SC SC - Amir Jennings, 18 mo., Columbia, Nov 2011

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BritsKate said:
MOO

I just don't believe this to be a case of either PPD or PPP though mental illness is likely a factor. Almost all medical research of either disorder, including filicidal, places the time frame up to 6 months. It is entirely conceivable though that mom developed other psychological disorders during the postpartum period that are prevalent now.

I absolutely do not see any common characteristics of a psychotic filicide though. Mothers who murder their children while in the midst of a psychotic episode rarely hide their crime. A Michigan study of maternal psychotic vs. non-psychotic filicides showed that of 29 psychotic women 23 confessed to their crime, 25 received previous psychiatric care and 20 attempted suicide at the time of the filicide. 24 described the child(ren) as wanted compared to 2 (of 26) non-psychotic women. Psychotic filicides are most often, imo, altruistic in nature based on Resnick's classification of filicide. The mothers feel they are actually saving their children by killing them.

Whether mom is mentally ill or not I whole-heartedly believe she knew exactly what she was doing at the time of this (likely) murder and subsequent cover-up. JMO

ETA: From a legal perspective England & Wales Infanticide Act (allowing mothers to claim what is essentially diminished capacity due to post-partum) is only allowable up to one year after birth. FWIW
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These are good points. The things that make me wonder if it is PPP are that the family obviously was concerned about her mental status and did not try to hide that from investigators. They have said that she has been mentally unwell since Amir was born. I don't know about the 6 month mark - I think that may be when it appears by. But I don't think it magically disappears at 6 months. This link implies that some women never recover.

http://www.pregnancy-info.net/postpartum_psychosis.html

Postpartum psychosis is considered to be a mental health emergency and therefore requires immediate attention. Because women who suffer from the psychosis are not always able or willing to speak with someone about their disorder, it is sometimes necessary that their partner or another family member help them get the medical attention they need...With proper care, most women are able to recover from their disorder.
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And while we don't know where Amir is, that doesn't necessarily mean that she "hid" her crime. She certainly didn't hide the bloodstained blankets or clothes that were found in her car. I wonder if she killed Amir and honestly doesn't know where she left him. She doesn't appear to be actively trying to get away with anything - there have been no accusations that someone else took Amir, and she even told LE that she belongs in jail.

Whether this is PPP or not, I still say I have seen NO evidence that the grandparents did anything wrong here. It sounds like they have been concerned and involved all along.
 
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Our prayers are with you wherever you are, Amir. Hoping and praying you will be found alive soon.
 
Just seeing the news that bloody clothing and a towel were found. With this type of forensic evidence, it's very possible LE can succesfully prosecute a no body murder. Especially if that bloody clothing is determined to belong to Amir and the blood Amir's.

Poor baby. I hope he is found soon. He deserves a proper burial and his family closure.
 
Cubby said:
Just seeing the news that bloody clothing and a towel were found. With this type of forensic evidence, it's very possible LE can succesfully prosecute a no body murder. Especially if that bloody clothing is determined to belong to Amir.

Poor baby. I hope he is found soon. He deserves a proper burial and his family closure.
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I think its time to start prosecuting more no body cases. Too many parents are getting away with murder. Its time to change the laws to protect the children more than the parents. I'm not saying unfair justice, fair but equal! Parents or perps who refuse to talk to LE should go to jail until they talk. Maybe I'm just angry and not thinking clearly but I'm so sick of all these children going missing or being murdered and nothing being done about it. moo
 
I hope they are close to finding this baby and getting justice for him.
 
How long was it after the child was missing that LE checked the mother's car and found evidence? If it has been as long as I think it has, there is a serious problem here.
 
Some of the mother's statements, her family's statements, broken friendships, and her drastic change in appearance makes me wonder if she could be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. She is within the age that most females begin to show signs of the disorder and it could be mistaken for PPD.

I just wonder if she is being examined for any mental illness, drugs, or emotional disorders.

With medication, she might remember where her son is and what has happened if she has a mental illness.

This is just a thought.
 
http://www.thestate.com/2012/01/11/2109 ... s-mom.html
Friend says missing toddler’s mom made child scream
--snipped--


“She wanted Amir to say ma-ma, and when he wouldn’t, he started to scream. I looked down and she was squeezing his hand,” said friend Jessica Thomas, 24, a criminal justice student at Columbia’s Benedict College.

Thomas, who went to Dreher High School with Jennings, said Tuesday that Zinah in recent months had seemed to undergo a personality change and last autumn threw Thomas’ 2-year-old nephew on the floor, causing him to cry.
“She just said, ‘He was bothering me,’” said Thomas, who has also told her story to Columbia police officers.

