The 2024 discovery of two young brothers near Vinton led to a murder investigation, trial and sentencing more than two years later.
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A case that began with a 4-year-old found dead near a Louisiana welcome center and his baby brother discovered alive beside Interstate 10 reached its sentencing stage Thursday when their mother was ordered to spend life in prison without parole.
Aaliyah Jack, 28, was sentenced after a Calcasieu Parish jury convicted her in September of second-degree murder and cruelty to juveniles. The murder conviction carried a mandatory life term. The court also sentenced Jack to 15 years on the cruelty conviction, bringing the trial-court phase of a case that began in July 2024 to a close.
The investigation started July 8, 2024, when deputies responded to a report that a young child’s body had been seen in water behind the Vinton Welcome Center. Authorities initially worked to identify the child and determine how he had gotten there. He was later identified as 4-year-old Legend, Jack’s son.
Legend’s paternal grandmother, Dion Polk, told KPLC at the time that the boy had been staying with her since May. She said she dropped him off with his maternal grandmother on July 6 while she attended a funeral. Polk said she later learned Jack had left with Legend and his 1-year-old brother, Kingtrail, prompting her to search for the children and their mother.
The search took another turn on July 9. A truck driver spotted Kingtrail crawling near I-10 a few miles from the area where Legend had been found. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory described the child as a “miracle baby” after the rescue. Authorities said Kingtrail had insect bites but otherwise was unhurt after being outside near the interstate. He was taken to a hospital and later placed in state care.
Law enforcement tracked Jack to Mississippi, where she was arrested the same day Kingtrail was rescued. She was later returned to Louisiana. On July 20, 2024, as she entered the Calcasieu Correctional Center, Jack spoke to a television reporter and admitted killing Legend and abandoning Kingtrail. She said she had been under the influence of drugs when she left the younger child.
Those recorded remarks later became an issue before trial. Jack’s defense sought to keep the video from the jury, but Judge Mike Canaday denied the request. When the case went to trial in September 2026, prosecutors presented evidence that included phone information, an audio recording of a jail call and photographs of a vehicle crash involving Jack in Mississippi. Jurors also heard testimony from investigators and members of the family.
The prosecution argued that Jack’s conduct met the requirements for second-degree murder and child cruelty. Her defense disputed whether the evidence proved murder and urged jurors to scrutinize the state’s interpretation of her actions. The jury could have chosen lesser homicide offenses but instead returned guilty verdicts on the charged offenses after deliberating for about three hours.
Sentencing was set for Nov. 5. In court, Jack struggled through a statement and repeatedly said she did not know what to say. The judge found that her conduct showed deliberate cruelty toward the children. The murder verdict left no discretion over the life sentence, while the cruelty conviction required a separate sentencing decision.
The sentence ends a major stage of a case that drew attention first because of the circumstances surrounding the children’s discovery: one brother dead near the Vinton Welcome Center and the other found alive along one of Louisiana’s busiest highways. Jack now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for Legend’s murder and a 15-year sentence for cruelty to juveniles.
Author note: Last updated November 7, 2026.