A father has been sentenced to ten years in prison after stomping his four-year-old son to death. 23-year-old Marquavious Ware received his sentence on Monday in Oregon following a plea agreement reached in June. Prosecutors had downgraded his assault and murder charges to second-degree manslaughter, according to court records obtained by Law and Crime. The plea agreement allows him to reduce his sentence by over three years through credits for time already served since he was arrested back in 2023.
He is accused of abusing and torturing his son, Jhorden Clay, over several weeks during what was intended to be a two-day visit in 2023. Authorities had discovered the young boy with bruises, scars and cigarette burns at Ware’s apartment in Portland’s Woodlawn neighbourhood. Clay died from blunt force trauma and a collapsed heart, an autopsy revealed, along with severe malnutrition and dehydration while under the supervision of his father.
The child’s mother said that his father refused to give him back to her after a planned two-day visit, even though she had custody.
Other children and relatives living in the household reportedly witnessed the accused beating his son in the weeks leading up to his death. One of the child’s relatives contacted the police on the day of his death.
The relative said that the incident happened after his father became angry when he discovered the boy had smuggled Skittles into his bed before soiling it. They said that they briefly stepped out of the apartment and when they returned, the boy appeared to be having a seizure.
A probable cause affidavit reads: “[A family member] reported that he heard Marquavious Ware yelling and ran upstairs to see victim in the bathtub with defendant washing blood from victim’s mouth.
“In victim’s bedroom, [police] observed what appeared to her to be blood on the bed, on the pillow, on the floor, and in the doorway. In the bathroom, [police] observed what appeared to her to be blood and vomit on the floor, and blood in the toilet.”
It continued: “[The family member] saw victim was vomiting into the bathtub, and saw blood on victim’s bed.”
The child was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead. Medical personnel at the hospital reported”observed bruising” to Jhorden’s “face, jaw, neck, bilaterally on the ears, chest, abdomen, and thighs, bilaterally on the hips, the calves, and the arms,” along with cigarette burns and scarring.
Medical experts determined that the bruising occurred between two hours and less than 30 days prior.