How an 11-year-old boy clawed through sheetrock to escape years of torture
Coweta County mother jailed for child abuse
A Coweta County mother was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to child torture and cruelty against her 11-year-old adoptive son.
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A Coweta County mother has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after her 11-year-old adoptive son clawed through sheetrock walls and jumped from a second-story window to escape years of severe abuse.
Coweta County child torture case
What we know:
A seemingly normal bedroom with footballs on a shelf and a greeting card hid years of severe abuse inside a Coweta County home. Prosecutors said Chloe Jackson-Jones locked her 11-year-old adoptive son inside a closet with feces-stained walls for more than a day.
A yellow tape measure marks a hole in the drywall where an 11-year-old boy clawed his way out of a locked closet to escape horrific abuse in Coweta County, Georgia, on July 6, 2022 (Coweta County Sheriff's Office).
Using only his fingers, the boy clawed his way through two layers of sheetrock into his bedroom. He then leaped out of a second-story window to get away, leading a neighbor to discover him and call authorities.
Extent of abuse revealed in court
What they're saying:
Assistant District Attorney Jillian Brasfield said doctors at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta gave the boy a formal diagnosis of child torture. Brasfield noted it was the only time she had seen that specific diagnosis in her entire career handling child abuse cases.
Chloe Lyn Jackson-Jones received a 40-year prison sentence at the Coweta County Justice Center in Newnan, Georgia, following her guilty plea in a landmark child torture case on October 2, 2026 (Coweta County Sheriff's Office).
Jackson-Jones documented the abuse in cellphone photos and text messages sent to family members. The photos showed the boy forced to hold stress positions like planking for hours and cleaning his own excrement off the floor. In one message, Jackson-Jones admitted she strangled the child until his eyes rolled back and stomped on his pelvis and genital area to gain control.
Maximum sentence handed down
What's next:
Jackson-Jones pleaded guilty in a Coweta County courtroom to aggravated assault by strangulation, two counts of false imprisonment, and 17 counts of first-degree cruelty to children. A judge sentenced her to the maximum 40 years in prison, with a requirement to serve at least 20 years behind bars.
The boy, now 14 years old, meekly thanked prosecutors and police after the hearing. Prosecutors said he and his sister have been adopted into a loving permanent home, where he is making straight A's and doing remarkably well.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Coweta County Assistant District Attorney Jillian Brasfield and court proceedings reported by FOX 5 News reporter Doug Evans.