Aunt of Dallas boy found dead in landfill arrested

DALLAS, TX  –  The aunt of an 18-month-old Dallas boy whose body was found in a landfill has been charged with child endangerment.

Chrystal Jackson was arrested Thursday morning.  Her bond was set at $35,000. Conditions of her release stipulate she is to have no contact with any child.  She must also submit to random drug testing, not consume alcohol or possess a deadly weapon.

Chrystal reported her nephew, Cedric “CJ” Jackson, missing on July 10.  She told police she put him to bed the night before and said he was gone when she woke up the next morning.

An Amber Alert was issued for Cedric because another child living in the apartment said they saw someone take Cedric in the middle of the night.

Jackson’s boyfriend, who has a lengthy criminal history, later confessed that he had swaddled Cedric in a blanket to “restrict” his movement.

Johnson explained the 18-month-old got up one night and “made a mess” by getting into ketchup packets, so he wrapped him tightly to prevent him from getting up in the night, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Johnson said the boy began throwing up and became unresponsive after he unwrapped him.  He said he performed CPR on the boy for 30-45 minutes before putting him in a dumpster, the affidavit states.

C.J.’s body was found at a Rockwall landfill after the dumpster had been emptied.

C.J. was placed in his aunt’s care by Child Protective Services in May under an agreement with the child’s biological parents.  It’s not clear why her boyfriend was caring for him instead.

CPS removed six other children’s from Jackson’s home following Cedric’s death. Two are Jackson’s children and four are Johnson’s children.

A custody hearing is set for later this month, and CPS says it is reviewing how it handled C.J.’s placement into Jackson’s home.

One mother who lives in the same complex as Chrystal Jackson said this will help justice be served for C.J.

“It’s sad.  I feel like justice should be served for the baby, you know. It’s crazy,” Heather Johnson said.

[REPORTER: “To hear that he died in such a terrible way under her care, what goes through your mind as a mother?”]  “It’s just, you have to watch everybody, I mean, the closest people that you think, I mean, stuff happens,” she responded.

Blue ribbons wrapped around trees with C.J.’s name line the streets surrounding the aunt’s condominium where he was reported missing.

A neighbor said they were put up in and around the area where DPD officers and volunteers searched for the little boy.