DETROIT (Scripps News Detroit) — A mother and son have been bound over for trial in connection with the murder of Detroit teen London Thomas, a judge ruled Friday.
Last October, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged 23-year-old Jalen Pendergrass of Inkster and 49-year-old Charla Pendergrass of Clawson in connection with Thomas’ killing. In her Friday ruling from the bench following the preliminary hearing, Judge Sabrina Johnson bound both defendants over on charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, unlawful imprisonment, and tampering with evidence.
Jalen and Charla Pendergrass appear in court at their arraignment on Oct. 17, 2025. (Scripps News Detroit)
In October, Jalen was remanded to jail, and Charla was given a $5 million cash bond.
“Just so happy and praise for this moment because it’s long overdue,” Thomas’ father, Cedric Salisbury, said at the time. “We all knew that they did something, and we’re just happy that the light has been shone, and thankful.”
Prosecutors say that Thomas was Jalen’s girlfriend.
“I want justice for my granddaughter. I want them to get the maximum penalty they can get for my granddaughter, ” said Jestina Martin, Thomas’ grandmother.
On April 5, prosecutors say Thomas was reported missing to the Inkster Police Department. She was last seen around 4 a.m. when she was allegedly dropped off at Jalen’s house.
Inkster police, Detroit police, the FBI and Michigan State Police began investigating, and on April 26, Thomas’ body was found in an SUV in Southfield that had reportedly been parked there for two weeks.
Prosecutors said that a male friend of Charla’s contacted Inkster police on April 26. He told prosecutors that Charla called him and asked him to transport a sealed plastic bin.
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Police say that he received and placed the bin in an SUV on Millard Street in Southfield on April 11, the same SUV where Thomas’ body was found.
“This is a case where the evidence, I believe, will be abundant that both defendants — but in particular Ms. Charla Pendergrass — engaged in an extended campaign to lie to the police, lie to law enforcement to cover up her actions,” said Dominic Degrazia, Wayne County assistant prosecuting attorney.
“The evidence shows that Defendants Jaylen and Charla Pendergrass allegedly committed the homicide of Ms. London Thomas,” prosecutors said when the charges were announced.
“I am proud of the excellent work that has been done in this case. It has taken countless hours of investigation and diligent work by the Michigan State Police, the Detroit Police Department, and the FBI. As a result of that work, we have been able to charge and bring the perpetrators of this cruel and deadly crime to justice,” Worthy said in a statement.
“Hopefully, they did a thorough investigation, and maybe that’s why it took so long, and we can move forward and wrap this up so my daughter can rest in peace now,” Salisbury said.
“I don’t sleep good at night since this happened ’cause I’ve been praying for justice,” Martin said. “I miss her so much. I miss talking to my grandbaby because she always called me and was like grandma I love you, and I miss her. I got her pictured all over my house.”
Their attorneys say both maintain their innocence and are expected to plead not guilty.
“While it seems so many have wrested judgment and already arrived at the conclusion that he (Jalen) is responsible and that he’s the killer, I hope people will let the evidence play itself out and respect the process,” Jalen’s attorney, Adam Clements, said.
“Sounds like the same recycled case from April when they couldn’t prove anything then, and I don’t believe they will be able to prove anything now,” Charla’s attorney, Terry L. Johnson, said. “We’ve gone through this twice. We started out in this court, it was dismissed. We went out to Romulus, it was dismissed. And this case, we believe, at the end of the day, our clients will be shown to a jury to be not guilty.”
This story was originally published by Scripps News Detroit, an E.W. Scripps company.
