Insets, from left: Montrell Jolly (Tippecanoe County Jail) and Ke'andre Jolly (GoFundMe). Background: The 800 block of North 13th Street in Lafayette, Indiana, where Jolly beat Ke'andre to death (Google Maps).
An Indiana man will spend decades in prison for beating his 4-year-old cousin to death because the boy was putting his shoes on the wrong feet and sitting down to pee.
Montrell Dionte Jolly, 36, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the death of young Ke'andre Jolly, the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's Office said.
Jolly pleaded guilty in July to murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, aggravated battery, and battery resulting in death to a person less than 14 years old and being a habitual offender due to three prior felony convictions.
On July 28, 2023, law enforcement in Lafayette responded to a 911 call about a child who was having a potential seizure, according to an affidavit of probable cause in the case. Paramedics arrived at the home on the 800 block of North 13 Street and found Ke'andre Shamar Jolly, 4, unconscious.
The boy was found "soaking wet" on the floor of the residence, a paramedic told police. The inside of the house was filled with "a smoky haze" and the "odor of marijuana," the affidavit says. There were "no visible signs of injury," on the child, the paramedic observed, but he was "unresponsive" and "one pupil appeared constricted" while "one pupil appeared blown," which is "indicative of a head injury."
Investigators later noted the presence of blood on the bathroom counter and sink, damage to the bathroom door, and "multiple bloodstains" on walls in multiple bedrooms.
Ke'andre was rushed to a local hospital and later airlifted to a children's hospital in Indianapolis. Staff at the initial hospital notified the Lafayette Police Department the child "suffered non-accidental trauma," the affidavit says. Ke'andre died on Aug. 1, 2023, from blunt force injuries to his head.
During an interview with police, Jolly said he was "disciplining" the child by making him "do wall sits because Ke'andre had put his shoes on the incorrect feet," according to the affidavit.
Jolly said he made Ke'andre do wall sits while the boy extended his arms forward on a "daily" basis.
"Montrell expressed frustration with Ke'andre's dependence on his mother. Montrell advised Ke'andre was crying during the wall sits and was not doing them correctly, so Montrell moved Ke'andre to Montrell's bedroom to do the wall-sits there so Montrell could supervise the wall sits better," the affidavit stated.
At one point, the defendant allegedly told police, he allowed the child to use the restroom. That just made the man more angry.
"Montrell got upset again because Ke'andre was going to sit on the toilet to urinate instead of standing 'like a regular boy,'" the affidavit of probable cause continues. "Montrell made Ke'andre stand to use the restroom and then return to the wall to do wall sits."
Jolly forced the boy to put the shoes on the correct foot, but he couldn't do it. More wall sits ensued.
"Montrell advised Ke'andre continued to whine but then suddenly stopped making any noise, so Montrell looked at Ke'andre and observed he was on the ground near the corner of the door frame with blood coming out of his mouth."
After that, the defendant said he tried to wake the boy up but couldn't, so he put him in the bathtub and sprayed him with cold water, to no avail. About 20 minutes later, police allege, an adult in the house — either the defendant or the boy's mother — called 911.
Throughout the wall-sit punishment and the child's loss of consciousness on the day in question, his mother was in and out of the house buying groceries and then unloading them from the car and putting them away, she told police. She said she was aware of the discipline her son received — and that it was happening because he had incorrectly put his shoes on.
Police determined that Ke'andre's injuries were not from wall sits but from a beating.
Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report
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