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Cops: Mom of fatally wounded 2-year-old tested positive for pot

Jayden Jamar Clay, far left, shown in a 2014 family picture with his siblings, died Wednesday night after being shot in his Butts County home. (Family photo)
Jayden Jamar Clay, far left, shown in a 2014 family picture with his siblings, died Wednesday night after being shot in his Butts County home. (Family photo)
Nov 16, 2015

A Butts County mother tested positive for drugs the night her 2-year-old was shot to death in the family's home, police said Monday.

Jayden Jamar Clay died on the night of Nov. 11 inside his Jackson home, according to police. Jayden and his twin brother were in the living room and their mother was in the kitchen when a single shot was fired, police said. Investigators believe Jayden found the gun and shot himself.

On Monday, Jackson police Chief James Morgan said Jayden’s mother, Choice Clay, had marijuana in her system the night her son died, Channel 2 Action News reported. Clay’s other children were removed from the home and placed in state custody, Morgan said.

Late last week, Clay's boyfriend, Christopher Dwayne Askins, 37, was charged with second-degree child cruelty, possession of a gun by a convicted felon and drug possession, according to police. Investigators believe it was Askins' .45-caliber gun that killed the boy, though the man was not in the home at the time of the shooting.

About the Author

Alexis Stevens is a member of the Crime and Public Safety team.

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