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Parents of a baby who died with 96 fractures charged in her death

Posted at 8:10 PM, Jun 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-25 20:10:44-04

(CNN) — The parents of a 10-week-old baby whose autopsy revealed she’d suffered 96 fractures have been charged with her death.

The father, Jason Robin of Houston, was charged with the murder of his infant daughter, Jazmine. The baby’s autopsy revealed she also suffered multiple broken ribs and a skull fracture, according to Harris County, Texas, court records.

Her mother, Katharine White, was charged with injury by omission for failing to protect her.

Court documents show Jazmine was born prematurely at 29 weeks old but released safely into her parents’ care on July 3, 2018. She was readmitted July 14 with what physicians called “clearly inflicted head trauma,” and staff tipped off investigators.

Robin told investigators his daughter refused to take a bottle the day she was admitted and went limp for a few minutes. She was not acting like herself for most of the morning so he took her to the hospital in the afternoon.

Robin admitted that hearing his baby cry made his ears ring “all the way to kingdom come” and he would occasionally slam doors when his anger grew unmanageable, according to court records.

He said he never wanted to hit his daughter, but “if even for a second [he] wanted to, she is too beautiful to hit.”

Jazmine died from her injuries July 15, court documents show.

White first told investigators that Jazmine’s injuries probably resulted from the hour of CPR hospital staff administered. She later said another adult living at her residence must have harmed the child. The woman accused later told investigators she never cared for the child while staying with White.

Investigators interviewed three adults who shared a residence with Robin and White, and two said they noticed the baby had a black eye, bruising on her arms and “too much blood” coming from her tongue.

Jazmine’s pediatrician said she noticed black bruising around Jazmine’s eyes at a checkup July 10 and told the parents they must take her to an ER immediately, but they “expressed no interest” in emergency care and said they’d take her home to recover.

Reached for comment, the pediatrician’s office told CNN, “We can’t release any information at this time.”

Investigators received the final autopsy report in May 2019.

It showed that Jazmine died as a result of blunt head trauma, with severe injury to the rest of her body, including 71 rib fractures and 23 long bone fractures across her arms, legs and torso.

CNN affiliate KTRK reported that the couple’s 2-year-old son has been placed in foster care, and a baby born after Jazmine’s death is with a relative.

Robin was arrested Monday after appearing in court and is currently being held in a Harrison County Sheriff’s Office inmate processing center, according to police, where his bond is listed at $888,888.

Houson Police tweeted White was arrested Tuesday morning. Neither Robin nor White has an attorney, the public defender’s office told CNN. Both face the possibility of life in prison, the DA’s office said.

“The evidence shows that Baby Jazmine fell victim to the very people who were supposed to protect her the most in this world,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a news release. “After a full and thorough investigation of the facts, we have filed charges, and will seek justice for young Jazmine.”