Former West Point police officer, wife, charged with 2022 death of child
WEST POINT – A former West Point police officer and his wife have been returned to Mississippi on charges connected with the death of their infant 18 months ago.
Donovan Jeffers, 24, and Quiyona Pederson, 25, were arrested nearly three weeks ago in West Virginia as fugitives from justice. The couple was returned to the state this week and booked into the Clay County Detention Center at around 5 p.m. on May 7. Each has been charged with murder.
West Point Police Chief Avery Cook said the case dates back to November 2022 when the couple carried their 4-month-old child to the North Mississippi Medical Center-West Point with head and neck injuries. After the child’s death, the state medical examiner’s office determined the injuries were a result of abuse and the cause of death was homicide.
The investigation, headed by the West Point PD, determined Jeffers and Peterson were responsible. Arrest warrants were issued for the couple, but they fled before they could be arrested.
“We have had the arrest warrant for a while. It took us a little time to find out where they relocated to,” Cook said.
All that ended in mid-April. The couple were arrested as fugitives from justice and booked into the Jackson County, West Virginia, around 10:30 p.m. April 17. It took some time to get through the extradition proceedings and return the couple to Mississippi.
The case will now be presented to a Clay County grand jury.
