A Houston couple has been arrested following allegations of brutal child abuse that reportedly occurred over four days.
A 5-month-old baby girl from Texas, who was left brain dead after being severely beaten over a weekend, has passed away. Her parents are now facing criminal charges in connection with this incident.
On September 29, a baby girl named Ja’nae was taken to a local hospital with multiple rib fractures and a brain bleed, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez’s post on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
“After suffering a horrific weekend starting on 9/26/24, where she was said to be throwing up, partially paralyzed, vomiting blood etc. It wasn’t until Sunday that she was taken to the ER,” Gonzalez wrote.
The baby appeared to have old and new fractures, he wrote.
Calling the situation “sad and disturbing, Gonzalez wrote, “Her prognosis was grim” when she arrived at the hospital.
Ja’nae, who had “no brain function,” Gonzalez wrote, died of her injuries on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
Posted by Harris County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, October 7, 2024
Glenn Wayne Smith, 25, and Jasmine Ellison, 23, both from Houston, have been taken into custody and charged with causing harm to a child and inflicting serious bodily injury.
The couple does not have a criminal history or any previous encounters with child protective services, according to law enforcement.
The couple allegedly delayed calling 911 to get help for their daughter, as described by the prosecutors in court.
What investigators find so disturbing about the allegations is that even if the injuries were inflicted accidentally, the couple is accused of watching the infant get worse and worse and waiting to bring her to the hospital.
The infant’s mother, Ellison, appeared in court for the part she allegedly played in the heart-sinking death of her baby girl, Ja’nae Smith.
“The abuse is said to have taken place over a four-day period, or the most recent abuse, in which the child was in the care of both this defendant and the child’s father,” prosecutors said, local station ABC 13 reports.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office described Ja’nae’s final days as a “horrific weekend that began on Sept. 26.”
During that time, it is alleged that Ja’nae’s father, identified in court records as Smith, was abusing the child, and Ellison failed to take action.
It all allegedly occurred inside their north Harris County home on Plumwood Drive.
Investigators say Ja’nae was partially paralyzed and throwing up blood, yet Ellison and Smith waited until Sept. 29 to call 911.
“The child was found with multiple serious injuries including swelling and bleeding of the brain, no brain activity at the time of admission, blood coming out of her mouth, broken ribs, healed broken ribs,” prosecutors said in court, ABC 13 reports.
The child was assessed at the Texas Medical Center, where she ultimately died from her injuries.
Prosecutors alleged, “Medical staff said the injuries were likely caused by aggressively shaking the child,” reports ABC 13.
Ellison and Smith were questioned by detectives.
“Both ended up giving statements to police that were inconsistent with the injuries,” investigators said.
The attorney who represented Ellison in probable cause court claims the 23-year-old mom sought medical care for her daughter but didn’t specify when.
“And was told to bring her in if the child got worse, and it appears the child declined while my client was at work,” the attorney representing Ellison in probable cause court said.
Eyewitness News spoke briefly with Ja’nae’s grandmother, who investigators say often visited the couple’s home, but she declined to comment.
Smith and Ellison remain held at the Harris County Jail.
Initially held on a $1 million bond, Smith’s bond was later reduced to $250,000, ABC 13 reports. Ellison’s bond was set at $150,000.
Their attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the press.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
