Inset, left to right: Kassandra L. Bracewell (Jackson County Jail) and Jalen “JJ” Harding (Christensen Family Funeral Home). Background: The area where Bracewell fatally injured JJ (Google Maps).
A 31-year-old woman in Indiana will spend decades behind bars for inflicting fatal injuries on her boyfriend’s 1-year-old son because the toddler would not stop crying.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Richard W. Poynter on Tuesday ordered Kassandra L. