Joseph and Jodi Wilson pleaded guilty in Surry County to murder and child abuse charges tied to Skyler Wilson’s 2023 death.
SURRY COUNTY, N.C. — A Mount Airy couple was sentenced Wednesday to decades in prison after pleading guilty in the 2023 death of their 4-year-old adopted son, who prosecutors said was restrained face down for hours.
Joseph Paul Wilson, 45, and Jodi Ann Wilson, 42, pleaded guilty in Surry County Superior Court to second-degree murder and child abuse-related charges in the death of Skyler Wilson. Court records show both were sentenced to about 32 to 40 years in prison. As part of their plea agreements, both waived their rights to appeal.
Skyler died in January 2023 after a medical emergency at the family’s Mount Airy home. Prosecutors said Jodi Wilson wrapped the child in a bedsheet and used duct tape to hold him face down on the floor on Jan. 5, 2023. Joseph Wilson bought materials used in the restraint and saw Skyler during a lunch break, prosecutors said, but did not release him. Later that day, Jodi Wilson contacted her husband after Skyler became unresponsive.
Authorities said Joseph Wilson called 911 and reported that Skyler was having a seizure. The child was taken to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem. He died four days later. Investigators said the child’s injuries came from abuse. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said an autopsy found that Skyler died from a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury caused by compressional and positional asphyxia during prolonged restraint. Starvation ketoacidosis was listed as a contributing factor.
Prosecutors said the Wilsons used discipline methods they learned from books about alternative parenting practices for adopted children. The Surry County District Attorney’s Office said the couple went beyond those methods by using duct tape and prolonged physical restraint. Search warrants cited in local reports also described allegations that the Wilsons isolated Skyler and performed exorcisms on him and another child. Officials have not said that every claim made during the investigation was tested at trial because the case ended in guilty pleas.
The case began after deputies were called to the hospital on Jan. 6, 2023. Joseph and Jodi Wilson were arrested Jan. 13, 2023, and charged with murder. Other children in the home were later placed in the custody of social services. Prosecutors said a former foster parent had reported concerns about Skyler’s treatment to the Surry County Department of Social Services less than a month before his death. The record of any follow-up by the agency was not fully detailed in the sentencing reports.
District 17A Superior Court Judge Angela B. Puckett imposed the prison terms after the guilty pleas. The sentences included time for second-degree murder and child abuse offenses. Court records show the Wilsons received credit for time already served. With appeal rights waived, the criminal case now moves from the trial court record to the state prison system, where the Department of Adult Correction will calculate custody dates under North Carolina law.
Skyler’s death drew attention in Surry County because of the length of the investigation, the adoption history and the details released in warrants and court filings. Officials said the child was undernourished and less able to survive the restraint. The case also raised questions about warning signs before his death, including the report from a former foster parent. Authorities have not announced any additional charges tied to the handling of those concerns.
Joseph and Jodi Wilson remain convicted in Skyler Wilson’s death as of July 10, 2026. Their next milestone is transfer and sentence administration through the North Carolina prison system.