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Woman Convicted Of Battery, Child Abuse In Death Of Her Daughter
July 29, 2023
Friday, an Escambia County woman was found guilty of battery and child abuse for an incident that claimed her daughter’s life in 2021.
Jessica Ann Caroline Bortle, 36, was originally charged with negligent manslaughter and aggravate child abuse for the death of 14-year old Jasmine Singletary inside Sacred Heart Hospital.
A jury returned a guilty verdict Friday on lesser charges of battery and child abuse.
Pensacola Police said Singletary — described as a special needs patient with a neuromuscular disorder — was in her room at Sacred Heart with her grandmother and Bortle.
Jasmine unexpectedly lost consciousness and stopped breathing, police said. Hospital staff began life saving procedures, but those efforts were unsuccessful and Jasmine died.
The autopsy showed that Jasmine had suffered massive injuries to her ribs and her liver. Those injuries were not present when she was admitted to the hospital.
Pensacola Police investigators said they determined that the injuries were caused by Bortle. An arrest report states told police that she “slammed the hospital table into Singletary’s abdomen and then leaned onto the table with her weight” after she became angry after Jasmine cussed at her over color crayons.
During her trial, Bortle maintained that it was all an accident.
Bortle is set to be sentenced on October 4. She remained in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Comments
9 Responses to “Woman Convicted Of Battery, Child Abuse In Death Of Her Daughter”
@Oversight – I seriously doubt it was jury nullification; most people don’t even know that exists, much less what it is. I think everyone should know about it and how important it is in the justice system.
The little girls’ FB photo shows her to resemble more like the stature of a frail 9-10 year old, than that of a healthy14 year old. Consequently, it probably wouldn’t take much effort to cause her a significant blunt force trauma injury. Unfortunately this article does not indicate the reason for her original admission to the hospital.Some patient rooms are visually monitored at Sacred Heart. Perhaps that is why authorities know exactly what happened in the room. Very tragic story.
good defense counsel .
Still should of gotten a manslaughter charge. She knew what she was doing an over crayons that’s rediculoy
God she looks as mean as the Devil himself !
Should get life , instead of slap on wrist
The article said that the grandmother was in the room with them. WHY did the grandmother not stop this?! She could have stopped the mother, or at the very least screamed for help!
WHY was she not charged as well?!
After hearing about her MURDER, God only knows what else that precious child went through at her mother’s hands. Jasmine got NO justice whatsoever & her murderer will be free to live her life.
” on two misdemeanors with max jail time of one year doesn’t seem like justice for Jasmine.”
The child cruelty charge is a felony
Was it jury nullification, a good defense counsel, or poorly executed prosecution that led to the not guilty findings for negligent manslaughter and aggravated child abuse? Maybe a combination of all three. Guilty on two misdemeanors with max jail time of one year doesn’t seem like justice for Jasmine.