Tragic tot Jordan, left for dead by Mummy
Surely no mother could be so callous?
In the early hours of Sunday 2 September 2018, Charisse Stinson, then 21, stumbled into a hotel. She collapsed at the reception desk. A scrape on the side of her head.
Frantic, she claimed her toddler son, Jordan Belliveau, 2, had been kidnapped and she needed to call police.
And when officers arrived, she proceeded to tell them a terrifying story.
Charisse, who was six months pregnant, said that she had been walking to a friend’s place at 9.30pm, carrying Jordan.
A man in a white Toyota Camry, called Antwan, had offered to give them a lift.
She’d still had some way to walk.
Her toddler was heavy, so she’d accepted.
But, then, Antwan had beaten her unconscious.
And when she’d come round hours later at 1.30am, in a nearby park, she was alone.
Little Jordan was nowhere to be seen.
So she’d raced to the hotel close by to call emergency services.
Alarmed, police immediately sent out an amber alert, lighting up people’s phones, social media and news outlets.
Spreading the word that a little boy was missing. Presumed taken. An extensive search for Jordan Belliveau began, involving sniffer dogs and divers in local lakes and ponds.
Charisse described Antwan as having dreadlocks, gold teeth. A sketch of the suspect was released, alongside Jordan’s photo.
Police urged the community of Largo, in Florida, USA, to come forward with any possible information that they might have.
Apart from Charisse, Jordan had last been seen two days earlier.
Police found footage of Charisse at the park in the early hours, just as she’d claimed.
But earlier CCTV showed her walking around the area, even climbing around a children’s playground, on her own.
Jordan’s green rucksack was found in a rubbish bin nearby.
And as they searched Charisse’s home, officers found blood on several items.
Little Jordan had apparently fallen and cut his chin in the days prior to his disappearance, and detectives thought this could explain the blood.
But something wasn’t adding up – and one man in particular didn’t believe a word of Charisse’s story.
The little boy’s father, Jordan Belliveau Sr.
He and Charisse had separated only a few months earlier, and he was also the father of her unborn baby.
Two days into the search, he spoke to reporters.
Charisse knew where their son was, Jordan Sr claimed.
Just tell me where he is, he’d messaged Charisse. Charisse denied it.
If I knew where my baby was, we would not be going through this, she’d replied.
Baby Jordan had been dealt a tough start in life.
Jordan Sr and Charisse’s relationship had been turbulent, with reports of domestic violence on both sides.
At only several months old, Jordan had been taken into care.
Placed with a loving foster family until his parents could provide a ‘stable and safe home’, free of violence.
He’d become a ‘very happy child’ according to his foster parents.
Then, three months
When police arrived, she told them a terrifying story
before his disappearance, he’d been returned to his parents, under monitoring by child-welfare services.
Only, his parents had then split up, and now Jordan was missing.
Just over two days after Charisse stumbled into that hotel, the search ended in the worst possible way. Jordan’s body was found in local woodland. And under intense questioning, Charisse’s story started to change. Eventually, she cracked. Admitted the abduction was all lies.
That Jordan had fallen out of bed, hurt his leg and was howling in pain.
Frustrated by his crying, she’d lashed out.
Hit him across his face with the back of her hand, causing Jordan to hit his head against a wall.
Over the next hours, he’d started having seizures, getting progressively worse.
But instead of calling an ambulance, she’d dumped him in the woods near a local leisure centre.
Left her 2-year-old son, not knowing if he was alive or dead.
Then she’d concocted Antwan and the elaborate story that she’d fed police.
Charisse was charged with Jordan’s murder.
A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Jordan had suffered a skull fracture, broken leg, bleeding under his scalp.
But the coroner’s report didn’t reveal when, exactly, Jordan had died, or how long he’d been dead before he was found.
Police were confident his injuries matched his mother’s confession.
That December, Charisse gave birth to a baby girl in prison, who was placed in foster care
But Jordan’s death caused ripples within the childwelfare system.
It emerged Charisse, who was jobless, struggling for money and about to be evicted, had been missing counselling sessions. Failing to stay in touch with care workers and refusing to answer the door.
In fact, a case worker had visited Jordan the day before he’d died.
Charisse had refused to let them in at first. When she relented, the flat appeared bare but safe.
The case worker spoke to Charisse for an hour, warning her that if she didn’t comply, Jordan would again be removed from her care.
No one was found to be at fault, it was said Jordan’s murder couldn’t have been foreseen.
But in July 2020, Jordan’s Law was passed.
It’s aim was to increase communication between police and care workers. To train staff to catch red flags in a child’s life before the case turned traumatic or fatal.
That October, as part of a plea deal, Charisse Stinson, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and making a false report to a police officer. She was handed a 50-year jail term. ‘It is a long time but I will walk with my head held high. I apologise for the pain I have caused,’ she said. Little Jordan Belliveau wasn’t given the fair, loving, secure start he deserved. His life tragically cut short.
But with Jordan’s Law, he leaves an important legacy.
The search ended in the worst possible way