Police: Woman charged in abuse murder of 2yo cousin - blamed falling TV (SC)

[Texas Mist]

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Greenville police said that a 2-year-old was girl was shaken to death by a relative on Monday.

Officers were called the Greenville Memorial Hospital Monday morning where a doctor told them that the child, Jakorsha Dodd, had been brought into the emergency room at about 11:15 a.m. non-responsive and in respiratory distress. The doctor said Dodd was treated for injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Police investigators said they arrested 51-year-old Judy Mae Greer, a cousin who lived in the child’s home.
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Greer was watching the toddler when she was severely injured. The child's mother and grandmother were also at home at the time.

The toddler's mother, Joquin Dodd told News 4 this was a terrible accident not a crime.

"I don't believe she would have done that to my baby. When I walked in she was a holding a TV. She said 'I'm sorry the TV fell. The TV fell.' I said 'what was you doing?' She said 'I was moving a cover or something and it fell'," said Dodd.

more here

http://www.wyff4.com/news/22785078/detail.html


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Greer told police that she shook the toddler "really hard" to stop her from crying and whining, police wrote in a warrant. Greer said she knew something was wrong when the child stopped moving and became quiet, police wrote.

Dodd told police that her daughter had laid down in the living room with her 1-year-old cousin for a nap, a common routine, the officer wrote in the incident report.

Dodd said she went into a bedroom and then heard a loud noise, the officer wrote. She returned to the living room and noticed that her daughter wasn't breathing normally, the officer wrote.

The mother took Jakorsha to the emergency room at Greenville Memorial Hospital, arriving about 11:15 a.m. Monday, the officer wrote. She died at 9:37 p.m., Cain said.


more here

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?...=84902&catid=2




Rockabye in the arms of angels, little Jakorsha

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And I don't mean to disrespect little Jakorsha, but it looks to me as tho her front teeth are missing....makes me wonder if they were punched out, IYKWIM.

[Texas Mist]

Toddler's family calls homicide charge against cousin a mistake
Police say 2-year-old had injuries consistent with ‘shaken baby syndrome'

Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 2:00 am

The family of Jakorsha Dodd said the toddler liked playing with dolls, wearing beads in her hair and bringing joy to the world with her bright smile.

Those same family members described Jakorsha's cousin, Judy Mae Greer, as a big-hearted caretaker known for babysitting the dozens of children in her extended Greenville family.

Never did the family think that Greer would be charged in her 2-year-old cousin's death.

Greer, 51, was accused Tuesday of causing swelling to Jakorsha's brain and internal bleeding —injuries consistent with “shaken baby syndrome,” according to a warrant that lists her address as 10 Gurley Ave.

She is charged in the warrant with homicide by child abuse and was being held at the Greenville County Detention Center.

Jakorsha's grandmother, Jackie Branch, said the charge was a mistake. Branch said she believes a 32-inch television fell on Jakorsha as she slept on a pallet next to her 1-year-old cousin.

“We heard the TV fall,” Branch said. “It was an accident.”

more here

http://tribunetimes.com/article/2010...usin-a-mistake

Too bad Greer has told police that she shook Jakorsha -- nobody's gonna believe the TV fell on that little sweetie.