Mississippi mourns Royalty Floyd, baby stabbed and burned alive in oven by grandmother, Carolyn Jones
Yesterday was the day for mourning as the baby who was stabbed to burned alive in an oven by her mother was laid to rest. 20-month-old Royalty Floyd, nicknamed “Big Girl” was killed by her grandmother, Carolyn Jones.
Jones, 48, murdered the toddler last month and now the family attempts to find closure for this phase of the tragedy.
“She was ‘Big Girl.’ But from the day she was born, she was granddaddy’s baby girl. And she knew it,” her grandfather, James Harris, said in an emotional speech at Saturday’s funeral.
“I miss her,” Harris said. “But she’ll always be with me. Always.”
Jones is in a modified cell and will likely undergo a mental evaluation. The toddler was stabbed repeatedly and placed in an oven. It’s too soon to tell how long she was in the oven before being found by her great-uncle. Her tiny body was burned beyond recognition.
The woman had placed Royalty’s toys and belongings were on the curb, left for trash: the highchair, a car seat and a box of diapers were picked up, taken by people who were passing by.
Police say it was when neighbors smelled her burning that she was finally found.
Deputy Coroner Murray Roark said they were too late, explaining that there was no effort made to resuscitate Royalty. Royalty died “from sharp stab wounds and inhaling the heated air,” according to a preliminary coroner’s report.
Carolyn Jones and Royalty Floyd
Bolivar County Sheriff Kelvin Williams, who went to the scene that night, describes Royalty as a “pretty little baby, a pretty little girl.”
Williams arrived on scene that night, he said he first noticed Jones’ demeanor.
“She was sitting in the back of the car, just had this stare,” he said. “To look at a child’s grandmother and see a blank stare, man, I couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind to do something like that.”
Williams then asked about Royalty. His deputies stopped him from going inside the house saying, “Sheriff, you don’t want to see that.”
“A lot of times we don’t process things right away in law enforcement,” Williams said. “It takes us a little while to deal with it. Then, when it does hit us, it hits us like a Mack truck almost. That’s when it hit me.”
Her mother, Veronica Jones, was working and living in Memphis. After Royalty’s death, she made a Facebook post calling her daughter the “best thing that ever happened to me.”
The baby’s father, John Floyd, opened up about his daughter’s death for the first time at her funeral.
“I still find it unbelievable to tell you the truth,” he said. “And to try and make heads or tails of what happened, it’s still something I can’t comprehend right now. It ain’t soaking in for some reason. I’m thinking one day this is all something that isn’t real.”
