The Jo-Jo King Case: Does This Story Add Up? | Forensic Files

JoJo was healthy, energetic, smart, athletic. So, walking into that room and seeing him hooked up to life
support, I'm in shock like, "What happened?" But, when I'm listening to the story,
I'm shaking my head because it's not making sense. I'm not going to lie to you. This is
very suspicious. I'm just like, "Does my son have to die for y'all to do something to help me?"
Does my son have to die for y'all to do something to help me? >> The story I have for you today is going
to be hard to hear. But, when people don't listen to the tough stuff, that is what lets a system that doesn't protect
kids perpetuate. So, I beg you to hear today's story about a first-grader found unresponsive in his home in Grand
Prairie, Texas. The explanation that his stepfather gives is that he got trapped inside a
toy chest and couldn't breathe. But, when that theory is put to the test, it doesn't add up.
Yet, no one has been held responsible for this young boy's death. So, his father is making sure that no
one forgets his son's name. This is the story of Joseph JoJo King the third. Joseph King Jr.'s world collapsed a few
weeks before the rest of us were rocked by lockdowns and a global pandemic. It was February 23rd, 2020 when his
phone rang just before midnight. No good call comes at that hour. So, he was bracing himself when he answered. But,
there was nothing that could have prepared him for what was said. His 6-year-old son, Joseph King III, his
Jojo, was unconscious and at the hospital. Now, there wasn't much more information for him at that time. This
is all pretty recent, but he, dad, lives in Georgia and Jojo lives with his mom and stepfather in Texas. So, he needs to
get on the first flight out to be with his son. Joseph is in knots as he makes the trip and he still doesn't know much.
I mean, he had just FaceTimed with his son the day before. He was perfectly healthy and happy, pumped about starting
baseball. Like, how could this possibly be happening? How could he be in the hospital now? Now, when he finally
arrives at Children's Medical Center in Dallas that next morning, it is even worse than he imagined.
Jojo is not just unconscious, he is on life support. Doctors say that he suffered a brain injury from lack of
oxygen, likely from being stuck in a toy chest where his stepdad found him. >> like a toy box thing? Like he climbed in
and accidentally got stuck? >> That is what his stepdad is saying. Brandon Hale, the stepdad, says that he
was home with Jojo when it happened. Jojo's mom, Jessica, basically left for a baby shower at around 2:30 p.m. and
then at some point that afternoon, Brandon took this short nap, but he was woken up not too long after, just before
5:00 because he got a text from his wife reminding him to give Jojo his medication.
So, he said he searched the townhouse and he couldn't find Jojo anywhere. So, he even texts Jessica back like 5
minutes later asking if Jojo was with her. >> Which doesn't make sense cuz she's not
going to text you about giving him medicine if she has him. >> don't know what he was thinking, but no,
he is obviously not with mom. So then, Brandon went downstairs to check the front door, make sure that Jojo didn't
leave while he was sleeping, but he saw that it was still locked. So, he goes back upstairs and for some unknown
reason, he decided to check in the toy chest in Jojo's bedroom. And there he was, not breathing. Now,
Jojo's dad, Joseph, is standing there beside his son's hospital bed listening to Brandon's explanation.
And to him, something just doesn't sound right. And he's not just thinking that as a dad, he's thinking that as a
detective. Because Joseph just so happens to be a homicide homicide detective in Atlanta. And hearing that
his son was home alone with Brandon when something went down immediately sets off
alarm bells. Because he knows something you don't. Let me rewind almost a year back to
March of 2019. One day, Jojo showed up to school and he couldn't sit down. Teachers noticed that he had a bit of a
limp, as well. So, they like pull him aside. And what becomes visible up close is that there are multiple loop-shaped
bruises across the backs of both of his thighs. When they ask him about it, Jojo
tells them that his dad, meaning his stepfather, Brandon, beat him with a belt. So, police came, they responded, and the
Texas Department of Family Protective Services, which is DFPS, they opened an investigation. Brandon admits that he
used a belt, and it sounds like he and Jessica both describe using some forms of corporal punishment as discipline.
>> But DFPS ends up ruling reason to believe for physical abuse. That's officially documented then.
>> Oh, yeah. Reason to believe means that DFPS determined abuse did occur. And so,
Brandon gets indicted for injury to a child. But here is where it gets complicated.
Joseph, Jojo's biological father living in Georgia, isn't notified about any of this right away. Even though he had been
active in his son's life, he saw him over summers and during holidays, talked to him nearly every day.
But, as soon as he does find out, he told our team that he started trying to get custody. I mean, he goes right to
