Jasmine Renee Singletary bortle was born on June 10 2007 to parents Philip and Jessica bortle in Marianna Florida at the time of our story Jasmine was 14 years old and living in Bonifay Florida she was described as having special needs and was living with a neuromuscular disorder what type of disorder this was remains unclear but on July 8 2021 she was admitted to the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola Florida for an infection it should be noted that some sources state that she had been admitted for a closed
head injury of suspicious Origins however it was found that the injury in question was from a fall related to a pre-existing medical condition Jasmine was confined to her hospital bed and was accompanied by Jessica and her grandmother Rose Mathis on July 13 2021 Jessica could be seen on surveillance video exiting her daughter’s room she was behaving strangely and began shaking and flexing her hands as if it were in pain you know kind of like if you just hit somebody moments later Hospital staff enter Jasmine’s room and discovered the young
girl unconscious and not breathing despite life-saving measures Jasmine Renee’s Singletary bortle was pronounced dead on July 21 2021 an autopsy of Jasmine’s body was performed as the circumstances surrounding her death appeared to be somewhat unexpected and suspicious prior to being found unconscious Jasmine was completely alert however with the medical examiner found was even more unexpected Jasmine had suffered major internal injuries to her ribs and her liver these injuries were not present when she was admitted to the hospital and had to have
occurred when she was confined to her hospital bed the injury to her liver was so severe that had been ripped open it was described by the medical examiner as being completely obliterated in fact her injuries were more akin to a person who had been killed in a car accident not a person stuck in a hospital bed the medical examiner indicated that the injuries were to the point where Jasmine would have died only minutes after receiving them that same day officers with the Pensacola Police Department responded to
a call from the district one medical examiner’s office regarding a homicide at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital keeping the surveillance footage that we discussed in mind police zeroed in on one suspect Jessica bortle the mother initially told police that she had no idea what could have caused her daughter’s injuries but eventually she did decide to come clean according to Jessica on July 13th the day that Jasmine was found unresponsive in her hospital bed mother and daughter got into a heated argument over art supplies
now allegedly Jasmine began to swear at her mother because she was mad about the crayons in turn Jessica became enraged with her daughter because she was swearing rather than exiting the hospital room and taking a walk to cool off she decided to take her anger out on Jasmine who remember was disabled and confined to a hospital bed according to Jessica she took the overbed table and slammed it into Jasmine’s abdomen at full force and then proceeded to lean onto the table with her full weight Jessica went on to explain that she
continued to lean into the table even after her daughter cried out in pain in the end she admitted that she was indeed the one responsible for inflicting the injury that killed her daughter Jasmine the police agreed with her it was determined that Jessica leaned on the table with all of her weight for so long that she ground the table into Jasmine’s liver which caused the damage described by the medical examiner enough to seal her fade Jasmine’s grandmother’s testimony to police was the final nail in the coffin she told
the officers another eerily similar story in fact she literally told them that hit the fan just before the incident occurred Rose explained that Jessica initially moved the overbed table over to Jasmine so that she could color but soon the girl began swearing she then began breaking and throwing her crayons which ultimately led to the mother’s violent outburst and her daughter’s untimely guess Rose said she heard Jasmine utter the word grandma but for her eyes rolled back into her head on August 7 2021 a memorial service was held for Jasmine at
her family’s home sadly these are the only details pertaining to Jasmine other than the details of her death that have been made public there was no information on who Jasmine was as a person or what she’d like to do in fact her obituary was only three sentences Jessica who was 34 years old at the time that she killed her daughter was arrested and booked into the Escambia County Jail she was charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of aggravated battery her arrest was announced by the Pensacola Police Chief
Eric Randall during a press conference that he held on August 17 2021. well good morning and thank you everyone for for being here um taking time out your day when I first came into office I explained that it was important to me and for the community as well to be very transparent and open and keep the community informed of things that are going on as law enforcement professionals there are occasions when we must report cases that are terrible and difficult to understand and unfortunately today is one of those
occasions last month on July 8th 14 year old Jasmine Singletary was was taken to a session Sacred Heart Hospital by our mother due to an infection Jasmine Singletary is a special needs patient with neuromuscular disorder and on this particular visit she was admitted into the hospital on July 13th Jasmine was in a hospital room with her mother and her grandmother was in the rumors also Jasmine unexpectedly lost Consciousness and stopped breathing Hospital staff was summoned and began life-saving measures unfortunately
