Kentucky Mother Arrested After Confessing to Giving Son Sleeping Medication, Burying Him in Woods

Mother Arrested and Charged After Confessing to the Tragic Death of Her 10-Year-Old Son, Followed by Staging a Missing Person Case.

By Savage RoyalT | August 12, 2025 | SavageRoyalT.com

Kentucky State Police say the search for a missing 10-year-old boy from Jackson has ended in tragedy — and his mother is now accused of killing him, hiding his body, and orchestrating a calculated cover-up.

Felicia Gross, 33, faces charges of manslaughter in the second degree, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting an incident, and tampering with a witness. Authorities say Gross reported her son, Jayden Spicer, missing on Aug. 6, prompting a massive search effort.

According to court documents, Gross told investigators during a Mirandized interview that she gave Jayden a type of sleeping medication on Aug. 5, causing a “medical emergency” that she believed killed him. Rather than seeking help, she allegedly placed his body in a plastic tote, drove nearly 20 miles to Canoe Road, and buried him in a shallow grave.

Police allege that in the days that followed, Gross coached her other children on what to say to investigators and even wrote a handwritten plea asking the public to help “find” Jayden. Interviews with her children at a child advocacy center helped unravel the fabricated missing child narrative, ultimately leading to her confession and the discovery of Jayden’s body on Aug. 12.

Jayden had last been seen wearing blue Sonic the Hedgehog pajamas. His remains were recovered around 3 p.m., less than a week after the initial report. “While this is not the outcome we hoped for, we are grateful we were able to bring him out of the woods today,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King said.

Gross remains in custody at the Kentucky River Regional Jail. An autopsy will determine Jayden’s exact cause of death. The case remains under investigation, and authorities are urging anyone with additional information to contact the Kentucky State Police.