Sunday, February 14, 1999
Mother charged in girl's death
Paramedics see signs of long-term abuse
BY RACHEL MELCER and TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Belanda L. Moore
|
A Winton Hills mother was charged Saturday with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of her 7-year-old daughter.
Paramedics found Jasmine A. Wilkerson dead shortly after noon Saturday in a second-floor bedroom at 799 Dutch Colony Drive. Her body showed several signs of abuse, including scratches, burn marks and scars.
Some marks were fresh, some seemed older, paramedic Tom Feldman said.
“This child's been tortured for a while,” said Capt. Gary Henry after reviewing his paramedics' reports.
Police took Jasmine's 29-year-old mother, Belanda L. Moore, in for questioning after reports from the paramedics and staff at Children's Hospital Medical Center. She was being held Saturday night in the Hamilton County Justice Center.
Paramedics who responded to a 911 call that the girl had recently stopped breathing attempted to revive Jasmine as they transported her to Children's Hospital. But it was clear from when they started working that she had been dead for some time.
“You're there to do your job. But it always makes it tougher to see a little child like that, especially when abuse is suspected,” said Mr. Feldman, a paramedic with Cincinnati Fire Department Rescue 38.
There were several parallel scratches down Jasmine's right side, from her shoulder to her hip. There were circular burn scars on her arms that appeared to come from a cigarette, and bruises on her legs.
Ms. Moore was apparently home alone with her children shortly after noon Saturday when she called 911. She told a dispatcher that she was doing CPR and thought she detected faint breathing and a pulse.
Paramedics who arrived minutes later say that wasn't likely.
“When we got there it looked like she had been down quite some time,” Mr. Feldman said.
The mother told 911 that Jasmine had been sick for the past few days. But she said she wasn't sure how sick Jasmine was because she said the girl had a history of faking illnesses to avoid school.
After several minutes talking with the 911 operator and attempting resuscitation, Ms. Moore mentioned that Jasmine's stomach felt “tight.”
The operator asked: “Did they say anything about what she had at school? That she may have eaten something at school that made her sick?”
Ms. Moore responded: “Um, no. All I saw was purple stuff coming up. And, um, see, she has some behavior problems. And I whipped her yesterday and she just kept saying my stomach hurt, and I thought it was another fake. But it's been going on for two days.”
At that point, the paramedics arrived and the 911 call was ended.
Neighbors said they had watched the woman come and go and often saw her children — Jasmine, her 9-year-old brother and 3-year-old sister — playing in their front yard.
But the family moved from Chicago to the Cincinnati Housing Authority complex just a couple of months ago. Two neighbors found at home Saturday afternoon said they had not had a chance to become well acquainted with Ms. Moore.
“I never heard any fussing or feuding over there,” Tracy Jeter said. “(The children) seemed well.”
Hospital officials notified 241-KIDS and other authorities that they suspected Jasmine had been abused, hospital spokesman Jim Feuer said.
“We have never had any prior involvement with this family,” said 241-KIDS spokeswoman Mindy Good.
The agency placed Jasmine's brother and sister with a local relative.
A neighbor, Joan Rogers, said she never noticed any unusual activity around the Moore home. The community is full of good people, she said, but trouble is not uncommon.
“Out here it looks quiet. But for some reason, there are these devious things that people do,” she said. “It's just sad.”
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