Jessica Bortle Florida mother kills teen special needs daughter, Jasmine Singletary, in Pensacola hospital room. Injuries consistent to those suffered by traffic crash victims.
A Florida mother has been accused of killing her special needs daughter in a Pensacola hospital room last month.
The Pensacola Police Department announced the arrest of Jessica Bortle, 34, of Bonifay. Upon the mother’s arrest on Tuesday, she was charged with manslaughter.
Bortle’s daughter, 14-year-old Jasmine Singletary, was born with a neuromuscular disorder. On July 8, she was taken to the Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola after developing an infection.
On July 13, Jasmine, Bortle, and Bortle’s mother were alone in the room shortly before she passed away. Hospital staff said that the child died despite life-saving measures, NBC 25 reports.
On July 21, autopsy results cited by MyPanhandle indicated that the victim had ‘major internal injuries to her ribs and liver.’ The injuries were not there when Jasmine was admitted to the hospital. Police said the injuries ‘had to have occurred while Jasmine was confined to her hospital bed.’
‘Blunt force trauma’
‘The Medical Examiner indicated that the injuries were so severe that Jasmine would have died only minutes after receiving them,’ police said.
The arrest report stated doctors saying the injuries were ‘similar to those found on traffic crash victims.’ It added that the injuries happened through ‘blunt force trauma.’
Security footage reportedly caught the moment Bortle left the hospital room. She was ‘shaking and flexing her hand as if in pain,’ according to the police report.
Although Bortle initially denied doing anything to her daughter, she later relented, saying that she ‘slammed the hospital table into Singletary’s abdomen and then leaned onto the table with her weight.’
Betrayed by the person who was suppose to protect them
Bortle allegedly added that she became upset when her daughter started cursing at her about Crayon colors.
Police arrested Bortle and booked her into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $500,000. A Public Defender was assigned to Bortle’s case the Pensacola News Journal reported.
Not immediately clear was whether Bortle’s mother would also face charges.
Ascension Sacred Heart released this statement Tuesday morning regarding the incident:
‘The loss of Jasmine was an unimaginable tragedy for those who loved her and it was heart-breaking for the nurses and doctors in our Children’s Hospital who cared for her. We send our deepest sympathies and our prayers for her family and all who knew her.’
