her daughter was brain dead.
Mack claimed she "led the public to believe that the child had been 'found nonresponsive on the floor in her bedroom' and it was a possible aneurysm."
Quianna said that the abuse would happen when Jalen Vaden was at work.
“The neck complaint Jayda had was within the week the incident occurred. Devyn was constantly smacking her in her head and pushing her down,” Quianna said.
“Between that and lots of random fevers and complaining about pain all over her body, we’re being referred to a physical therapist,” Devyn supposedly wrote online. “Say some prayers for our sweet girl. Major stressing and ready for answers."
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Devyn lost custody of her 5-year-old son, and it's unclear why because local police have closed the case on Jayda's murder investigation.
Vaden's defense attorney Tracey Martin said they're demanding an unbiased investigation. She believes the police failed to secure the crime scene and that Vaden has claimed his confession was coerced.
“It is unfortunate that because of the close relationships, there are many concerns about the investigation in this case," she said. "To properly defend Jalen and find the truth he needs independent experts and investigators outside of the area, with no local relationships to review the facts and evidence in this case.”
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 7:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTango’s Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).