HOUSTON – A jury Thursday decided the punishment for a Houston man they found guilty in his 3-year-old son's 2006 disappearance.
Roderick Fountain, 37, was found guilty of felony murder Wednesday in Kendrick Jackson's death. On Thursday, the jury decided he should pay by spending the rest of his life in prison.
Recommended Videos
Kendrick's mother, Keyanna Jackson, told the judge she'll never forgive Fountain and all she's ever wanted is an answer. One day, she said, she hopes Fountain finds it himself to be a man and tell her where her baby is.
"I just wanted him to answer the question why, that was it." she said.
"I don't think we'll ever know that answer." said prosecutor Lance Long. "But I do think today, in many ways, Kendrick Jackson was finally put to rest."
Kendrick was last seen at his father's apartment on April 7, 2006. He has not been seen since and his body was never found, despite numerous searches.
Prosecutors claim that Fountain beat Kendrick to death the day before he reported him missing.
"(Fountain) was the last person who had custody of him. Think about that. The last person who had him was the defendant. We know the person other than the defendant who last saw Kendrick Jackson alive heard the defendant beating him. We know while that was happening, Kendrick Jackson was crying and then suddenly stopped crying, which was out of character in the way he had behaved in past beatings he had received at the defendant's hand," prosecutor Connie Spence said in closing arguments during the trial.
The defense reminded the jury that Kendrick's body has never been found.
"You have no proof that Kendrick Jackson is dead," defense attorney Charles Brown said. "None. Period. End of story."
Brown said the decision to send him to prison for life is a difficult one to accept.
"My client has never said that he did this, never confessed to this as far as I know." said Brown.
A police detective from Louisiana testified Thursday that Fountain is the main suspect in the death of a 16-year-old boy who was shot multiple times in 2002. A charge in that case was dropped after the main witness recanted, but Fountain's ex-wife told the jury that he confessed to her.
Several people testified in the trial that they saw Fountain hit and try to drown Kendrick.
Fountain was sentenced to 15 years in prison on a felony possession of a firearm conviction shortly after Kendrick's disappearance. Police said they found the weapon as part of the investigation into the boy's disappearance.
Fountain told police in 2006 that his son left his apartment while he was doing laundry. Police believe Fountain killed Kendrick and then hid the boy's body. Witnesses said they saw bruises on the boy's body before he went missing, according to prosecutors.
Fountain has nine children. He was convicted of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute in 1992 and robberies in 1994 and 1997.