HE WAS ONLY 4.. – A 4-year-old boy tragically lost his l!fe after authorities allege he was fatally assaulted by his father during a two-day visit, reportedly after being caught taking Skittles.
Boy, 4, caught ‘sneaking Skittles’ is stomped to death by dad during 2-day visit
WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: A 23-year-old Oregon man was sentenced to a decade in prison after entering a plea deal over the murder of his 4-year-old son
View 3 Images
Jhorden Clay, 4, was found covered in cigarette burns, bruises and scars after visiting his father
A 23-year-old Oregon man was sentenced to a decade behind bars for the alleged abuse and murder of his 4-year-old son.
Marquavious Ware, 23, was handed down his sentence on Monday after accepting a plea deal in June that led prosecutors to reduce his assault and murder charges to second-degree manslaughter, court records obtained by Law&Crime reveal. The plea deal will allow him to have his sentence reduced by more than three years by redeeming credits from time served since his 2023 arrest.
Ware is accused of abusing and torturing his son, Jhorden Clay, for weeks amid what was supposed to be a two-day visit with his father in May 2023.
The incident unfolded in May 2023 after authorities found the little boy with bruises, scars and cigarette burns in Ware’s apartment in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Portland.
An autopsy report conducted by the medical examiner’s office determined that Clay died from blunt force trauma and a collapsed heart, as well as severe malnutrition and dehydration while in his father’s care.
The little boy’s mother told authorities that she had left her son, whom she has custody of, with her father, then 19, for a scheduled two-day visit. However, she claims her ex refused to hand over their son after the two days were up.
View 3 Images
Marquavious Ware, 23, was sentenced to a decade in prison for the abuse and death of his son
Family members and another child living in the home allegedly witnessed the father beat the little boy in the several weeks leading up to his death.
One of the little boy’s family members reported suspicious activity to authorities on the day that the child died, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
The unnamed family member alleged that the fatal incident unfolded after the father got enraged when the little boy snuck Skittles into his bed before wetting it. The relative said they briefly left the apartment and, when they returned, the boy was “having a seizure.”
View 3 Images
The son was killed while staying at the father’s Woodlawn area apartment in Portland
“[A family member] reported that he heard Marquavious Ware yelling and ran upstairs to see victim in the bathtub with defendant washing blood from victim’s mouth,” a probable cause affidavit reads. “In victim’s bedroom, [police] observed what appeared to her to be blood on the bed, on the pillow, on the floor, and in the doorway. In the bathroom, [police] observed what appeared to her to be blood and vomit on the floor, and blood in the toilet.”
The affidavit continued, “[The family member] saw victim was vomiting into the bathtub, and saw blood on victim’s bed.” The child was subsequently rushed to the hospital before he was pronounced dead.
Medical staff at the hospital said they “observed bruising” to Jhorden’s “face, jaw, neck, bilaterally on the ears, chest, abdomen, and thighs, bilaterally on the hips, the calves, and the arms,” as well as cigarette burns and scars.
The bruising, the medical professionals believe, developed within two hours and less than 30 days.