DFPS, the very people who say that they have reason to believe that this young boy is being abused in his home.
But, he says that they told him they don't remove children in situations like this.
>> In situations like this >> With abuse? That's what they said. So, he tried going through family court. He
tried going to detectives at Grand Prairie PD, but they point him right back to DFPS. So, as kind of a last
resort, a way to protect his son from far away, he applied for a protective order on behalf of Jojo. But, according
to him, a judge wouldn't sign it because Jojo lived in the same home as the person that he was asking for him to be
protected from, aka Brandon. >> Domestic abuse happens in the home all the time. Like, that's what domestic
means. >> It doesn't even make sense. It isn't even logical. >> I know. >> So, basically, if Joseph wanted to get
Jojo out of that home, the really only option that they left him with is to kidnap Jojo, and they'd have to go on
the run cuz he'd be a fugitive as the non-custodial parent. >> is not much of an option, is it? And
Britt, this is the part that stays with him. Joseph said that he remembers literally
asking officials, "Does my son have to die for someone to help us?" That question now echoes in the ICU,
too. Because the man who admitted to striking his son with a belt is the same man who
was home alone with him when he stopped breathing. And he's able to stand there in that
hospital on that day in February 2020, because even though DFPS said that they had reason to believe Brandon abused
Jojo in 2019, they closed the case documenting that the risk level was low. He got 4 years
deferred adjudication probation. Translation, no formal conviction as long as he complies with his probation.
That is zero jail time. So, the fact that Brandon was home alone with Jojo, back living in the house with him at the
time that this happened, apparently all of that is by the books as far as the court and DFPS were concerned.
Doctors explained that Jojo's brain had suffered severe swelling from prolonged lack of oxygen. They tell Joseph the
next 48 to 72 hours are going to determine everything for Jojo. But all he can do now is wait.
But as he waits, he can't help replaying his question. Does my son have to die for someone to help us? And he's also
replaying the story he heard from Brandon. And the more times it loops in his brain, and the more information he
starts collecting from doctors and from police, the less Brandon's story makes sense to Joseph the dad and Joseph the
detective. Some cases fade from headlines. Some never made it there to begin with. I'm
Ashley Flowers and on my podcast, The Deck, I tell you the stories of cold cases featured on playing cards
distributed in prisons designed to spark new leads and bring long overdue justice. Because these stories deserve
to be heard and the loved ones of these victims still deserve answers. Are you ready to be dealt in? Listen to The Deck
now wherever you get your podcasts. >> From the very start, the timeline Brandon gave seems shaky to Joseph.
Initially, the story that Brandon told made it seem like he just took this quick little cat nap, like 30 minutes or
so. That doesn't make sense to Joseph. The doctor told him Jojo was like that because of prolonged lack of oxygen.
>> Right. Now, conveniently, Brandon's story morphs over time. That 30-minute nap changes to a I don't know how long
it was, to eventually saying that he was sleeping nearly the entire afternoon while he was supposed to be supervising
Jojo. And then, there is this whole weird thing with CPR. At first, Brandon's story was that he
pulled Jojo from the chest, performed CPR, and called 911. But Joseph finds out that when Brandon
called 911 at 4:58 p.m., the dispatcher had to tell him to put Jojo on the floor
and begin compressions. But when she is spoken to, she says from what she could tell over the phone or whatever, it
didn't seem like he was actually doing it. And when EMS arrived by 5:11, they documented that he is not doing CPR
compressions. First responders find Jojo not breathing, without a pulse, while Brandon is just screaming "God, no!" and
crying, rocking, hitting the wall. >> Which could just be panic, though. >> Sure.
But how about this? As far as we know, nowhere in Brandon's story does he offer up an explanation
for why Jojo is wet. And I'm not just talking like sweaty from being stuck inside a constricted
space for a long time. Wet from his nose all the way down to his hips. And police also document a wet
towel in the bathroom, and the bed is wet. >> I mean, how wet are we talking here?
>> I don't know exactly because as of this recording we haven't gotten any photos
or body cam footage from the Grand Prairie Police Department in response to our FOIA, but I will say at least some
of the wetness, at least the some of the wetness on JoJo himself is urine because
responding officers say that he smells of urine, which makes sense to me. I mean, especially for a little kid
trapped in any way or dying. Like your body is panicking or as you like lose consciousness you sometimes can lose
control of bodily functions. But the reports don't fully explain why that other stuff would be wet. But in
