FL - Jayza Simms, 7 mos, beaten to death, Tampa, 22 May 2005

A 7-year-old boy beat his baby half-sister to death with his fists, feet and a two-by-four because he was jealous of the attention the girl was receiving and because she would not stop crying, police said Wednesday.
The State Attorney's Office is deciding whether to file charges against the boy in an attack that rattled even veteran homicide detectives.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-06-01-infant-death_x.htm?csp=34

Oh my..... this is heartbreaking.

I can't help but think of the 7 year old I have at home. In a million years I can not imagine her even thinking of something like this.
I wonder what we will learn about this family? I can't imagine a child being raised in a loving and secure home doing something like this. What a horrible shame.

So much rage in this boy, and it took a week for him to confess, the article says he shows no remorse.

He is staying with his Mother while the prosecutors wrangle with the legal difficulties of charging a 7 year old for murder.

Sounds like this child has some serious problems. What a horrible story.
They only have his word that the baby was crying. I wonder if he beat her and that made the baby cry. At least we do know he did it.

It will be interesting to find out more about the child and his behavior in school and with other children.

This is unbelievable...I heard this on the news last night as it is a local story (seems like a lot of them lately are local stories *sigh*). I cannot imagine...I simply cannot wrap my brain around a 7 yr old having so much rage as to kill a baby!! According to the mother :

The boy's mother told police he had shown signs of aggressive behavior in the past.

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=14564

If I hear more I'll post it...but for now about all I can find is what is in the link originally posted and these links:

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050602/NEWS/506020372/1004

http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBNJPB6G9E.html

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/02/Hillsborough/What_to_do_if_7_year_.shtml

...The 7-year-old boy's mother said he had shown signs of violence, too.McElroy said the mother told police that after she enrolled him in a karate class a couple of years ago, he started acting aggressively and beating up other children at school. She said she moved him to a karate class with older, bigger children, and that seemed to quell his aggression.

The New York Times, in a story about the New York murder, quoted a Boston college professor who said that since 1976, on average, about six children under the age of 10 have committed murder or nonnegligent homicide each year in the United States...

In fact, it has happened before in the bay area. In 1983, two sons of a babysitter, ages 7 and 9, were arrested on charges that they killed an 8-month-old girl in St. Petersburg.

The younger boy testified against his older brother. During his trial, the older boy read Popeye comic books and said he thought a jury was "something you wear around your neck."

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/02/Hillsborough/Amid_7_caregivers__ba.shtml

In a somber week of child neglect, a third baby is smothered, apparently by accident.
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer
Published June 2, 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


TAMPA - In the 48 hours before he ended up in the hospital, 4-month-old Teon Noel Thorpe had been cared for by seven different people, according to police.

He died Saturday at St. Joseph's Hospital, of serious head injuries, said police spokeswoman Laura McElroy. The various caregivers included the baby's mother, day care workers, babysitters and friends. Most troubling, McElroy said, is that several people entrusted to care for the boy "have a history with (the Department of Children and Families) of abuse or neglect."

...

It was one of three troubling infant death in recent days, along with the apparent beating of a baby at the hands of her 7-year-old brother, and a baby that apparently smothered accidentally while sleeping in the same bed with his teenage mother.

On Monday, Jahanace Allen, less than 2 months old, died.

McElroy said the boy's 13-year-old mother was living at the Alpha House, a home for teenage mothers. Despite house rules that forbid mothers from sleeping with their children, the girl wanted to cuddle with her baby and brought it to bed, McElroy said.

While asleep, she accidentally rolled over and suffocated her son. McElroy said the young mother likely will not faces charges.
...
"Every indication is that this was an accident," she said.

...

"These cases really highlight how vulnerable our children are," McElroy said.

[Last modified June 2, 2005, 01:07:17]

"These are children who still believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus," said Arthur Busch, a former prosecutor in Michigan who in 2000 was faced with what to do with a 6-year-old boy who shot his classmate to death. "Their view of reality is much different than those of adults."

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050602/APN/506021017

Heide, however, says there are myriad complex issues to consider, both environmental and emotional. She wonders about the role of violence in the home, about the child's ability to express emotion, about the parents' response to good and bad behavior. She also wonders about the ``cartoon factor,'' scientific evidence that suggests youngsters are influenced by TV violence but do not understand the consequences.

``Children at that age typically don't know that death is permanent and irreversible, that when someone is dead, they are gone forever.''

Yet with Heide's words come this caveat: Children younger than 10 - often in the throes of not-so-subtle sibling rivalry - may pinch or slap their playmate. That's normal.

When the aggression becomes repetitive, however, or is aimed at animals and adults, it's time for professional intervention and, often, some good old-fashioned discipline.

http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBKP4TUH9E.html

The kid has rage issues, so let's teach him how to do Karate, so he can become a lethal weapon!

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Jeana (DP) said:

The kid has rage issues, so let's teach him how to do Karate, so he can become a lethal weapon!

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Click to expand...

LOL, you noticed that too. I agree, the parents weren't too smart and sadly it came back and hit them where it hurts the most.

The youngest alleged killer in Hillsborough County will undergo treatment for six months to determine whether he can be prosecuted in the death of a baby girl, a juvenile judge said Wednesday.

The 8-year-old, whom authorities have not identified because of his age, is charged with felony aggravated manslaughter. He is accused of fatally beating 7-month-old Jayza Simms in May while visiting her family. He lives in Lakeland with his mother and uncle, who accompanied him to court.

Judge Mark A. Wolfe ruled last month that the boy was incompetent to proceed with the case against him, based on the opinions of two court-appointed doctors. One doctor said the boy suffered from mental illness; the other said the boy was incompetent because of his age and immaturity, according to the boy's attorney, Marcelino Huerta III.

On Wednesday, Wolfe ordered the child to undergo training to familiarize him with the legal system and gauge whether he can participate in his defense. The judge scheduled a hearing for April 28 to check on the boy's progress.

If he is not determined to be competent to stand trial in the next two years, the charge could be dismissed, state statutes say.

The baby's mother, Sharnelle Simms, and the boy's father, Ross C. Jenkins Sr. -- who is listed as Jayza's father on her death certificate -- thought the children were asleep and went outside to socialize, she said. Simms "kept going back inside to check on them," she said.

The boy told police in an affidavit that Jayza's crying "made him mad," so he punched her, kicked her and clubbed her in the head with a piece of wood. Afterward, he told Simms the baby was ill.

Simms could not be reached Wednesday.
http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGBFU4EFQEE.html

Dear Lord. What a horrible horrible case.