Hearing continues for stepdad who says Grand Prairie boy suffocated inside toy chest

On Tuesday, two people testified in Tarrant County court about the relationship between a 6-year-old Grand Prairie boy and his stepdad, who is charged in connection to the child’s death.

Joseph “Jojo” King died in February 2020. His stepdad, Brandon Hale, was charged with injury to a child in December 2020 after the Grand Prairie Police Department reopened the investigation into Jojo’s death. The current proceedings are not a trial, but a hearing at which the prosecution is seeking to revoke Hale’s probation in a prior abuse case.

Hale was previously convicted of abusing Jojo about a year before his death and was on probation for that offense at the time of the boy’s death. Judge Ruben Gonzalez in Tarrant County’s 432nd District Court is overseeing the case and will decide whether to revoke Hale’s probation in the 2019 case. If Gonzalez determines based on a preponderance of the evidence that Hale likely is responsible for Jojo’s death, he can revoke Hale’s probation and potentially sentence him to two to 10 years in prison.

On Monday, state prosecutor Bill Vassar questioned first responders and Grand Prairie detectives about Jojo’s death and the subsequent investigation. On Tuesday, the state rested its case after questioning the medical examiner who did Jojo’s autopsy and a Department of Public Safety investigator who interviewed Hale about the boy’s death.

On Feb. 22, 2020, Hale called 911 and, while crying and screaming, told the operator he had found the boy inside a toy chest and he was not breathing. Jojo died after spending four days in a Dallas hospital ICU.

Jojo’ death was initially investigated by Greg Parker with the Grand Prairie Police Department, who testified Monday that he did not find enough evidence to arrest anyone in Jojo’s death. The case was reopened after Jojo’s biological father, Joseph King, filed a complaint with the police department. King, a homicide detective in Atlanta, spoke with the Star-Telegram in 2021 about the investigation into his son’s death.

Medical examiner testifies

One of the main focuses of the hearing has been on the toy chest itself. The state says the toy chest is not airtight; Grand Prairie Detective Alan Frizzell, who testified Monday, conducted a test on the chest and found air can go in and out of the box even when the lid is shut. Frizzell also used a mannequin that was slightly smaller than Jojo to demonstrate that the boy likely would not have fit inside the chest, which had toys inside, unless he was shoved inside.

Frizzell emphasized that Jojo did not have any imprints or scratches on his skin when he was found; Frizzell said Jojo would have had those marks from being pressed against the plastic toys inside the chest.

When Frizzell gave his findings to the medical examiner who initially reported that Jojo might have suffocated inside the chest, medical examiner Jeffrey Barnard changed his report. According to Barnard’s revised autopsy report, Jojo had hypoxic encephalopathy — a form of brain damage caused by loss of oxygen or drowning. The medical examiner notes that Jojo was wet when EMS found him and “there was concern for possible homicidal drowning.”

Barnard testified about his findings Tuesday. Barnard said it “would require a very unique set of circumstances” for Jojo to have died inside the toy chest.

If Jojo was able to fit in the chest, he said, it is “technically possible, but seems to be an unlikely set of events,” he said.

Defense attorney David Scoggins criticized Frizzell’s findings that the chest was not airtight. He pointed out that other chests similar to the one at the center of Jojo’s death have been recalled because children have suffocated inside. In 2014, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that toy chests and trunks have been involved in at least 34 children’s deaths since 1996.

A ‘very loving’ father, witnesses say

As its first witness, the defense spoke with a special education teacher who taught Jojo from kindergarten to first grade. The teacher described Jojo’s hyperactive personality, his honesty and some of the boy’s antics in the classroom. Jojo would often pretend to be Spider-Man and jump from the tables, she said.

The teacher said she interacted frequently with Hale, and he was “very loving.” Hale brought Jojo to school, attended school events and let Jojo “climb all over him,” she said. When Jojo, who was on the autism spectrum and had ADHD, became scared of loud noises, Hale made sure to find him headphones and comfort him, she said.

When Vassar questioned the teacher, he asked her about Hale’s conviction involving abuse of Jojo. The teacher said Hale had told her that he was on probation because he spanked Jojo and that he was remorseful.

Vassar showed the teacher photos of Jojo’s bruises on his thighs and buttocks from the incident, which had prompted school officials to call Child Protective Services and the Grand Prairie Police Department. He asked if she was aware that Hale had hit Jojo with a belt. She said she had not been aware of that, but she did not think that was any different from a regular spanking.

Hale’s father-in-law also testified about Hale’s relationship with Jojo, who he described as a loving, active kid who could sometimes be a handful. He said Jojo loved to pretend to be a superhero and play hide-and-seek. Hale, he said, was very involved in Jojo’s life and had a “calming demeanor” with him.

“Brandon had a good relationship with him,” he said. “He was really good with Joseph.”

Scoggins asked the father-in-law if he blamed Hale in any way for his grandchild’s death.

“Not whatsover,” he said.

The hearing is scheduled to continue Wednesday at 9 a.m.