Adoptive mother of 10-year-old Jesse Wilson enters ‘not guilty’ plea

BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — The adoptive mother of Jesse Wilson, the 10-year-old boy who went missing in Buckeye seven years ago, has pled not guilty to charges related to his death. Crystal Wilson briefly appeared in court on Friday, where she and her lawyer entered a “not guilty” plea. She will have three pre-trial conferences, with the first on April 25. Her trial date is set for July 6. Wilson was arrested on Dec. 13 at her home in Gainesville, Ga., but was later extradited to Maricopa County. She is facing one count of abandoning or concealing a body.

Jesse was reported missing in the early morning hours of July 18, 2016. Hundreds of volunteers searched for him, but no trace was found. However, nearly two years later, a Buckeye municipal employee found skeletal remains on the side of the road near State Route 85 and Broadway Road. The remains were identified as Jesse’s. But just weeks before Jesse’s remains were found, Wilson moved to Georgia.

Jesse’s family previously told Arizona’s Family Wilson was a suspect in the case. Family members say police found Jesse alone in the front yard one occasion, but the Department of Child Services wasn’t called. Carolyn Lasenberry, the mother of Jesse’s biological father, says she wants Wilson to be charged with murder. “That was my grandson. She killed my grandson, and I know she did,” said Lasenberry.

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