Florida Woman Faces Death Penalty for Allegedly Ordering Rottweiler to Attack and Fatally Beating 9-year-old Girl
Prosecutors in Florida are seeking the death penalty for a woman accused of ordering her family’s 100-pound rottweiler to attack her boyfriend’s 9-year-old daughter before fatally beating her.
Tyshael Elise Martin, 35, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and aggravated child abuse in the June killing of Jamaria Sessions in Montverde, some 25 miles west of Orlando. Investigators got videos from inside the girl’s house of the violent thrashing, which was reportedly caused by Martin. An examination revealed that Jamaria died from blunt force injuries to the head, body, and extremities, as well as a heat injury to the right foot. The medical examiner declared the death murder.
State attorneys in Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit filed a motion saying that they intend to pursue the death penalty. Prosecutors in Florida must establish beyond a reasonable doubt at least one of a list of aggravating conditions before imposing the death penalty for murder.
As originally reported by Law&Crime, Lake County Sheriff deputies responded to a property in the 16000 block of Harbor Oaks Drive in Montverde early on June 17. Jamaria was discovered naked with “a significant number of abrasions, small punctures, burns, possible bite marks, and bruising covering her body, all in various stages of healing,” according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Martin stated that the family was scheduled to go to California that morning for vacation. She informed cops that she attempted to wake up Jamaria, but she was unresponsive and chilly to the touch.
Detectives gathered roughly 3,000 videos from both inside and outside the residence, eventually focusing on six videos shot soon before midnight on June 15. They apparently show Jamaria being “viciously attacked by the family pet, a 103lb male Rottweiler.” Martin is seen holding the dog’s leash and “encouraging the dog to bite” Jamaria while she is lying on the floor, barely out of the camera’s vision, according to the affidavit.
“The next clips show Jamaria Sessions staggering, nude, and disheveled,” the document states. “Jamaria’s hair, which had previously been in a half bun, had become messy, and her extensions were falling out. The dog appeared to have bitten the child’s head and pulled on her hair under Tyshael Martin’s instruction.”
Martin then allegedly pushes the child to stand in position, arms raised in the air. Deputies said Jamaria appeared dizzy and began to shake, prompting Martin to kick her. The girl collapsed to the ground.
“The child lay motionless, moaning in pain, as Tyshael Martin continued to kick her hip and eventually her stomach area at full force,” the deputies reported. “When the child did not get up, Tyshael Martin then grabbed the child by her hair, pulling her across the floor, with minimal resistance by Jamaria Sessions, who appeared to be disorientated and motionless.”
According to deputies, Martin proceeded to strike Jamaria while saying something resembling “I’m fixin’ to kill her.”
According to the affidavit, detectives discovered that Martin employed workouts such as prolonged wall sits, running in place with her hands up, and running on a treadmill as punishment. Martin allegedly kicked, punched, and pinched the girl.
Jamaria’s father, LoJuan Sessions, 27, is charged with aggravated manslaughter. Martin and Sessions are currently being held at the Lake County Jail without bond.
Reference: