Father beat 7-year-old son, fed his body to pigs- Police

A Kansas City man arrested for attacking his wife

is also suspected of feeding his 7-year-old son to

pigs after beating him to death.

Michael Jones, 44, was held after reports that he

had assaulted his wife at their home and fired a

gun at her.

But when police began investigating, they were

tipped off that they should search the family's

backyard for the decomposing remains of their

missing son.

The next day, human remains were found at a

barn on their property in Wyandotte County.

Local women who knew the family said the

couple had eight children, but their son had

disappeared earlier this year. They also claimed

Jones' wife added livestock to the barn in

September.

"Their house was horrible," one

anonymous woman told WSFA.com. "Their

house was just filthy. The kids lived in filth.

Trash everywhere. Dried food all over the

house."

Former babysitters for the family say several

people contacted the Kansas Department for

Children and Families with concerns about the

children.

The seven other children are believed to be safe

and in protective custody.

A police source said investigators fear the

remains are the result of the child being fed to

pigs after being beaten to death. The remains

have yet to be identified.

Jones is now charged with battering and

assaulting his wife on Wednesday, and also with

"torturing or cruelly beating" his 7-year-old son

sometime between May 1 and Sept. 28.

Jones is expected to have a first appearance in

Wyandotte County District Court on Monday.