The Misery Machine - The Case of Jasmine Renne Singletary Bortle

Starting point is 00:00:00 Jasmine Renee Singletary Bortle was born on June 10th, 2007 to parents Philip and Jessica Bortle in Mariana, Florida. At the time of our story, Jasmine was 14 years old and living in Bonifay, Florida. She was described as having special needs and was living with a neuromuscular disorder. What type of disorder this was remains unclear. But on July 8th, 2021, she was admitted to the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida for an infection. It should be noted that some sources state that she had been admitted for a closed head injury of suspicious origins. However, it was found that the injury in question was from a fall related to a preexisting medical condition. Jasmine was confined to her hospital bed and was accompanied by Jessica and her grandmother Rose Mathis.

Starting point is 00:00:46 On July 13, 2021, Jessica could be seen on surveillance video exiting her daughter's room. She was behaving strangely and began shaking and flexing her hands as if it were in pain. you know, kind of like if you just hit somebody. Moments later, hospital staff entered Jasmine's room and discovered the young girl unconscious and not breathing. Despite life-saving measures, Jasmine Renee's Singletary Bortle was pronounced dead. On July 21, 2021, an autopsy of Jasmine's body was performed as the circumstances surrounding her death appeared to be somewhat unexpected and suspicious.

Starting point is 00:01:23 Prior to being found unconscious, Jasmine was completely alert. However, what the medical examiner found was even more unexpected. Jasmine had suffered major internal injuries to her ribs and her liver. These injuries were not present when she was admitted to the hospital and had to have occurred when she was confined to her hospital bed. The injury to her liver was so severe that it had been ripped open. It was described by the medical examiner as being completely obliterated. In fact, her injuries were more akin to a person who had been killed in a car accident,

Starting point is 00:01:55 not a person stuck in a hospital bed. The medical examiner indicated that the injuries were to the point where Jasmine would have died only minutes after receiving them. That same day, officers with the Pensacola Police Department responded to a call from the District 1 Medical Examiner's Office regarding a homicide at Ascension's Sacred Heart Hospital. Keeping the surveillance footage that we discussed in mind, police zeroed in on one suspect, Jessica Bortle.

Starting point is 00:02:21 The mother initially told police that she had no idea what could have caused her daughter's injuries. But eventually, she did decide to come clean. According to Jessica, on July 13th, the day that Jasmine was found unresponsive in her hospital bed, mother and daughter got into a heated argument over art supplies. Now, allegedly, Jasmine began to swear at her mother because she was mad about the crayons.

Starting point is 00:02:45 In turn, Jessica became enraged with her daughter because she was swearing. Rather than exiting the hospital room and taking a walk to cool off, she decided to take her anger out on Jasmine, who remember, was disabled and confined to a hospital bed. According to Jessica, she took the overbed table and slammed it into Jasmine's abdomen at full force, and then proceeded to lean onto the table with her full weight. Jessica went on to explain that she continued to lean into the table even after her daughter cried out in pain. In the end, she admitted that she was indeed the one responsible for inflicting the injury that killed her daughter Jasmine. The police agreed with her. It was determined that Jessica leaned on the

Starting point is 00:03:29 table with all of her weight for so long that she ground the table into Jasmine's liver, which caused the damage described by the medical examiner. If the mother's admission wasn't enough to seal her fate, Jasmine's grandmother's testimony to police was the final nail in the coffin. She told the officer's another eerily similar story. In fact, she literally told them that hit the fan just before the incident occurred. Rose explained that Jessica initially moved the overbed table over to Jasmine so that she could color, but soon the girl began swearing. She then began breaking and throwing her crayons, which ultimately led to the mother's violent outburst and her daughter's untimely death. Rose said she heard Jasmine utter the word grandma before her eyes rolled back into her head.

Starting point is 00:04:17 On August 7, 2021, a memorial service was held for Jasmine at her family's home. Sadly, these are the only details pertaining to Jasmine other than the details of her death that have been made public. There was no information on who Jasmine was as a person or what she liked to do. In fact, her obituary was only three sentences. Jessica, who was 34 years old at the time that she killed her daughter, was arrested and booked into the Escambia County Jail. She was charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of aggravated battery.

Starting point is 00:04:49 Her arrest was announced by the Pensacola Police Chief, Eric Randall during a press conference that he held on August 17th, 2021. Well, good morning and thank you, everyone, for being here, taking time out your day. When I first came into office, I explained that it was important to me and for the community as well to be very transparent and open and keep the community informed of things that are going on. As law enforcement professionals, there are occasions when we must report cases that are terrible and difficult to you understand. And unfortunately, today is one of those occasions.

Starting point is 00:05:27 Last month, on July 8th, 14-year-old Jasmine Singletary was taken to a session sacred heart hospital by our mother due to an infection. Jasmine Singletary is a special needs patient with neuromuscular disorder, and on this particular visit, she was admitted into the hospital. On July 13th, Jasmine was in a hospital room with a mother, and her grandmother was in the room also.