City police investigating Amir’s disappearance are familiar with accounts of seemingly abusive behavior by Zinah Jennings, Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said Tuesday.

Columbia police Tuesday announced a $10,000 reward for anyone who can give information leading to the whereabouts and return of missing toddler Amir Jennings.

“She has a lawyer and is refusing to talk to us now,” Chief Scott said. “She’s not cooperating in any way, shape or form. She is a mother who is continuing not to assist law enforcement with her child’s safe return.”

Chief 5th Circuit Public Defender Doug Strickler confirmed late Tuesday his department is representing Jennings and declined further comment.
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http://www.wistv.com/story/16480659/war ... nnings-car

Where is Amir Jennings?

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

•November 23, 2011 - 18-month-old Amir Jennings is last seen

•December, 2011 - Family members confront Zinah Jennings about Amir's whereabouts

•December 8, 2011 - Jocelyn Jennings Nelson reports her daughter, Zinah, and Amir missing

•December 24, 2011 - Zinah Jennings crashes car in Columbia. She is questioned and arrested

•December, 30, 2011 - Police find bloody clothes and blankets in Jennings' car

•December 31, 2011 - Zinah Jennings appears in court on unlawful conduct toward a child charges

•January 2, 2012 - Police take DNA sample from Jennings

•January 4, 2012 - Police find shovel at Jennings' home

•January 5, 2012 - Tipster says Zinah Jennings frequented Richland County Public Library

•January 6&7, 2012 - Police receive electronic library card records and flash drive containing video of library's front entrance
 
http://www.thestate.com/2012/01/11/2109261/friend-says-missing-toddlers-mom.html


According to search warrants in the case, police have:
---snipped--

• Received 28 pages of medical records from Palmetto Health Richland hospital concerning Jennings’ treatment Dec. 24 after a Columbia car crash.

Until then, Jennings had been reported missing along with her child. Officers also sought statements from nurses and doctors who talked to Jennings during her treatment. When officers questioned her, she gave the first of “numerous false statements” to police and family, a warrant said.

Jennings also told the hospital’s staff she did not have a child, according to a warrant.
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http://www.wistv.com/story/16497255/zin ... -courtroom

Zinah Jennings appears in court, grandmother hopes missing boy found alive
--snipped--

The 22-year-old's public defender, Gregory Collins, filed a motion late Tuesday asking for an emergency hearing in the case. Exactly why Collins asked for the hearing is not clear.

A copy of the motion was not filed in the public record in the clerk's office and neither side would tell WIS what the motion dealt with. After a 15 minute closed-door meeting with circuit court judge Alison Lee and prosecutors, Collins withdrew his motion.

Jennings' family did not appear for the hearing.

A source close to the case told WIS that Jennings' attorney called for the hearing after the 22-year-old mother underwent mental health evaluations over the weekend. Allegations were that some of the information Jennings gave during her evaluations was leaked to prosecutors.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Jennings Nelson told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she is sure her daughter did nothing to harm Amir.

Nelson says her daughter doesn't trust police and may not fully understand the seriousness of the search for her son.
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http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/A ... 470812.php
AP Exclusive: Grandmother hopes SC boy found alive
-------snipped---
"One thing is clear," Jocelyn Jennings Nelson told The Associated Press. "I believe, I truly believe, that we're going to find Amir. I'm not wavering on that."

Nelson said she became concerned and contacted police when Jennings took off to Atlanta last fall to stay with a half-sister.

"I was assured by both her sister and her that, 'Everything is fine.'" Nelson said, adding that she got the sense that her daughter's attitude was, "'I'm not obligated to tell you where Amir is and where I am. I'm grown.'"

Nelson said she has spoken with Amir's father, who has cooperated with police, and feels he may know where the boy is.

"I'm not totally convinced that his family or he does not have Amir," Nelson said. "They were a couple, and he's aware that she's struggling. ... I'm turning every rock. I have not closed the book on that one."
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Makes me wonder if she was pregnant and gave birth herself. IOno, to keep those items around if she killed Amir is pretty stupid and incriminating.
 
I'm just not as hopeful as the grandmother.....not that I blame her. She can't let herself go there yet, and it's certainly understandable. I feel so awful for her.

I believe that Amir has been fatally harmed by Zinah, and that there will be no happy ending for the family in this case.

I sure would love to be wrong. Please let me be wrong.
 
Okay, who wants to bet that the same Pinellas 12 would have convicted this mother of murder if they heard that she hadn't reported her child missing in over a month? Just sayin'.
 
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