Brandon's version of events, none of this makes sense anyway because even if JoJo lost control of his bladder and all
of the wetness on him was urine, that would probably happen when he's in the chest, right?
>> Yeah. >> Like there's nothing mentioned in Brandon's statement like, oh, JoJo had
just taken a bath earlier. It wasn't like, oh, I knocked over water while trying to save him. It was just he was
in the toy chest. Like full stop. And he doesn't even appear like he tries to address the wetness stuff.
>> So, putting the wetness aside for a sec, uh say Brandon really is napping and
JoJo is getting himself and other things wet for like whatever reason. I've had a
first grader, I have a second grader. There are wildness that happens. The thing I'm having a hard time
understanding is that if he accidentally goes in the toy chest, why can't he get
himself out? Like he's six. Like he's not like a baby or even a little toddler. >> So, it does seem with this specific toy
chest that if it shuts that it would automatically lock. So, like he wouldn't have been able to open it back up on his
own from the inside. You can only do that from the outside. But to your point, like I'm still trying to figure out why
he couldn't have gotten help even if that I mean, we know that's like that's how it works, but even if that's what
happened because Joseph he's like like big athletic kid. You would think that he would at least
be able to bang, yell, scream, make some noise. And this isn't a huge townhome or anything.
I mean, like I I know Brandon's sleeping. I don't know how hard of a sleeper he is. And he's,
you know, out for maybe some or all of the afternoon. But another thought that crossed Joseph's mind is that maybe JoJo
had been incapacitated in some way. Now, the suggestion that Joseph said, his ex
Jessica kind of threw out there, was that maybe JoJo had jumped from the bed, hit the chest, the
top like slammed shut, and then he got knocked out or something somehow. >> Already feels kind of improbable.
>> Yeah, and it doesn't line up with his known injuries. According to Joseph's doctor, they tell him there doesn't seem
to be any significant head injuries that would explain JoJo's like falling unconscious. And there was no
obstruction blocking his airway, either, as if he had choked on a small toy or something while he was in there that
like kept him from crying out for help. So >> I don't know what's worse, thinking of
him like trapped in there unconscious, or trapped in there like crying to get out and no
one's helping him. >> The same question echoes, right? Does my son have to die for someone to help us?
This is not really a question that you want to get an answer to while your son is on life support.
But days pass, the swelling in JoJo's brain doesn't go down, and he never regains consciousness.
On February 27th, 2020, doctors pronounced JoJo dead. Joseph made the decision to donate his
son's organs when he died, because it is the only thing he can do that makes him
feel like some ounce of good could come out of something so horrific. And then after that,
he went to work for his son. Because the autopsy that was performed came back as manner of death
undetermined. With the cause of death listed as global hypoxic encephalopathy. And they say it was due to smothering
with absence of oxygen following prolonged entrapment in a sealed toy chest. >> That sounds like tragic accident
territory maybe. >> In the wrong hands, I think it would be. But Joseph isn't going to just walk away
because of an undetermined ruling. He claims that he had to push for Grand Prairie PD to have a different detective
put fresh eyes on his son's case. And thank God he did. And thank God they listened. Because as part of this fresh
look, they actually decide to test the ME's ruling. That whole part about lack of
oxygen because he was in a sealed toy chest. Because was it even sealed? >> Wait, I I thought they already checked
that. And like they know it locks if it shuts like automatically. >> They know that it automatically locks
and if it shuts. But by the time of JoJo's autopsy, it doesn't seem like anyone had actually tested whether or
not air could flow through when it was shut so and locked. >> locked versus like airtight.
>> And guess what? They test this thing by putting a light inside. And light shines
through the cracks. Which means if light can get through the cracks, >> that means air has got to be able to
pass through too. >> Precisely. So it was not sealed like the autopsy said. Then while investigators
are at it, they also tried to recreate the scene. They use a mannequin similar in size to JoJo. And this thing barely
fits inside the chest at all because the chest wasn't empty when Brandon says he
went in there. There were toys inside of it. Specifically, there was this large Batman doll that took up a significant
amount of space. So, with all of this new info, the medical examiner actually goes back to amend the report. In
non-medical jargon, it now says that Jojo died from lack of oxygen, but they just can't say how.
>> Undetermined. >> Still undetermined. But, there is one more addition to this report that makes
