Sam and Juliet Warren said they had watched over Jordan for more than a year of his life.
The 2-year-old Florida boy who police believe was killed by his mother had been in the custody of foster mother and father who wanted to adopt the toddler before he was returned to his biological parents, the devastated couple said.
Jordan Belliveau was found dead on Tuesday in a wooded area in Largo.
His mother, Charisse Stinson, had reported him missing several days earlier, telling police she had accepted a ride from a stranger named Antwan who knocked her out and took off with her son Saturday.
But by Wednesday, authorities said Stinson, 21, had admitted there was no such man and she had made up the entire story.
“The injuries to her were, by her own admission, self-inflicted,” Largo Police Lt. Randall Chaney told reporters Wednesday. “And at in the time in question when she stated she was unconscious in the park, she was actually in another location, which is where we subsequently found [Jordan’s] body."
Jordan had been in foster care for at least a year, according to his foster parents.
“We loved Jordan deeply and we are devastated by his loss,” Sam Warren said. Jordan was placed with Sam and Juliet Warren in January 2017, he said.
As his wife cried beside him, Sam Warren shared their own memories of the boy with reporters Wednesday.
“We want you to know a bit about the Jordan that we knew,” he said. “He wasn’t just the boy in the AMBER alert.
“Jordan was filled with joy,” had added. “Most folks knew him [as] the Jordan that was laid back with an easy smile and a twinkle in his eye. He was our Mr. Chuckles. Like most other little boys, we saw Jordan’s mischievous side as well. We are devastated by his loss.”
Surrounded by people that loved him deeply, Jordan learned how to roll over, crawl, walk and talk in the Warren home, he said.
“He flourished and grew in a community that loved him deeply as well,” Sam Warren said.
Jordan was removed from the Warren home in May 2018, he said.
“But for a court order, he would still be safe in our home,” Sam Warren said.
Stinson allegedly admitted to police that she killed Jordan in a “moment of frustration,” which “in turn caused the back of his head to strike an interior wall of her home,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by WFTS-TV.
"After the blow to the head, the victim suffered seizures during the night, which lead to further decline [in his health], resulting in his death," the affidavit stated.
Instead of getting help, according to the affidavit, Stinson took her son to the wooded area where his body was found Tuesday.
While Stinson spoke with detectives, “There was no feeling within it, there was no remorse, only her attempting to escape the reality of the story by making things up as she went,” Chaney said Wednesday.
A history of domestic violence reportedly exists between Jordan’s parents, as Jordan's father was arrested for allegedly punching Jordan's mother in the mouth, according to WFLA-TV. Jordan's father had an alibi in his son's case, police said.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was investigating the family and agents had seen Jordan at his home on Friday, just one day before Stinson reported him missing, Largo police said.
The Warrens said the system had failed their foster son by having him returned to a home that was potentially dangerous.
“He was failed by many people who should have protected him, but didn’t,” Sam Warren said. “Promises that were made to us about how he would be protected after his return were broken. Ultimately we have hope that our painful loss will result in a fundamental reexamination of the entire system of how foster care works, of the reunification process. Jordan deserves that and the other children in the system need that."
DCF is reportedly working to compile abuse records concerning Jordan’s biological family.
Stinson, who is reportedly pregnant with another child, was charged with aggravated child abuse and murder in the first degree.
She appeared in court Wednesday, where bond was set at $500,000.
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