GUILTY DE - Justice Hooks, 2, beaten to death, Dover, 10 Oct 2011

Karen N. Hooks is charged with abuse of a corpse. The corpse is suspected to be that of her 2 year old son, Justice Hooks. ME is working to positively ID this child. Child died from blunt force trauma to the head evidenced by fractured skull. Horrible case and possibly a dead infant involved as well.

http://delaware.newszap.com/centraldelaware/115517-70/dover-woman-charged-after

That record states that Justice was last seen Oct. 10, 2011, by the roommate, who told police that on that day Ms. Hooks "told her that she had to do something with him" and when the roommate "looked in (redacted) room, she saw that he was confined to a corner, blocked in with boxes and a table."

The document states that several objects surrounded him and "that he could only move his legs," and the roommate avoided Ms. Hooks from that point.

Authorities became aware that Justice was missing after pursuing a report to the state's Division of Family Services July 9 from a relative of the Royal Grant homeowner concerned that Ms. Hooks was pregnant and due in June, but when seen that month she was no longer pregnant "and she denied being pregnant at all," Master Cpl. Fournier said.

"She's asking ‘Where's the baby?' That's why she called DFS," he said.

A Dover-area woman was arrested Wednesday after state police detectives searched her home and found a wrapped package containing the remains of her toddler son.

Karen N. Hooks, 33, of Squire Circle, was charged with abuse of a corpse, police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/...7/DELAWARE-Dover-area-mom-abused-son-s-corpse

Bail for Hooks’ was initially set at $1,000; she’s now being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Baylor Women’s Correctional Center.

http://www.wgmd.com/?p=64326

On July 13, Hooks told investigators that her son, Justice, was in the care of a female friend in Smyrna. Hooks also denied the fact that she was ever pregnant, Fournier said.

http://www.scsuntimes.com/topstorie...est-Dover-woman-for-abusing-corpse-of-her-son

i'm wondering if she said she was pregnant so that 70 something year old guy whose house she was living in would be willing to support her. i'm hoping that's the case because then it would mean there was only one dead child instead of two. (geez that is awful to say but i'm sure everyone here understands what i mean and why.)

athy said:

i'm wondering if she said she was pregnant so that 70 something year old guy whose house she was living in would be willing to support her. i'm hoping that's the case because then it would mean there was only one dead child instead of two. (geez that is awful to say but i'm sure everyone here understands what i mean and why.)

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I get it and agree, hoping the pregnancy was a hoax.

What worries me is that the older gent/landlord claims she was his GF and claims he felt the baby kicking. She of course claims they were strictly tenant landlord and that she was never pregnant.

I hope LE is following up on any infant corpses found in garbage or at local landfills. I also a hope a really thorough search is being done of the house and property. an infant corpse is so much easier still to hide/secrete than even a toddler.

Can't find any news on this one. No word on whether LE has been able to establish if Karen was indeed pregnant, and if so, what happened to the child. Still no word on charges for the death of her son, Justice, either.

From http://www.doverpost.com/article/20121116/NEWS/121119847 on November 16,2012
This child deserves justice. Just thought I would update this case. Abuse of a corpse. :banghead: I hope they pursue further charges of murder eventually.

They would have been able to tell if she had given birth in the last 1-2 months... so they must know if she was pregnant...
Assuming they were able to do that exam to tell.

November 2012:

Karen Hooks, of Dover, pled guilty to abusing her 2-year-old son's corpse, lying to police twice as they investigated her son's whereabouts and for collecting state benefits for her dead son under false pretenses during a hearing held Friday morning at Kent County Courthouse in Dover...

Haltom also pointed out that the investigation into the death of Hooks' son as a possible murder was still ongoing.

"Further charges could be pending," he said.

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http://m.doverpost.com/article/20121116/NEWS/121119847

January 2013:

DOVER – A 33-year-old Dover woman who pled guilty to abusing her son’s corpse was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison in Kent County Superior Court, the Delaware Attorney General’s Office said.

Karen N. Hooks was ordered by Superior Court Judge James T. Vaughn Jr. to pay $4,500 in restitution to the State of Delaware, receive a mental health evaluation and follow any recommended treatment, maintain employment and provide a DNA sample to the state.

After serving the one-year sentence, the AG’s Office said, a year of probation will follow.

Judge Vaughn also consented to the transfer of Ms. Hooks’ probation to California if approved by her probation officer and the State of California.

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http://delaware.newszap.com/central...d-to-prison-in-toddler-corpse-mutilation-case