they were unsuccessful and Jasmine passed away an autopsy was conducted and on July 21st Pensacola Police Department was notified by the medical examiner’s office the autopsy showed that Jasmine had suffered massive injuries injuries that were not present when she was admitted to the hospital the medical examiner indicated that the injuries were so severe that Jasmine would have died only minutes after receiving them and that they they had to have occurred while she was confined to her hospital bed Tuscola Police Department began an
exhaustive and extensive investigation over the last few weeks multiple interviews collecting evidence and things of that nature ultimately last Friday we were able to secure a warrant for Jasmine’s mother Jessica bortle because it was determined that she was the one that caused the injuries Jessica bordo has been charged with manslaughter in the death of her daughter Jasmine the Pensacola Police Department will extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Jasmine Singletary the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital later released their own
statement it read quote the loss of Jasmine was an unimaginable tragedy for those who loved her and it was heartbreaking 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 end quote following her arrest Jessica made her first court appearance at the MC Blanchard judicial building in downtown Pensacola via video fee assistant State Attorney Alvin Trey Myers requested that Jessica’s bond be said it no less than 250 thousand
dollars citing the severity of the accusations against her however Escambia County Judge Amy broderson decided to do one better she set Jessica’s Bond at five hundred thousand dollars before assigning her case to the public defender’s office jury selection for Jessica’s trial began on July 23 2023 with opening statements scheduled that same week leading the prosecution was assistant State Attorney Nathaniel Sebastian while assistant public defender Marcy McCoy represented the accused during this trial attorney
Sebastian McCoy told the jury why they believed the mother should or should not be convicted of her charges according to Sebastian quote shoving the table into the stomach of someone laying in bed is an intentional act it is not negligence it is not justified it is not excusable ladies and gentlemen the evidence in this case proves Beyond a reasonable doubt that Jessica bortle committed manslaughter and aggravated CA end quote although Jessica invoked her constitutional right not to testify her recorded interview with Pensacola Police
Department detective Keith Turney outlined that she said her daughter’s liver injury could have come from her shoving the hospital bed table toward her while both were angry however her story started to change Jessica claimed that she didn’t think she hurt her daughter after shoving the table toward her since Jasmine asked if they could color together according to her public defender Marcy McCoy quote after this catastrophic injury that the state is saying the shove of the table cause Jasmine said ow that hurts that’s not
reasonable ladies and gentlemen and then she wanted to color and so Jessica colored with her again if there was that kind of injury think about what kind of pain that would cause you wouldn’t want a color end quote attorney McCoy urged the jury to ask themselves why Jessica would take care of her daughter 24 hours a day for 14 years take her daughter to the hospital after she received a head injury from a fall relate to her medical problems and then while in the hospital filled with nurses and doctors choose to kill her
she would undescribe her client as intellectually disabled and claimed she loved her daughter during rebuttal attorney Sebastian agreed that Jessica didn’t plan to kill Jasmine but said that she was angry she snapped and so she shoved the table into her daughter in addition Jessica’s mother Rose Mathis testified she didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary and was playing games on her phone the whole night this directly contradicted the statement she provided to police on July 21st her story changed completely
this just in a verdict reached in a high-profile death case in Pensacola jury just found Jessica bortle guilty of battery and childhood but not manslaughter she is being held without bond until sentencing bortle was accused of killing her special needs daughter while she was confined to a hospital bed in 2021.
on July 28 2023 after a two-day trial Jessica bortle now aged 36 was found guilty however the jury opted for Less severe charges than those sought by the state convicting Jessica of the Lesser offense of misdemeanor battery rather than manslaughter she was also charged with aggravated CA but the jury found her guilty of the Lesser offense of just CA without aggravating circumstances as well as finding her guilty of a third degree felony rather than a first degree felony after the clerk read Jessica’s verdict her attorney asked that her client not be
taken into custody since she has no prior record to speak of and has been out of custody for most of the two years since her initial arrest however Circuit Judge Lyndon Nobles wasn’t having any of that and Jessica was taken into custody Jessica’s sentencing is tentatively scheduled for October 4th 2023 at 8 30 a.
m she faces up to only five years in prison for her conviction what do you think about this verdict in the possible sentence do you think that five years in prison is enough for killing your disabled child in a fit of rage let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below
