Minneapolis man charged with murder in death of girlfriend's toddler

A Minneapolis man is accused of beating a 2-year-old boy to death last May and inflicting serious injuries on his infant brother.

Ona'Je Prince Sincere Jackson died of multiple blunt force injuries May 4, 2022. Nearly a year later, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office this week filed murder charges against his mother's boyfriend, 30-year-old Otis Lee Jackson, and one felony count of malicious punishment of a child in connection with injuries to the toddler's 4-month-old brother. The children's mother, Navonna Latina West, 26, has since entered a guilty plea to child endangerment in connection with the case.

The baby had injuries similar to his older brother and also tested positive for fentanyl, according to the charges that allege Jackson has a history of child abuse dating back to his teen years.

Charges say that Minneapolis police responded to a home on a report of a child not breathing. West was attempting CPR but the toddler died at the hospital where officers saw he was scratched and bruised.

The medical examiner found multiple blunt-force injuries in various stages of healing. His death was ruled a homicide and officers brought in his baby brother to be examined. It was determined the baby suffered multiple injuries including burns, bruising and rib fractures.

Two days after the 2-year-old died, West was charged with two counts of malicious punishment of a child. But newly filed charges say that Jackson caused injuries to both boys.

West told investigators that she was living with Jackson and left her children alone with him at times. In the days leading up to the toddler's death, West noticed her older son was "very weak, had bruises on his side and behind his ear and was throwing up," charges say. When she noticed burns on the 4-month-old's stomach, she asked Jackson if he accidentally burned him with a cigarette. He said he didn't know, charges say.

Jackson was convicted of assaulting West in 2019, when she was pregnant with her 2-year-old son.

Charges say Jackson caused similar injuries to a 2-month-old child when Jackson was 14 years old. In that case, Jackson said he accidentally burned the child with hot soup. But an examination found "the appearance of the burns is not consistent with an accidental mechanism of injury." Rather, the baby's burns indicated "prolonged contact with a heated, circular object," according to the charges.

Charges against West said she attempted to deny or minimize the injuries to her children. After police informed her of her son's death, she "claimed the injuries were from them being sick." She was arrested and released from custody last June.

In February, her felony charges were amended from malicious punishment to child endangerment. She entered a guilty plea and agreed to serve up to a year in the county workhouse and three years of probation.

According to a court transcript of West's plea hearing, she agreed to continue cooperating in the investigation and prosecution of Jackson. Her attorney, Emmett Donnelly, went over facts of the case, including Jackson's history of abuse.

"And ultimately that abusive situation had a substantial likelihood of causing harm — physical harm to the kids?" Donnelly asked. "And that included the possibility of death?"

West agreed.