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Investigation Continues in Shooting Death of Henrico 2 Year Old

By Bill Mckelway,
Richmond times-Dispatch

Published: January 27, 2009

Henrico County police say they are carefully assessing witness statements in Sunday's shooting death of 2-year-old Kristofer L. Jefferson, whose grandmother was ordered held without bond yesterday.

"We are trying to determine exactly what happened and are not certain at this point that we know for a fact what did happen," said Henrico police Lt. Doug Perry, who stressed that forensic evidence in the case is critical.

Denise M. Jefferson, a widowed 57-year-old, asked for a court-appointed lawyer yesterday at a brief court appearance, saying she has no job and cares for eight grandchildren in the one-story home she owns in the 1900 block of Watts Lane.

Jefferson, who was arrested Sunday night, is charged with felony child neglect and with a misdemeanor count alleging that she permitted a loaded, unsecured weapon to endanger a child. She faces a preliminary hearing April 13.

Kristofer Jefferson died Sunday about 11 p.m., about six hours after he was transported by a family friend from the Watts Lane home to VCU Medical Center, police said.

He had been shot in the head, according to police, who declined yesterday to provide further details about the nature of the wound or about the weapon involved.

About a half-dozen family members attended Jefferson's video appearance in court yesterday and angrily refused to talk to reporters afterwards, at one point cursing television crews.

A search warrant made public yesterday that is based on statements from three adults who were in the Watts Lane house, including Denise Jefferson, alleges that the 2-year-old found a gun in the backyard with "the kids" and then brought the gun inside.

While adults were watching a movie, another juvenile "exited another room and told those there that the victim had shot himself," the warrant says.

Denise Jefferson, according to the search warrant, "stated she did not know what happened" and did not call the police, stating "that the police would not help."

It was unclear yesterday who the parents of the deceased child are or whether they were present at the time he was shot.

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