Joseph stop cold in his tracks and just have this like almost like I freaking knew it moment,
right? Like this aha moment. And here, Brett, I'm actually just going to have you read it because
you'll know exactly what he was feeling. >> Responding officers reported the decedent was wet when they arrived on
the scene and there was concern for possible homicidal drowning. >> Now, it's not a ruling, just a concern for
homicidal drowning. But, it's concern enough for investigators to reassess everything, to go back to the drawing
board, and to try and figure out if Jojo didn't die from being trapped in a toy chest, then what really killed him?
Joseph couldn't be side by side with investigators as they work to find the answers. They had to keep him at an
arm's length to protect their investigation. So, he would have to wait until 2023
to hear any other possible theory about what could have happened to his son. Now, this time, Joseph is back in Texas,
not at a hospital, but in a courthouse in Tarrant County. That is where Brandon is going before a judge. And he's not
going before a judge for murder charges. This isn't a trial. This is a hearing to
determine whether he violated his probation. >> Oh, what? >> He was still on probation for the 2019
belt incident when Jojo died in 2020. >> Oh. >> So, basically prosecutors believe
>> this happened >> of 2020 that that violated the probation from that like that incident. But, this
is 2023. It took them >> 3 years to get to court on this? >> I don't know why it took so long.
Detectives and the DA's office didn't talk to us for this episode. But, remember, I mean, it did take a
different detective digging into this case to even get some of these answers. So, I assume that took some time to get
sorted. Then, Joseph thinks maybe because the manner of death was undetermined. I don't know, like at some
point, like they probably just figured that a probation violation would be much easier to get this guy on. Like, okay,
like let's all try to put him away for some time for something. >> Yeah. >> But, the easy thing is not always the
right thing. And being in law enforcement himself, Joseph says that he is certainly surprised that they didn't
go for more by the time 2023 rolls around. Because once he hears what it is that they presented under oath, he is
even more sure that his son did not die in the way that Brandon claimed. At this hearing, the state doesn't have
to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. They just have to convince the judge that Brandon committed a new
offense while on probation. That's it. And to do that, they walk through the evidence again. Some of the
same things that Joseph heard before. Information regarding questionable timeline, the possibility that
life-saving measures weren't attempted despite instructions from 911 to do so, and Brandon's own statement that he did.
Now, Brandon ends up testifying that he did give breaths and compressions with one hand. But, then later, he reportedly
stated that he felt Jojo was already dead and didn't really see the point. So, again, statements don't quite line
up. But then comes the new stuff. And it all mainly focuses on the weirdest and most glaringly strange part of this
case. The fact that Jojo and some parts of this scene were wet. Now, the initial
responding deputy takes the stand and we finally get details about what he witnessed. In the bathroom, he saw that
the toys in the bathtub were wet. And there is a towel at the base of the toilet that is wet, too. Now, based on
the floor plan of this place, it looks like the toilet is right up next to the tub. And while there's no way to tell
how the things in the bath got wet, what he does notice is that the toilet bowl itself, like the water in it, it appears
like it's half full. As if an object had been placed into it. That's the language that he uses.
>> An object like the toys? >> I don't know if they were ever in the toilet, but I think it would have taken
something larger to displace half the water in the toilet. And I don't think it takes Sherlock to see what he's
trying to suggest here based on how he describes Jojo. Now, remember, he says that Jojo is wet from the nose down to
his hips. Now, the wetness isn't around his whole body. Apparently, it is just this strip down the front of him.
>> Is he saying that Jojo was somehow like dunked in the toilet or >> No. He is just saying what he saw. The
toilet water is displaced and he is wet down the front of him. Now, Brandon's wife, Jojo's mom, Jessica,
testifies that if the towel and the tub toys were like wet, it might have been from a bath the night before.
But Joseph usually bathed between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. This was nearly 24 hours later.
>> Okay, we haven't really talked about Jessica that much. Where does she stand in all of this? Like is she siding with
Brandon? >> Well, in a DFPS document that we have, it states that Jessica and Brandon got
an attorney and refused to cooperate with DFPS or law enforcement following Jojo's death, or at least like at the
time that this document was prepared. And honestly, from what we can tell, yeah, she seems to still be with Brandon
