Woman pleads not guilty in boy's death

A Zion woman accused in the beating death of a 5-year-old boy pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Yolanda Jones, 35, faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted in the Sept. 6 death of Tommy Trey Davis III.

Assistant State's Attorney Reginald Matthews said Jones was caring for Tommy during the Labor Day weekend. The boy was not her child, but he was the son of the father of Jones' six daughters.

Jones brought Tommy's body into Midwest Regional Medical Center in Zion and tried to convince the staff he had fallen while running in the parking lot of the motel where they lived.

Jones went into labor while at the hospital and was taken to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan where she delivered her sixth child.

An autopsy determined Tommy had been repeatedly beaten over a period of time, Matthews said, and police said Jones told them she became angry with the child because he had wet his bed and was unruly.

Jones, who is held on $3 million bond, is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 8.