Murder suspect assaults step-father

A Fayette County man charged with murder in the November 2008 death of his son is back in jail after being arrested on a domestic battery charge.

Henry Clay Jenkins, 35, of Oak Hill, who had been free on $40,000 bond, was charged Monday with misdemeanor domestic battery. Sheriff Steve Kessler said Jenkins would remain jailed until his bond status could be considered in Fayette Circuit Court.

Kessler said deputies responding to a domestic situation on Summerlee Road in Oak Hill determined Jenkins had physically assaulted his stepfather.

Jenkins was awaiting trial on a murder charge in the death of his 14-year-old son, Christian Clay Jenkins, a cystic fibrosis patient who died in a Charleston hospital last November.

A state medical examiner’s autopsy indicated the use of illicit drugs was a contributing factor in Christian Jenkins’ death, Kessler said. Investigators also determined prompt medical attention was not sought for the boy after he encountered respiratory distress.

Henry Clay Jenkins was charged with murder in late May and was indicted by a county grand jury in September.