Mother charged after missing 10-year-old Eastern Kentucky boy found dead
The body of a missing child from Breathitt County was found Tuesday, almost one week after family members said they last saw him, and his mother was charged in his death.
The body of Jayden Spicer, 10, was found near Canoe Road in Breathitt County, Kentucky State Police said.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said in a news conference Tuesday night that new information led police to search a “heavily wooded area” where Jayden’s body was found buried at about 3 p.m.
His mother, Felicia Gross, 33, of Jackson, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and falsely reporting an incident.
Jayden’s body will be taken to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy, Gayheart said.
Gross was being held in the Kentucky River Regional Jail.
Gayheart declined to provide further details, saying it is “an active and ongoing criminal investigation.”
“Continue to pray for a community that grieves this tragic loss,” he said.
A candlelight vigil for Spicer will be held at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Douthitt Park in Jackson. The Breathitt Regional Juvenile Detention Center will provide the candles.
The search for Jayden began Aug. 6, after his family reported him missing from his home on Panbowl Branch Road in the Jackson community.
Family members told police Jayden was last seen at about 9 p.m. Aug. 5, and they said he was gone the following morning. State police were notified that Jayden was missing at 9:23 a.m. Wednesday.
On Friday, KSP said they were broadening their search, because they had “thoroughly searched all areas of priority.”
Multiple agencies were involved in the search, using aircraft, drones, dogs, sonar, thermal imaging and “boots on the ground,” state police said.
“We are devastated and collectively broken over this,” Breathitt County Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King said at the news conference Tuesday night.
She added that there has been an outpouring of concern for Jayden from around the world.
“Jayden is now in good hands, and we’re going to take care of him,” she said.
Margaret Henson, the library media specialist at Highland-Turner Elementary, where Jayden attended school, said, “Jayden’s classmates ask daily if he’s been found.”
“The harsh reality is going to hit them tomorrow,” she told the Herald-Leader. “Jayden didn’t deserve any of this. He will be missed terribly.”
Court records indicate Jayden’s mother had involvement with Child Protective Services in the past.
A woman named Felicia Spicer, who is the same age, has a conviction for a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a minor that dates back to 2015, Breathitt District Court records show.
Online court records do not provide information regarding the circumstances.
The conditions of her release in that case included submitting to random drug tests and following case plans set forth by Child Protective Services, records indicate.
Several court cases indicate that as far back as 2013, another woman, Shirley F. Johnson had petitioned for child support from Spicer, though it is unclear whether Jayden was one of the children for whom she sought support. The most recent of the child support cases involving Spicer and Johnson was closed in 2020.
Johnson, 73, died in May, according to an obituary. She lived in the Canoe community.
Fred and Sheila McCoy
Fred and Sheila McCoy, who were recording for their YouTube channel last fall when they found the body of I-75 shooter Joseph Couch, posted a video Tuesday afternoon of a visit to Jayden’s home on Panbowl Branch Road, where they said they were going in hopes of joining the search.
After parking near the family’s home, the McCoys found a large piece of plastic in the grass that looked like trash, but upon inspection contained boys clothing, jackets and shoes.
While the McCoys were looking around on a hill alongside the property, a couple the McCoys identified as Felicia Gross and her husband, Josh Gross, came home.
The McCoys recorded audio of their conversation with the couple, asking them about Jayden and the clothing.
The man identified as Josh Gross can be heard on the video telling the McCoys the clothes belonged to Jayden.
“Law enforcement left that there,” he said.
He said Jayden hadn’t lived with them long and was not in school at the time of his disappearance.
He said they had cooperated with police “every step of the way.”
“We’ve done everything they’ve asked us to do,” he can be heard saying at one point on the video.
Staff writers Valarie Honeycutt Spears and Christopher Leach contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 7:19 PM.
