A mother from Alexandria, Louisiana is facing murder charges after her 5-year-old daughter was discovered dead with neck injuries.
As KALB reports, the 24-year-old mom was arrested on July 23, six days after she took her daughter, Audrey Lynn Chelette, to the hospital after the 5-year-old suffered a fatal neck injury.
According to reports, her daughter was already deceased by the time they arrived. The mom, Jasmine Anderson, told authorities that her daughter suffered the injury in a car accident when her “head and neck had struck the front passenger’s side window.”
Mother Charged in Child’s DeathAn Alexandria woman has been charged with Second Degree Murder in connection with the…
However, as Alexandria police revealed in a press release, there was no evidence of a single-car accident:
For several hours, officers attempted to locate the area where Anderson claimed the crash occurred, however no evidence of any vehicle crash could be found. The injury also did not seem consistent with what would occur during a crash.
It was after a “thorough investigation” that Anderson was arrested for second-degree murder. An autopsy confirmed that the neck injury is what caused Audrey’s death.
Alexandria Police Chief Jerrod King said of the investigation:
“The wrongful death of a child is a horrible thing to see, and these men and women have maintained their professionalism and pursued the case with their customary diligence.
I want to specifically commend Sergeant Butler and Corporal Daigre of our Traffic Division, who spent hours painstakingly recreating the suspect’s movements and discovering the location of the crime. I also want to thank District Attorney Phillip Terrell, with whom we’ve been working on this case since the beginning to ensure a complete and thorough investigation.”
According to the Alexandria Town Talk, the arrest also took place just three months after Anderson’s 4-year-old son Christopher “CJ” Dawayne Chelette died in April. According to the report, the young boy died “after allegedly choking on a soda bottle cap.”
As KATB reports, Anderson told officers that “she woke up and went to the bathroom, and that is when she observed (name redacted) on the floor not breathing. Anderson advised it had been approximately 45 minutes.”
Emergency responders were able to find a pulse. However, CJ passed away two days later.
The girl and boy’s father, 20-year-old Christopher Dawayne “Critter” Chelette also passed away in 2016.
However, in an additional statement, police said that it is “premature” to link Audrey’s and CJ’s deaths.
Because the investigation is still ongoing, information such as where the alleged crime took place and why is being withheld.
