Tyshael Martin, 34, who is on trial for the first-degree murder of nine year old Jamaria Sessions, told police officers: “I didn’t murder her”.
Martin is potentially facing the death penalty after being accused of a vicious abuse campaign against young Jamaria, including allegations that she incited her Rottweiler to attack the child. Eerie audio evidence purportedly captures Martin threatening: “I’m fixin’ to kill her.”
Officials report that Jamaria was found dead with her body bearing signs of bites, burns, cuts and bruises.
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The girl’s father, 27-year-old LoJuan Sessions, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter for allegedly neglecting his duty to safeguard his daughter.
However, in recently released footage from a police interview, Martin appears unconcerned as she clarifies her previous statements made before Jamaria’s passing as merely attempts to “scare” the child. Seemingly perplexed about her murder charge, she informs investigators after being prompted for any final remarks: “I mean, I just want to say I didn’t cause her death. I didn’t kill her, I didn’t murder her. I didn’t do none of it.”
Martin also challenged the detectives on the accusations levelled against her, asking: “Why am I being charged with premeditated murder”. They explained that it was related to what she said during Jamaria’s final moments.
However, Martin insisted that her remarks were meant only to “scare” the girl. An officer countered with: “Scare tactics was also premeditation.”
The detective then catalogued the myriad of injuries Jamaria had endured before her untimely death.
On the recording, he detailed how she had received punches, suffered from broken teeth, and might have even been bitten at the back of her head by the dog, highlighting the lack of proper food or water for the child. Martin claimed that Jamaria incurred the dental injuries after tumbling onto a treadmill and appeared to shift blame towards her boyfriend for the tragedy.
She reflected: “I just, I mean, when you say accountable, I feel like I probably could have done more to, you know, possibly prevent things from happening.”
Over 3,000 unsettling domestic CCTV clips confiscated by the authorities have assisted in piecing together the appalling ordeal the young girl faced, showing evidence of burns and additional harm predating the canine assault. The video cache includes the shocking instance on June 16 where Martin set the sizeable dog upon the youngster.
Lake County emergency services were alerted to the household by medics the morning after when they discovered Jamaria’s lifeless and nonreactive body in her bed. .
Court records show that Jamaria had “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 affidavit, a video allegedly shows Jamaria being “viciously attacked by the family pet, a 103lb male Rottweiler.”
Local media reports suggest Martin is seen in the video holding the dog’s leash and “encouraging the dog to bite” Jamaria as she lies on the floor, just out of the camera shot. The document states: “The next clips show Jamaria Sessions staggering, nude and disheveled. Jamaria’s hair, previously in a partial bun, was now messy, and her extensions were falling out of her hair. It appeared that the dog had bitten the child’s head, pulling at her hair, at the command of Tyshael Martin.”
The document then describes how Martin allegedly forces Jamaria to stand with her arms raised, but she is so badly hurt that she begins to stagger.
Martin, apparently furious, lashes out with a vicious kick, sending Jamaria crashing to the floor. The affidavit continues: “The child lay motionless, moaning in pain, as Tyshael Martin continued to kick her hip and eventually her stomach area at full force.”