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London Thomas murder: Jalen Pendergrass sentenced for killing teen
(Full hearing) After pleading guilty to a second-degree murder arrangement, Jalen Pendergrass learned his fate in court for the death of his teen girlfriend London Thomas, in 2025.
FOX 2 - The boyfriend charged in the murder of Inkster teen London Thomas was sentenced to between 25 and 50 years in prison on Friday.
The backstory:
Jalen Pendergrass pleaded guilty on July 2, to second-degree murder of Thomas, 17.
Judge Paul Cusick said Pendergrass deserves to serve "every minute" of the 50-year maximum sentence.
"The sentence agreement is for Mr. Pendergrass to serve a maximum of 50 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections and a minimum of 25 years," the judge said. "I do believe, based on what this court knows … that every minute of a 50-year sentence, would be deserved in this case."
Pendergrass declined the opportunity to speak at sentencing.
As part of his agreement, additional charges of tampering with evidence, felony murder and unlawful imprisonment were dismissed.
Emotional impact statements were made, starting by Barbara Bennett, one of London's grandmothers. She said that London left her with beautiful memories but that her only regret is that Jalen Pendergrass and his mother are still "walking this earth - and that London is not."
"He is a waste of skin. That's it," she said, closing her statement.
London's mother, Jasma Bennett, spoke about what her daughter meant to her.
"She had such a strong and beautiful, truthful, brave, fearless personality and energy," she said. "Through the most gut-wrenching moment in my life, as I wake and when I sleep, and when I try to live, this devastation will never, ever leave me."
Jasma Bennett talked about life's milestones that London was robbed of.
"Precious moments like your graduation, your first car, your first child, getting married, going to prom - all those things have not been done," she said. "You've not experienced it, leaving us here. We will try. Try to keep going."
Thomas, was last seen on April 5, 2025, when her sister dropped her off at her 23-year-old boyfriend's Inkster home.
On April 26, 2025, her body was found in Southfield.
Pendergrass was initially considered a person of interest in 17-year-old Thomas' disappearance and murder but was never charged.
Assistant Prosecutor Dominic DeGrazia told the judge that although he handles a large number of murder cases, this one stood out due to Pendergrass going to lengths of deception that were unusual.
He pointed out the 21 days between when Thomas was killed and when her body was found – describing sociopathic behavior by Pendergrass.
"In those 21 days, the defendant lied to the to the family of the victim," he said. "He lied to the police. he made several videos and posts on social media amplifying false rumors that London was seen alive and that she was still alive. He did that to save himself.
"During those 21 days, filed a number of calls to the police complaining that he was the victim of some harassment campaign on behalf of the victim's family, who at the time were desperately trying to find out where London was."
Charla Pendergrass:
Jalen Pendergrass' mother, Charla, is facing a litany of charges - although she was able to avoid one of them.
Charla Pendergrass is scheduled for an October jury trial on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, felony murder and unlawful imprisonment.
After Thomas' body was discovered, the boyfriend's mother, Pendergrass, 48, was arrested and charged with lying to a peace officer.
Charla Pendergrass allegedly told an investigator that she saw Thomas leave the Inkster home where she was last seen on April 5, a fact that authorities say was a lie.
The lying to a peace officer charge was dropped during Charla Pendergrass' preliminary examination because the person she allegedly lied to was a federal agent.
According to the prosecution, a federal agent does not meet the definition of a "peace officer" under Michigan statute, so the case could not proceed.
London Thomas
Dig deeper:
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said evidence allegedly showed that Jalen and Charla Pendergrass killed Thomas.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy said that a friend of Charla Pendergrass called police and provided this information.
That friend said that on April 6, Charla Pendergrass called him and asked him to help transport a sealed plastic bin with unknown contents.
The friend told police that he agreed, and moved the bin to a home on Millard Street in Southfield and put the bin in an SUV on April 11. Weeks later, that same bin, which contained Thomas' body, was found in an SUV at the Southfield house, the prosecutor said.
An autopsy determined that Thomas died from asphyxia.
The Source: Information for this report is from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and previous coverage.