Barbaric beating of child sends Charles City love bird to prison for two decades

CHARLES CITY – This Charles City woman inflicted a beating upon a child so barbaric that surgeons had to remove skull bone to relieve brain pressure on the innocent victim, and now the vicious specimen will fester in a cell for possibly two decades as her new hubby pines for her return.

Samantha (Jones) Slaughter (pictured at top) was the subject of a police call back on February 13 of this year, when Charles City police were called to the 300 block of 8th Avenue. Reportedly, Slaughter imposed her will on a child in her care by beating them, force-feeding them and slamming them to the floor so forcefully that the victim may never recover, despite the efforts of surgeons, who, reportedly, “had to remove a part of the child’s skull to prevent compression of the brain and insert a naso-gastric tube for feeding” as they attempted to save the child’s life.

In a plea deal, Slaughter pled guilty to the following crimes:

– CHILD ENDANGERMENT – SERIOUS INJURY (CLASS C FELONY)

– WILLFUL INJURY – CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY (CLASS C FELONY)

Judge Rustin Davenport accepted a plea deal and sentenced Slaughter on June 23 to two consecutive 10-year prison terms (parole is possible in Iowa) and suspended thousands of dollars in fines, as he has a history of leniency for child predators. She must only pay $260.60 to Iowa courts in this case, instead of $2,740 in fines.

Slaughter has a history of violence, as she was convicted in March of this year in Winneshiek county for child endangerment and assault causing bodily injury or mental illness. A judge suspended her sentence, however, and she was placed on probation, for which she now faces a revocation hearing set for July 1.

According to a website, Samantha Jones (now known as Samantha Slaughter) was scheduled to get married on June 28, 2025, to Jess Slaughter. They write on their free wedding announcement website that since the pair met in October of 2022 at a Casey’s store, “we have been glued to each other. Everywhere Jess goes Samantha is at his side and everywhere Samantha goes Jess is right beside her. We are known as the modern day Bonnie & Clyde, we make the ride or die motto come alive.”