Foster mother pleads guilty to killing boy

St. Petersburg Times

Author: JOHN D. McKINNON

TAMPA - Rosa Lee Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing one of her foster children after the boy reportedly rebelled against her religious instruction.

Investigators said 5-year-old Albert Smith's skull was shattered when he was hit with a board on Jan. 8. He died less than a day later.

Albert's 4-year-old brother told authorities that Mrs. Jones hit the boy after he refused to pray. Mrs. Jones, 40, was arrested in March and charged with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

In a plea bargain, Mrs. Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter, a lesser charge. She faces a recommended sentence of three to seven years in prison under state guidelines.

Authorities decided to enter into the plea bargain after the 4-year-old's story began to change, said prosecutor John Valenti. He declined to say how the story changed.

That left prosecutors relying on the testimony of a 7-year-old adopted daughter of Mrs. Jones, who could say only that she saw Mrs. Jones take Albert into another room, then heard a slamming sound.

Prosecutors also were concerned that the children might suffer emotional damage if they were required to testify against Mrs. Jones.

When Mrs. Jones was approved as a foster mother in 1979, a state child welfare worker described Mrs. Jones as ''somewhat fanatical'' in her religious beliefs. But Mrs. Jones proved to be a good foster mother to many of her children, officials said.

The problems started a few months before Albert's death, according to state welfare files.

In November Albert complained to state workers that Mrs. Jones had struck him with a board across the buttocks. Albert asked to be removed from the home.

Mrs. Jones also asked that Albert and his brother be taken away because she was feeling stress.

She later withdrew the request, and state officials agreed to provide more monitoring and support for a few weeks.