North Miami Beach mother charged with murder in stabbing death of her young daughter
MIAMI - A young mother has been arrested and charged after she allegedly confessed to killing her 3-year-old daughter in their North Miami Beach home early Tuesday, court documents show.
Jellisa A. Baxter, 24, was being held Tuesday on no bond after she was booked on several charges, including first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, according to court documents.
According to police, the woman has no local relatives and her father lives in New York.
Police said she did not have a previous criminal record with local law enforcement agencies.
Police said the young mother allegedly stabbed her young daughter several times in their third-floor apartment located in the 1000 block of NE 163rd Street.
Investigators said the woman called 911 around 2 a.m. and told the emergency operator that she had stabbed the girl.
When police and fire rescue arrived, there were unable to save the girl.
According to the arrest affidavit, Baxter was in the living room wearing a white robe and the body of her young daughter was nearby.
The mother allegedly tried to strangle the girl to death but was unable to do and used a knife instead, the affidavit says.
Paramedics said the girl suffered from "deep stab wounds" to her chest, neck and face. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
The knife believed to have been used during the killing was found next to her body and collected by police as evidence, court documents say.
Baxter was taken into custody and declined to speak further about the incident, according to the affidavit.
Julia Gutierrez, who owns a business in the area, said she's been there two years and has never heard of anything like this happening before in the neighborhood.
"I have four kids with me so I'm so really scared," she said. "We have a saying, you need to look for help, don't do that to kids."