By C1 Staff
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — When Jeanie Ditty reached out to photographer Sunny Jo, she was a ‘grieving’ mother that had lost her daughter in a tragic death. Little did Jo know he was actually working for the alleged murderer.
Jeanie Ditty is now charged with murdering her two-year-old daughter— and commissioned special photos to help cover it up, according to the Fayetteville Observer. Ditty, 23, and her boyfriend, Zachary Keefer, 32, were arrested Thursday when the medical examiner’s report emerged last week, indicating that 2-year-old Macy Grace’s death was a homicide. Fayetteville police said the report revealed that the bruises covering Macy’s body were consistent with child abuse. After a seemingly frantic 911 call by Ditty, who claimed her daughter was unresponsive and vomiting, Macy was rushed to the hospital Dec. 2 of last year, where she died two days later.
Police responded to the medical center where Macy was taken in reference to “an unresponsive child with signs of possible child abuse,” a search warrant said. The officers found bruising on the toddler’s body.
A month after her daughter’s death, Ditty reached out to Pennsylvania-based photographer, Jo, who specializes in photoshopped portraits with deceased family members. He offered his services pro-bono. According to the Observer, Jo said Ditty told him her daughter choked on vomit while suffering from a stomach virus, which led to brain damage and Macy’s eventual death.
“I felt so bad for the grieving mother that I decided to do $500 worth of work for free because of the situation. She sounded convincing,” Jo told WNCV-TV.
In a twisted attempt to cover up the alleged murder by paying homage to her dead daughter, Ditty had the photos commissioned at a graveyard. Ditty posed walking, playing, and even sitting with an angelic-looking Macy at her own grave.
Ditty then posted the photos to Facebook, adding that “Sunny Jo did some amazing work for me of my angel and I.”
After Ditty and Keefer were arrested and charged, Jo says he was bombarded with hateful and abusive messages. Lamenting his association with the case, he told Fox News: “I regret that I’m attached to a situation that is so evil, and so vile. Knowing that she used me and she used this to possibly make herself seem innocent, that’s the worst feeling in the world.”
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West called Macy’s death “horrific” and said,“whoever is responsible, we’re going to hold them accountable,” according to the Fayeteville Observer.
Both Ditty and Keefer are being held without bond and face the death penalty.