Dakota Rae Jones, Wyatt Duchette, and the aftermath of the fire that took the 8-year-old’s life (WOIO screenshots)
A mother from Ohio, who had been accused of causing the death of her 8-year-old son in a house fire and injuring his 10-year-old stepbrother, has entered a guilty plea for charges of endangering children and attempted endangering children as per records from Huron County.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors decided to drop their case of involuntary manslaughter against the defendant, Dakota Rae Jones, aged 33. On March 10, she was given a sentence of five years of community control. The terms include allowing the probation department to determine how she will serve her 90-day jail sentence, with the possibility of being placed under house arrest.
The Ohio State Fire Marshals concluded that the fire on June 7, 2023, was an accidental occurrence, as stated by Cleveland CBS affiliate WOIO, clarifying that the mother was not present at home during the incident.
She reportedly told police she had stepped out briefly to go to the bank and returned to see her house in flames. Both of her sons were in the house at the time.
A Huron County grand jury eventually indicted her.
Jones was noticeably snippy with authorities as they arrested her Dec. 11, 2023, as one of the officers asked about taking her phone.
“Um, I’m going to use it to call my mother and stuff, and my lawyer too, so –” she said.
She repeatedly told authorities to “get it over with” in taking her away.
“No, he already knows what’s going on,” she said, calling out to someone as officers escorted her. Then, to no one in particular, “Just let’s go. Get it over with. Come on.”
Court documents from March 11 show, however, that the court determined that she was sincerely remorseful and complied with certain conditions, such as cooperating with pretrial services, and is currently in treatment.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
