May Again Denied Parole But Could be Within Months of Finishing Her Sentence Anyway

May 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

23 year old Jessica Ashley May has again been denied parole but she might have only nine more months behind bars anyway.

May is serving an eight year sentence for attempted aggravated child neglect stemming from the 2015 death of her 23 month old son.

After her most recent parole hearing on May 7, members of the Tennessee Board of Parole voted and concurred that May should be declined parole for the balance of her sentence due to the seriousness of the offense. According to the Tennessee Department of Correction website, May’s sentence is scheduled to end in February, 2020.

She is incarcerated at the Carroll County Jail as a state prisoner.

May stood before Judge Gary McKenzie in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 and entered a plea to attempted aggravated child neglect, a Class B felony, and received an eight year sentence as a range I mitigated offender to serve at least 20% before parole eligibility. At the time May had already served 568 days since her arrest on May 19, 2015.

Less than a week before May’s plea, her fiance’ at the time, Cody Key, now age 27, was handed a 45 year prison term for the beating death of May’s child, 23 month old Colten Alexander May after entering a plea in Putnam County Criminal Court to second degree murder. Key is to serve 100% of the sentence but he was given jail credit of 563 days for time served from May 19, 2015 to December 1, 2016.

Key is incarcerated at the South Central Correctional Center in Wayne County, a Tennessee Department of Correction facility. His prison term is to expire in 2059

The couple brought the child to the emergency room of Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital on Sunday morning, May 17, 2015 but he was already dead. It was determined that the child had suffered internal and other physical injuries that resulted in his death. Law enforcement officers concluded that Key had severely beaten the child and that May knew the abuse was taking place but did nothing to stop it.

May, who was pregnant again at the time of her arrest in 2015, was later transferred to the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction due to her special needs. After giving birth, she was initially incarcerated in the Warren County Jail. Her child was placed in the custody of the Department of Children Services at the time and is reportedly now with May’s family members.

May 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s state lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly stopped by WJLE Thursday to discuss major issues addressed by the Legislature this year.

In a three part video segment, Senator Mark Pody and State Representatives Terri Lynn Weaver and Clark Boyd discussed their stands on issues ranging from the state budget to education and health care to transportation, ethics and judicial reform, among others.

The video segment below deals with education.

May 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

One man was injured Thursday after he lost control of his Chevy pickup truck on West Broad Street and crashed into the side of the building at Gino’s Barbeque.

John Alsup, Jr. was taken by DeKalb EMS to the hospital. Alsup was apparently traveling west when he left the highway and came across the parking lot before hitting the building.

Members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department responded to help Alsup out of the truck. The crash was investigated by the Smithville Police Department.