New court documents detail abuse of Jhessye Shockley

PHOENIX - New court documents reveal shocking details in the alleged abuse of 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley that led up to the day she was reported missing.

The Glendale girl was reported missing on Oct. 11 near Glendale and 45th avenues.

According to paperwork, family members initially told investigators that they saw Jhessye the day she was reported missing.

They were told to clean the leaves in the backyard, but Jhessye never came outside to help and they never saw her again, according to paperwork.

A family member later told investigators that Jhessye’s mother Jerice Hunter said to lie to police about her being missing.

The family member reportedly told police she had actually not seen Jhessye since Sept. 12 despite her reported disappearance on Oct. 11.

After further questioning, the family member then told police Jhessye was seen in Hunter’s closet asleep with several bruises and cuts on her face and body.

Jhessye’s eyes were black and slightly open, the court documents said.

The family member also later described Jhessye as “not looking alive and that she looked like a zombie.”

According to paperwork, the family member also said the closet where Jhessye had been “looked like a grave and smelled like dead people.”

The family member reportedly said Hunter had placed incense in a container to conceal the odor.

Hunter spent the entire day cleaning the apartment a few days before Jhessye was reported missing, according to the family member.

Paperwork states that credit card records indicate Hunter had purchased several food items and a bottle of bleach from a Walgreens store on Oct. 9, two days before Jhessye was reported missing.

School records indicate Jhessye’s last day at school was Sept. 22, 2011.

Records from the school also showed that Hunter reported Jhessye was suffering from ringworm and later had pink eye, court documents stated.

Both cases were not confirmed by a doctor, according to paperwork.

The court documents were released Tuesday morning after Hunter’s initial court appearance for child abuse charges.

Following the court hearing, Jerice Hunter's father told reporters his daughter is innocent.

"We haven't done anything," said Jesse Johnson. "My daughter hasn't done anything. My daughter doesn't have anything to do with this."