Jhorden Clay was supposed to spend two days with his father but remained there for weeks before his death in May 2023.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland father has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of his 4-year-old son, whose planned two-day visit with him stretched into nearly a month before the boy died from blunt-force injuries in 2023.

Marquavious Ware, 23, was sentenced in July after reaching a plea agreement that reduced the murder and assault charges he originally faced, according to court records reported by Law&Crime. Ware had pleaded guilty in June and received credit for more than three years already served following his arrest in 2023. The sentence closes the criminal prosecution with a manslaughter conviction, but the circumstances surrounding Jhorden Clay’s death remain the subject of a civil lawsuit accusing Oregon child-welfare officials and Portland authorities of failing to act on warnings before the child died.

Jhorden’s mother had custody of the boy and allowed him to go with Ware in early April 2023 for what she told investigators was supposed to be a two-day visit. Ware, then 19, did not return him as planned, according to court documents and later accounts of the investigation. He acknowledged after the boy’s death that Jhorden had been staying with him for about a month. During that period, Jhorden’s mother said she became increasingly worried about her son and saw signs of possible injury during FaceTime calls. She told investigators that Jhorden was afraid of his father and wanted to return to her.

The concerns did not begin on the day Jhorden died. An Oregon Department of Human Services review later examined a report received on April 19, 2023, according to material published through the Oregon Legislature. The report included information that Jhorden’s mother had captured a screenshot during a video call showing a concerning bump or bruise on his forehead. The agency also had information that the visit had continued for weeks because Ware would not return the boy, that Jhorden was reportedly frightened of his father and that there were concerns about Ware’s physical discipline. The department’s later self-assessment said the report was closed at screening rather than investigated.

Less than a month after the visit began, emergency medical personnel were called to Ware’s Portland home on May 3, 2023. A family member told investigators that Ware had been angry with Jhorden over wetting the bed and over the child bringing Skittles into bed, according to a probable cause affidavit cited in court reporting. The relative said Ware was yelling before the child developed what appeared to be a medical emergency. Investigators later documented what appeared to be blood in several areas of the apartment. Jhorden was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The medical evidence described by investigators showed injuries that were not limited to a single incident. Medical staff reported bruising on numerous areas of Jhorden’s body, with some injuries believed to range in age from hours to weeks. Records also described scars, small burn injuries, severe malnutrition and dehydration. A medical examiner determined that Jhorden died from homicidal blunt-force trauma to the abdomen. Prosecutors also cited statements from another child who had been staying in the home and who told investigators that he had seen Ware kick and stomp Jhorden at times.

Ware gave investigators a more limited account of how he disciplined his son. According to the probable cause affidavit, he admitted slapping Jhorden’s hand, making him stand in a corner with one foot raised and striking the bottom of his foot with a hanger. The affidavit characterized those acts as discipline Ware described as mild. At sentencing, Ware’s attorney said his client regretted what had happened and had not intended for Jhorden to die. The attorney also argued that another person Ware knew and allowed into the home was responsible for some of the child’s injuries. The plea nevertheless left Ware convicted of second-degree manslaughter in his son’s death.

The case has also drawn scrutiny because Jhorden’s mother had sought help while her son remained with Ware. She told police that she had seen evidence of injury during FaceTime calls and documented what she saw in photographs. Reporting on the case said she was told there was little police could do because Ware was Jhorden’s father. She also sought a restraining order, according to local reporting cited by Law&Crime, but the request was denied. The publicly available accounts reviewed for this story do not establish the reason for that denial.

After Jhorden’s death, the Oregon Department of Human Services conducted its own examination of how the earlier report had been handled. The review concluded that the agency should have investigated the allegations rather than closing the report during screening, according to records later cited in reporting and Oregon legislative material. The April report contained several warning signs at once: a visible injury, a visit that had gone far beyond its planned length, the mother’s concern that Ware would not return the child and information that the boy was afraid. Those findings have become a central part of the continuing dispute over whether government agencies could have intervened before May 3.

Jhorden’s estate later sued the Oregon Department of Human Services and the city of Portland, alleging that officials failed to protect the child despite reports and requests for help. Later reporting has described the pending claim as seeking $17 million. An earlier 2024 report described a $23 million action, indicating that the amount or composition of the claims reported publicly changed as the litigation developed. The lawsuit’s allegations are separate from Ware’s criminal case and do not by themselves establish liability by the state, the city or individual officials.

For Jhorden’s family, the sentencing follows more than three years of criminal proceedings that began after his death. At Ware’s 2023 arraignment, the boy’s mother repeatedly expressed disbelief that her son was dead, according to contemporaneous reporting. A relative said the child had been supposed to be protected. Those statements came long before the plea agreement that ultimately replaced the original murder and assault prosecution with the manslaughter conviction on which Ware was sentenced.

Ware’s 10-year sentence includes credit for the time he has been jailed since his 2023 arrest. The criminal case has therefore reached a sentencing resolution, while the separate civil litigation over the response of public agencies remains pending. The available record does not establish a final judgment in that lawsuit as of Aug. 24, 2026.

Author note: Last updated August 24, 2026.