HORN LAKE, Mississippi (AP) — Authorities said a Horn Lake father and his wife have been indicted in the death of the man’s 11-year-old son earlier this year.
Assistant District Attorney Steven Jubera told The Commercial Appeal that Jack Thomas Raines, 37, and his wife, Amanda Leigh Raines, 33, were each indicted by a DeSoto County grand jury for capital murder in the death of Justin Tyler Raines. Amanda Raines is the boy’s stepmother.
Authorities say the boy weighed only 56 pounds when he was found dead by police in the bathroom of the family’s home on Feb. 6.
Jubera said the trial has been set for Sept. 22 with a plea date of Sept. 8, but the case will likely be continued. He said prosecutors haven’t decided whether to seek the death penalty.
The couple has court-appointed attorneys.
The couple were denied bond this past week in an arraignment before Circuit Judge Robert Chamberlin.
They have been in jail since they were arrested Feb. 11 at the Motel 6 in Hernando after they were made to leave their rental home by the state Department of Human Services because of Tyler’s death and because they had several other children at the home.
