SEARCY — The man accused of killing his 2-year-old son and hiding the death for more than a year appeared for the first time Tuesday in White County Circuit Court to face a capital murder charge.
Jeffery Leroy Clifton, 43, pleaded innocent in the killing of his son, Malik Drummond, and will remain held without bail. In addition to capital murder, Clifton has been charged with abuse of a corpse.
Clinton's attorney, Ron Davis, said he is considering filing a motion to have the case moved to nearby Prairie County due to media coverage and community involvement in the case.
"The same people that looked for this young person, we don't want them sitting on a jury," Davis said.
Appearing shackled and in an orange prison jumpsuit, Clifton shook his head slightly as the prosecution read aloud the allegations against him.
Clifton's former girlfriend, Lesley Sue Marcotte, also appeared in court on a charge of hindering arrest or prosecution. Marcotte is not in police custody and walked into the court building before 10:25 a.m.
Police contend Marcotte was with Clifton the night Drummond was beaten to death, and joined the father in fabricating a story that led to a manhunt for the missing toddler in 2014.
According to affidavits which led to the pair's arrest last month, Marcotte told police Clifton beat the boy to death on Nov. 20, 2014 and held onto the boy's body for three days before reporting him missing from the couple's Searcy home.
The affidavits say Marcotte allowed police to secretly tape a conversation with Clifton. He was then arrested on the night of Dec. 1, 2015 and police found the toddler's body in rural Jackson County the next day.
Davis declined to discuss the facts of the case after the hearing. But he told reporters that "some of what [Marcotte] has said is not true."
Clifton's next appearance in White County Circuit Court was scheduled for Feb. 22.
Marcotte is next due in court Jan. 19. Her trial was set for April 12.
