LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A southern Indiana jury found a stepmother guilty on two of the four charges that were brought against her in the death of her 3-year-old stepdaughter last year.
On Friday, after deliberating for 7.5 hours, a Clark County jury found Ashanti Jackson, of Indianapolis, guilty of aggravated battery and neglect of a dependent resulting in injury, according to court documents. For both charges, Jackson faces a maximum of 46 years in prison.
An investigation was started on Aug. 22, 2023 when a detective from Clarksville, Indiana, responded to Norton Children's Hospital in downtown Louisville after a 3-year-old was brought there from the Suburban Motel in Clarksville, according to a probable cause affidavit. That's off Broadway Street off Veterans Parkway.
First responders were told the child was injured after falling from a bed while having a seizure. Doctors who examined the child determined her injuries were caused by "non-accidental trauma" and were life-threatening.
Court records state that surgeons had to remove part of the child's skull due to a large amount of brain swelling. The child, identified by her mother to WDRB at the time as Mehlani, was not expected to survive, and she was taken off support on Aug. 24, 2023, after doctors determined there was no brain activity.
The final autopsy report was released on Dec. 12. It stated that the 3-year-old "was assaulted," and her death was ruled a homicide. The report said she died from blunt impact injuries to her head, "in the setting of battered child syndrome."
The coroner's report also indicated the child suffered "a significant traumatic injury to her abdomen." Specifically, they found a tear in her mesentery, which is a membrane that attaches the intestine to the wall around the stomach area. It is believed that injury occurred up to two weeks before the child was hospitalized, and most likely caused her "to endure pain and suffering."
Police said evidence shows Jackson tried to revive the child before calling 911 by placing her in a cold bath.
The jury on Friday found Jackson not guilty of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and battery with serious injury of a person under the age of 14.
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6.
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