Autopsy: Baby born premature died with 96 fractures in her body
HOUSTON (KTRK/CNN) – The parents of a 10-week-old baby who died in 2018 have been charged in relation to her death after an autopsy revealed a skull fracture, broken ribs and a total of 96 fractures in her body.
Jason Robin Jr. is charged with the murder of his daughter, Jazmine Robin, while the girl’s mother, Katharine White, is charged with injury to a child by omission. The two suspects were once engaged to each other and had three children.
Jazmine, the middle child, was born premature at just 29 weeks in May 2018. The baby spent several weeks in the hospital before she was released to her parents in July as a healthy infant.
But less than two weeks later, the 10-week-old was back at the hospital, this time with “clearly inflicted head trauma.”
“I called and asked what happened because she [Katharine White] told me she had to rush the baby to the hospital, that she was having convulsions and all and she passed away,” said Virginia White, Jazmine’s great-grandmother.
Investigators who spoke to Robin and Katherine White at the hospital wrote in court documents that the parents described various situations during which Jazmine acted strangely or wouldn’t take a bottle.
About a week before her death, the parents said they had to give her CPR because she stopped breathing. Court documents show once the baby regained consciousness, they did not take her to the hospital.
A pediatrician who had seen Jazmine days prior to her death told investigators she advised Robin and Katharine White to take the child to the hospital, but they showed “no interest.”
The final autopsy, which was completed in May 2019, indicated baby Jazmine had a skull fracture, nine contusions to her torso, broken ribs and various traumas to her arms and legs. In total, she had 96 fractures, including 71 rib fractures and 23 long bone fractures.
Prosecutors allege neither parent was truthful about what happened to Jazmine.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. You need to be held responsible for the life of this child,” Virginia White said. “I don’t care if it’s my daughter or my son. If you did it, you have to put on your big girl panties and take responsibility.”
The great-grandmother says she didn’t even have a chance to meet Jazmine before she died.
Child Protective Services has removed Jazmine’s siblings from the suspects’ care. One is in foster care, while the other is with a relative.