and supporting him. Her belief appears to be that this was all a very terrible, tragic accident. And Jessica faces no
charges related to her son or his death. Now, we tried to reach out to her for this episode, but she declined to
participate. In fact, she made it clear that she didn't want this story to be told at all.
>> Interesting. So, say the bath and the toys and the towel were all still wet from the night before when he
took his bath and not something that happened in the bathroom on the 23rd. Is it possible that the wet strip down the
front of his body was from Jojo peeing himself? Like if he was kind of upside down in the chest or something,
it might have like like run up his body like while he was upside down. >> So, I see what you're saying, but I can
actually tell you for sure that's not what happened. I mean, A, then we would be going back to saying that the toy
chest like is sealed and suffocated him, which we now know that's not even possible. But B, at the hearing, we get
this strange detail that comes out. There was no documented moisture or smell of urine inside the actual toy
chest. And when they later tested the Batman stuffed toy that was in there, it did not show residual traces of urine,
either. >> Ashley, was he ever in the toy chest at all? >> This is the question, Brett. I don't see
any proof of that. I mean, we have urine present. It sounds like we also have some water present, but not in the toy
chest. >> is in the chest, which is the crux of Brandon's whole story. >> Yeah. >> And let me tell you one more thing that
for me, like this thing is what really painted a picture. When the responding deputy testified on
the witness stand about the bed, he said that when he pulled the covers back, he
found that it was wet in the middle about where Jojo's bottom would have been if he was laying on the bed.
>> Just that area. >> Yes, from what I can tell, that's what he's saying. Now, the thing I don't know
for sure is if that wetness was water or urine. And if that wetness happened before or after the toilet bowl losing
water. >> Right. >> Like did Jojo have an accident and then whatever happened after that was
prompted by that accident. >> Or did something happen in the bathroom and then he was put or went to bed?
>> it was the front of him is what is wet. As if his In my mind, as if his face was
pushed into the bowl of water and then the water ran down the front of him when he was pulled out.
>> The thing I don't get though is if he had drowned, wouldn't that be in the ME's report? Like that's pretty
like cut and dry. I know there was like a what {quote} {unquote} concern for homicidal drowning, but
drowning is cut and dry. Like was there water in his >> lungs or was there not? >> and dry when someone immediately dies
from drowning. This one is complicated because of the fact that Jojo didn't die right away, right?
>> in the hospital for so long. >> During this hearing, the medical examiner testifies that there was water
present in Joseph's airways. But that doesn't necessarily mean drowning because Joseph had been on a ventilator
for several days before he died and the ME testified that fluid in the airways can be consistent with prolonged
ventilator use. So, according to this ME, there is just no way to narrow down the list by
testing for drowning in cases like this. Which means the autopsy can say asphyxia, meaning he couldn't get
oxygen. It can say that there is a concern for something, but it can't say how the oxygen deprivation happened.
Now, the state's argument is that if the toy chest theory doesn't work and drowning can't be ruled out
and there is no trauma, then the only explanation left is that someone caused the asphyxiation and the only someone in
that house was Brandon. But, the defense argues that it was an accident inside the toy chest.
>> How are we still talking about this toy chest? Like, it feels irrelevant at this
point. >> because the ruling is undetermined. And maybe, maybe because dying by being locked in a toy chest
didn't just come out of thin air for this case. I mean, I did a quick Google search and
there are stories of children, mostly younger than Jojo, getting stuck in toy chests. And I think it's a lot of these
like old chests that are often passed down like family heirlooms and they obviously don't pass like modern safety
checks or anything like that. >> have a chest like this in my room that has like blankets in it, but like it
shuts, it locks. You If you were inside, you couldn't get out. I can see it, but
like >> That's not what Jojo >> was in. >> Well, that's what I'm saying. It's important to note that at this hearing,
they established that the cedar chest in Jojo's room was not even originally designed as a toy chest. It's kind of
like what you're saying you have. It was like this vintage Lane cedar hope chest
thing manufactured decades ago, like 1956. And to be fair, like over the years certain Lane cedar chests with
like automatically locking lids had been subject to recalls. Children had gotten
trapped inside them. Sadly, some had even suffocated. So, historically, this is not unheard of.
And at first glance, sure, like if similar chests had trapped children before, it makes the story feel
