New charges likely against Las Vegas parents in death of 2-year-old

Prosecutors intend to pursue additional charges against a couple accused of killing their 2-year-old son, whose body was found in a dumpster near downtown Las Vegas last month.

A grand jury returned an indictment on Friday against Diaja Smith, 23, and Jacoby Robinson, 24, on charges of murder with a deadly weapon and child abuse, neglect or endangerment with a deadly weapon.

The two appeared in court on Wednesday morning, when Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said that he intends to file additional charges against them.

“There’s at least one additional event that’s going to be indicted,” he said.

DiGiacomo did not give more details about the upcoming charges. He also said that the case is going to be presented to a committee that will determine if prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Police found the body of 2-year-old Jacoby Robinson Jr. in a dumpster early June 7, hours after Smith reported him missing from a park less than a block away, near Lewis Avenue and South 15th Street. The boy’s body showed signs of physical abuse to his head, torso and buttocks, according to an arrest report.

Smith and Robinson were both captured on surveillance footage leaving an apartment complex on Thursday evening. The video showed Smith pushing Jacoby Jr. in a stroller toward the dumpster where he was found.

A detective testified to a grand jury that Smith admitted the boy was dead when he was in the stroller, according to transcripts of a grand jury hearing.

Smith had her two other young children with her when she reported Jacoby Jr. missing. Officials noted signs of physical abuse on her other son, who was hospitalized with a brain bleed and placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

A detective testified to the grand jury that the three children were previously in foster care, but that Smith regained custody in April, and Child Protective Services closed the case on May 14 — just over three weeks before Jacoby Jr. was killed.

Smith also has two daughter who were removed from her custody by Child Protective Services in Texas, according to an arrest report.

After Smith was confronted with inconsistencies about her statements, she told police that Jacoby Jr. had a seizure and that the boy’s father attempted to perform CPR on him.

Officials who searched Jacoby Robinson’s phone found that someone used his phone to search “how to perform CPR step-by-step instructions,” according to the grand jury hearing transcripts. About 20 to 30 minutes later, someone used the phone to research bus tickets from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

Both Jacoby Jr. and the boy who were hospitalized had injuries consistent with being whipped, according to the transcripts. It appeared that the boy who was hospitalized was struck with a “small extension cord or charging cord,” a Child Protective Services investigator testified.

A detective testified that Jacoby Robinson told police he did not hit the children himself.

“But he said that he has encouraged Diaja on occasion because he does not whoop them but he tells her to whoop them instead because he’s more powerful as the man in the relationship,” according to the transcripts.

Prosecutors showed the grand jury a letter that Smith wrote to Jacoby Robinson while in jail, in which she admitted to whipping the children, according to the transcripts.

“Why didn’t I listen when I said no more whoopings when you told me to stop whooping the kids,” Smith wrote in the letter, according to the grand jury transcripts.

Smith and Robinson are set to appear for another hearing on Aug. 8.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.