Couple accused of starving 2-year-old son to death
Bond set at $1 million for each defendant
The parents of a twoyear-old son are being held in the Macomb County Jail on a $1 million bond each after they were were charged Monday afternoon with the boy’s starvation death.
Sierra Pearl Zaitona, 27, and Jonathan Matthew Cheek, 25, of Clinton Township were arraigned in 41B District Court on felony murder charges.
Investigators said the death certificate for the little boy listed his death as being due to starvation.
“For the record, the child was healthy in foster care, and once it got into the care of these two individuals, it met its demise,” said Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Molly Zappitell.
Zappitell asked Magistrate Ryan Zemke to set a high bond, arguing the couple posed a flight risk. “There is no reason for her to stay,” Zappitell said. “In fact, she had the baby in Ohio to avoid alerting CPS (Child Protective Services).”
Zaitona responded: “That is not true” before she was advised by her defense lawyer not to say anything further.
A woman who knows the family described the boy as a “happy little guy.” She told WDIV-TV (Channel 4) she was “heartbroken” over the latest developments.
“I’m so angry people could actually do that to a child,” she said, without being named. “I think this baby needed someone to watch out for him, and nobody — nobody — was looking out for his interests, and that needs to change.”
Court records show Zaitona also faces two counts of disorderly conduct out of Clinton Township and one count of assault and battery from the Sterling Heights Police Department.
Cheek faces domestic violence charges and violations of the noise ordinance in Clinton Township, and holds from the Roseville Police Department for assault charges and a traffic offense.
They are due back in court for the murder case in April