Left: Travis Ray Thompson (Marion County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Jacklyn Schwingel (Office of The State Attorney, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Florida).
A Florida man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the death of a 2-year-old who suffered an extreme spinal injury while in his care – roughly a week after the little girl’s mother broke up with him.
Travis Ray Thompson, 27, was convicted on one count of murder in the first degree over the horrific May 2022 incident that took the life of Jacklyn Schwingel.
Earlier this week, jurors spent just shy of two hours deliberating and returned a guilty verdict. Fifth Judicial Circuit Judge Barbara Kissner subsequently sentenced the defendant to life in prison.
“This monster stole the life of an innocent child, and today, the justice system made sure he will never walk free again,” State Attorney Bill Gladson said in a press release issued Thursday – referring to Wednesday’s sentencing. “Life in prison is too good for this kind of evil.”
On the day in question, Thompson abused the girl in such a way that left her spine “completely severed” and then waited 30 minutes before taking her to the hospital, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
“Based on the severity and nature of the break, it was determined that Thompson applied significant, gradual force to the victim’s upper and lower body from the front with a fulcrum point on her lower back,” the sheriff’s office said in their initial press release about the charges.
Jacklyn was found to have died from traumatic injuries resulting in the “disarticulation of the lumbar spine,” according to an autopsy report cited by Fort Pierce-based CW affiliate KTVX, The document said the break “was caused by significant, gradual force being placed simultaneously on the front of (the victim’s) upper torso/head and lower body.” Those injuries also resulted in the girl suffering large amounts of internal bleeding.
The TV station reported that investigators learned Jacklyn’s mother was staying in Thompson’s camper on the night of May 2, 2022 in order to help him with an automotive repair the next day. Early the next morning, the defendant dropped an older child off at a school bus stop and returned back to the camper. The little girl was allegedly left in his care during the late morning when her mother went off to work.
Thompson allegedly said he and Jacklyn went down to a nearby lake for 15 minutes and then returned to the camper so he could use the bathroom. The last place he left the toddler, he allegedly said, was on a futon. The defendant told law enforcement he heard a loud sound and came out of the bathroom to find Jackyn limp and “gurgling,” according to the arrest report, but still taking shallow breaths.
Several phone calls were then made, the arrest report alleges, before the girl’s mother made it back to the camper.
The two then took Jacklyn to the hospital together.
“While en route to the hospital, the victim’s mother directed Thompson to call 911 when she realized the victim had stopped breathing altogether,” the sheriff’s office said.
Jacklyn died three hours after arriving.
Staff at the AdventHealth Waterman hospital in Tavares – a small city located some 40 miles northwest of Orlando – reported the girl’s injuries and presence in the emergency room as suspicious. Sheriff’s deputies arrived in response and begin their investigation.
Thompson consistently maintained his innocence, repeatedly insisting that he has no idea “how or why” Jacklyn died.
Investigators, however, learned that Thompson and the girl’s mother were previously in a romantic relationship and that she had broken things off with the defendant roughly a week before the day the toddler died, according to Tampa-based NBC affiliate WFLA.
Detectives also allegedly turned up text messages that relayed the extent of his anger with Jacklyn’s mother, KTVX reported.
“I’m incredibly proud of my Major Crimes detectives for their relentless work on this heartbreaking case,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said after the sentencing was handed down. “Their dedication helped secure justice for an innocent child.”
