COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Englewood woman fatally attacked her 2-year-old daughter because the girl wouldn't eat her noodles, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The attack happened about 3 or 4 p.m. Saturday in the 6500 block of South Sangamon Street, where 18-year-old Jazmine Jones lived with her boyfriend, his relatives and her 2-year-old daughter Elliana Claiborne, prosecutors said.
When Elliana didn't eat her noodles Saturday afternoon, Jones began to yell at the girl and punch her in the stomach and buttocks multiple times, Assistant State's Attorney Kim Przekota said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
The blows were so severe that Jones' boyfriend, who was playing video games nearby, "believed they would've knocked the wind out of him if he were the one being hit," Przekota said.
The boyfriend, who is not the baby's father, allegedly told police Jones beat Elliana on more than one occasion, and that Jones was the only one who disciplined the child, prosecutors said.
During her bond hearing Wednesday, Jones started crying softly at first, then began sobbing loudly. She is currently six weeks pregnant, her public defender said.
After the beating on Saturday afternoon, Jones left the home to buy marijuana, Przekota said. When Jones returned, Elliana was complaining that her stomach hurt. The girl had thrown up, had a swollen stomach and couldn't use the bathroom, prosecutors said. Jones allegedly gave her daughter laxatives and juice.
That evening, Elliana slept in a bed with Jones' boyfriend's sister, a minor, according to Przekota. Elliana moaned about stomach pains and vomited a greenish liquid in the middle of the night. Around 4 a.m., the boyfriend's sister changed Elliana's diaper because the child had had a small bowel movement, prosecutors said.
When the boyfriend's sister woke up early Sunday, she left the room without disturbing Elliana because it looked like the girl was sleeping, Przekota said.
The boyfriend's sister returned to the room about 8 a.m. and smelled a strong odor of feces, according to prosecutors. When the sister picked up Elliana to change her diaper, the girl was cold and stiff.
Jones' boyfriend tried to perform CPR, and the family took Elliana to St. Bernard's hospital, authorities said. Upon arrival, the girl had a body temperature of 84 degrees, was in full rigor and appeared to have been dead for some time, Przekota said.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, Elliana died from a direct blow to the abdomen.
An autopsy revealed multiple blunt-force injuries. Elliana suffered a perforated intestine and had fecal matter and collected fluid in her abdominal cavity. The girl had bruises on her head, abdomen, face, back and arms. She had healing burns on her foot, two rib fractures and various healed scars.
According to Przekota, the Department of Children and Family Services has visited Jones on more than one occasion. In 2014, Jones allegedly threw Elliana off a balcony in Calumet City, and the girl landed in the snow on the cement ground. DCFS took Elliana away from Jones, Przekota said.
It was not immediately clear Wednesday why the girl was given back to her mother.
Jones admitted that she hit Elliana because the girl didn't eat, Przekota said. Elliana was crying and Jones was really frustrated, Jones allegedly told police.
Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan on Wednesday ordered Jones held in lieu of $1 million bail.
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