plausible. But there is the nuance that like comes out in court. Testimony clarified that this specific chest, the
one that they're saying Jojo might have gotten trapped in, it was not confirmed to be part of any recall. So, it's not
like investigators found a recall sticker or a defect notice like tied to this exact chest. And remember, even if
Jojo had been locked inside the chest, >> just I was just going to bring up like
the chest is not air is not airtight. Like he >> What? >> air passes through. >> So, exactly, it is irrelevant to me if
other kids died in similar chests. A kid could not die in this one chest. There was no gasket or seal that would make it
airtight. And that is where the state lands. They're not arguing that toy chest accidents have never happened.
>> Right. >> They're arguing that this specific one does not explain the scene that they're
presented with. Because if the chest isn't airtight, if the mannequin barely fits in it, if there is moisture
elsewhere and not in the chest, then the explanation changes. After days of testimony,
after the timelines dissected, the CPR thing, the wetness, the toy chest testing, and amended autopsy are all
laid out in that courtroom, it's time for the judge to rule. And remember, this is not a murder
trial. >> I was just like having to like pull myself back to be like what is even the
verdict here? Cuz it's just a probation hearing. >> This is the judge, yeah, isn't being
asked to determine exactly how Jojo died. He is being asked one thing. Did Brandon Hale violate the terms of his
probation from the 2019 injury to a child case by committing a new offense in February
of 2020? That's it. And if he did, then his probation is revoked. In December of 2023,
the judge makes his decision, and he finds that Brandon did violate the terms of his probation. His deferred
adjudication from the 2019 belt incident is revoked, and he's formally found guilty in that original injury to a
child case. So, he gets sentenced to 10 years in prison. Not for murder, but for the 2019 abuse.
And that is the only conviction connected to JoJo's case. >> He had to die for someone to help him.
And then they didn't even hold anyone accountable for his actual death. >> Listen.
Our team reached out to both Brandon in prison and his attorney for comment. But as of this recording, we have not
gotten a response. And we also contacted the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office for clarity
about whether additional charges would ever be pursued. They did not give us an answer. But we had our legal team look
into this, and they confirmed that the DA could bring new charges against Brandon Hale anytime they see fit. It
wouldn't even necessarily require new evidence. DFPS did provide us with public records, but they didn't answer
our specific questions about why JoJo's original case went the way it did. I want to know why he was allowed back in
that home. How did a 6-year-old boy die from lack of oxygen inside his own home while he was alone with the man who
admitted to beating him with a belt? And how did this happen less than a year after the system had already
substantiated abuse? There's been a resounding word throughout this entire episode.
Undetermined. >> Mhm. >> Undetermined cause, undetermined manner, undetermined answers.
There is one thing that was never undetermined. Jojo mattered. He mattered to his dad,
his real-life superhero who he wanted to be like when he grew up. And he mattered
to the little girl who got to live more life and spend precious final moments with her family because of his organ
donation. And he mattered to the people who saw him every day at school, to the janitor
who came to visit him while he was in the hospital because he said that Jojo never just walked by him like the other
kids. He always stopped and gave him a hug. He made him feel special. That's who Jojo was.
For dad, Joseph, this was never just about a probation violation. It was about protection. Now, instead of
letting his grief swallow him into silence, it propels him forward. He tells Jojo's story publicly any chance
he can get, not because it's easy, but because it's necessary. He speaks to other law enforcement officers about
what went wrong, about what might have been done differently, how to keep this from happening to another child, another
family. He fights for accountability because he knows what it feels like to beg for help
and to not be heard. >> I got on FaceTime with my family and let all my family say goodbye to him in the
hospital room. And then when I hung up, I walked over to him and I leaned over and I whispered in his ear. I said,
"Don't worry. Daddy got you. He going to find out what happened." >> If you feel strongly about Jojo's case
after hearing the story, you can call the Tarrant County, Texas District Attorney's Office at 817-884-1400.
Tell them you want them to take another look at this case. Tell them that you want justice for
Joseph JoJo King the third. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website
crimejunkie.com. >> And you can follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast. >> We'll be back next week with a brand new
episode.

