Inset: Jonathon Matthew Cheek (Macomb County Jail). Background: The home where Cheek’s toddler starved to death (WJBK).
A man in Michigan, 26, has been sentenced to 24 to 50 years in prison for the murder of his 2-year-old son. The child was starved to death in their home, which he shared with the boy’s mother. The sentencing was carried out by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Edward Servitto, who announced that Jonathan Matthew Cheek would serve the lengthy term in a state correctional facility.
As part of a deal struck in October, Cheek pleaded no contest to charges of second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse. In return, the prosecutors recommended a sentence of up to 50 years, a stark difference from the potential life sentence he initially faced.
In addition to the murder charge, Cheek was also sentenced to a maximum of 10 years for child abuse, to be served concurrently with his murder sentence. He was granted credit for 643 days already spent in custody.
“This is a heartbreaking and profoundly sad case,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement following the sentencing hearing. “A two-year-old child, full of potential and deserving of love and care, was failed in the most devastating way. No sentence can bring back this innocent life, but hopefully the family can begin to heal.”
The victim’s mother, 28-year-old Sierra Pearl Zaitona, is facing the same pair of charges as Cheek. Her trial is currently scheduled to begin on April 1, 2025.
Sierra Pearl Zaitona (Macomb County Jail).
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Cheek and Zaitona on Thursday, March 16, 2023, called 911 and reported finding their toddler son dead in his crib. A subsequent autopsy performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner determined that the victim’s cause of death was starvation, prosecutors said.
During legal proceedings following the parents’ arrests, prosecutors said the victim was the biological son of Cheek and Zaitona and that he was in good health before being placed back in their custody.
“For the record, the child was healthy in foster care, and once it got into the care of these two individuals, it met its demise,” Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Molly Zappitell said at an arraignment, the Macomb Daily reported.
It is unclear why the child was previously in foster care or when he was returned to Zaitona and Cheek.
When seeking to have the couple held on high bonds, prosecutors argued that Zaitona was a flight risk and said that she intentionally gave birth to the child in Ohio “to avoid alerting CPS.”
Zaitona is currently scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on March 17, 2025.
