Slain Boy’s Mother Anxious for Justice

With the man who allegedly killed her 20-month-old boy in custody, an Orange County mother vowed to see the former trusted friend punished if he is convicted in the torture slaying of her son.

“Justice. Now my son will have some justice,” said Jenise Massengill. “Joshua’s birthday is in two weeks. This will be his birthday present.”

Less than two hours after the syndicated television show “Unsolved Mysteries” aired a Friday night broadcast about the killing, police arrested Trent Stephen Fouts at a downtown Albuquerque apartment.

The 32-year-old is accused of killing Joshua Massengill. “Unsolved Mysteries” described how Joshua’s tortured and sodomized body was found Jan. 10 against the wall of a Santa Ana convalescent home.

Albuquerque Police Sgt. Cornel J. Heitzman said officers arrested Fouts without incident about 9:30 p.m. The one-hour program ended at 8 p.m.

Massengill had befriended Fouts at church and trusted him with her son. He was supposed to drive Joshua to his baby sitter’s house the day Joshua was killed.

Massengill learned Fouts had been located when she was out shopping Saturday.

“My family paged me with 911,” she said. “I knew right away what it was about. I couldn’t even drive. I kept missing freeways and stuff.”

Now she and her family will prepare for Fouts’ trial.

“I have a lot of anger, a lot of rage,” she said. “It will take all I have not to fight him.”