Starting point is 00:05:54 Jasmine unexpectedly lost consciousness and stopped breathing. Hospital staff was summoned and began life-saving measures. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful and Jasmine passed away. An autopsy was conducted, and on July 21st, Pensacola Police Department was notified by the medical examiner's office. The autopsy showed that Jasmine had suffered massive injuries, injuries that were not present when she was admitted to the hospital. The medical examiner indicated that the injuries were so severe that Jasmine would have died only minutes after receiving them

Starting point is 00:06:30 and that they had to have occurred while she was confined to her hospital bed. Pasoosa County Police Department began an exhaustive and extensive investigation over the last few weeks. Multiple interviews collecting evidence and things of that nature. Ultimately, last Friday, we were able to secure a warrant for Jasmine's mother, Jessica Bortle, because it was determined that she was the one that caused the injuries. Jessica Bortle has been charged with manslaughter in the death of her daughter, Jasmine. The Pensacola Police Department will extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Jasmine Singletary. The Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital later released their own statement.

Starting point is 00:07:18 It read, quote, The loss of Jasmine was an unimaginable tragedy for those who loved her, and it was heartbreaking for the nurses and doctors in our children's hospital who cared for her. We send our deepest sympathies and our prayers for her family and all who knew her, end quote. Following her arrest, Jessica made her first court appearance at the MC Blancher Judicial Building in downtown Pensacola via video feed. Assistant State Attorney Alvin Trey Myers requested that Jessica's bond be set at no less than $250,000, citing the severity of the accusations against her. However, Escambia County Judge Amy Broderson decided to do one better.

Starting point is 00:07:58 She set Jessica's bond at $500,000 before assigning her case to the public defender's office. Jury selection for Jessica's trial began on July 23, 23rd, 2023, with opening statements scheduled that same week. leading the prosecution was assistant state attorney Nathaniel Sebastian, while assistant public defender Marcy McCoy represented the accused. During this trial, attorney Sebastian and McCoy told the jury why they believe the mother should or should not be convicted of her charges. According to Sebastian, quote, shoving the table into the stomach of someone laying in bed is an intentional act.

Starting point is 00:08:34 It is not negligence. It is not justified. It is not excusable. Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence in this case proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Jessica Bortle committed manslaughter and aggravated CA." Although Jessica invoked her constitutional right not to testify, her recorded interview with Pensacola Police Department Detective Keith Turney outlined that she said her daughter's liver injury could have come from her

Starting point is 00:08:59 shoving the hospital bed table toward her while both were angry. However, her story started to change. Jessica claimed that she didn't think she hurt her daughter after shoving the table toward her, since Jasmine asked if they could color together. According to her public defender Marcy McCoy, quote, after this catastrophic injury that the state is saying the shove of the table cause, Jasmine said, ow, that hurts. That's not reasonable, ladies and gentlemen, and then she wanted to color, and so Jessica colored with her again. If there was that kind of injury, think about what kind of pain that would cause. You wouldn't want to color, end quote. Attorney McCoy urged

Starting point is 00:09:36 the jury to ask themselves why Jessica would take care of her daughter 24 hours a day. for 14 years, take her daughter to the hospital after she received a head injury from a fall related to her medical problems, and then, while in the hospital filled with nurses and doctors, choose to kill her. She went on to describe her client as intellectually disabled and claimed she loved her daughter. During rebuttal, Attorney Sebastian agreed that Jessica didn't plan to kill Jasmine, but said that she was angry, she snapped, and so she shoved the table into her daughter. In addition, Jessica's mother, Rose Mathis, testified she didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary and was playing games on her phone the whole night. This directly contradicted

Starting point is 00:10:19 the statement she provided to police on July 21st. Her story changed completely. This just in, a verdict reached in a high-profile death case in Pensacola. jury just found Jessica Bordle guilty of battery and child of but not manslaughter. She is being held without bond until sentencing. Bordel was accused of killing her special needs daughter while she was confined to a hospital bed in 2021. On July 28, 2023, after a two-day trial, Jessica Bordell now aged 36, was found guilty. However, the jury opted for less severe charges than those sought by the state. convicting Jessica of the lesser offense of misdemeanor battery rather than manslaughter.

Starting point is 00:11:05 She was also charged with aggravated CA, but the jury found her guilty of the lesser offense of just CA without aggravating circumstances, as well as finding her guilty of a third-degree felony rather than a first-degree felony. After the clerk read Jessica's verdict, her attorney asked that her client not be taken into custody since she has no prior record to speak of and has been out of custody for most of the two years since her initial arrest. However, Circuit Judge Linda Nobles wasn't having any of that, and Jessica was taken into custody. Jessica's sentencing is tentatively scheduled for October 4, 2023 at 8.30 a.m.

Starting point is 00:11:42 She faces up to only five years in prison for her conviction. What do you think about this verdict in the possible sentence? Do you think that five years in prison is enough for killing your disabled child in a fit of rage? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Jasmine Renne Singletary Bortle

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