On February 23, 2020, 6-year-old Joseph “Jo-Jo” King III was found unresponsive inside his home in Grand Prairie, Texas. According to his stepfather, Brandon Hale, Jo-Jo had become trapped inside a toy chest and couldn’t breathe. But when investigators began testing that explanation… it didn’t hold up.

Jo-Jo was rushed to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where doctors determined he had suffered a severe brain injury caused by lack of oxygen. Days later, he died.

From the beginning, Jo-Jo’s father, Joseph King Jr., a homicide detective in Atlanta, Georgia, believed something wasn’t right. And the deeper investigators looked, the more questions emerged. The toy chest was not airtight. A mannequin Jojo’s size could barely fit inside it. There were unexplained signs of moisture throughout the home. CPR may not have been performed despite instructions from 911.

Even more troubling, less than a year earlier, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) had already determined there was “Reason to Believe” Jo-Jo had been physically abused in that same home. Yet he remained there.

Jo-Jo’s death was ultimately ruled undetermined. But years later, in December 2023, Brandon Hale’s probation from the prior abuse case was revoked, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, not for Jo-Jo’s death, but for the earlier incident.

No one has been charged in connection with what happened to Jo-Jo on that day in 2020.

In this episode, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the evidence, the inconsistencies, and the system failures that may have allowed this tragedy to happen, and ask the question that still remains: What really caused Joseph “Jo-Jo” King III’s death?

Key Episode Moments: 0:00 Intro 1:37 The Midnight Call: Feb 23, 2020 2:47 The Stepfather’s Toy Chest Theory 4:14 Red Flags: Detective vs. Dad 5:26 2019 DFPS Abuse Investigation 9:38 Timeline Gaps & The CPR Call 11:05 Evidence: The Wet Bathroom Scene 16:05 Testing the Airtight Chest Theory 18:46 2023 Hearing & Probation Revoked 32:44 Justice for Joseph "Jojo" King III -------- Follow Crime Junkie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrimeJunkiePod Crime Junkie is created and hosted by Ashley Flowers.

About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

Follow Ashley: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ASHLEYFLOWERS/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ash_flowers TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyflowerscrimejunkie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyflowers.af/

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Brief Summary

Joseph "JoJo" King III died under suspicious circumstances, raising questions about child protective services and his stepfather's involvement.

Key points

A Father's Despair. Joseph King III faces the unimaginable as his son JoJo is hospitalized.
The Tragic Incident. JoJo is found unresponsive, leading to a complex investigation.
Legal Delays. Three years pass before Brandon faces a judge for probation violations.
Brandon's Conviction. Brandon is sentenced to 10 years in prison for a previous child abuse case.
The Undetermined Case. The cause of Jojo's death remains undetermined, raising questions about accountability.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is the story of Joseph JoJo King the third.

Introduction to the tragic story.

1:23WatchMar 30, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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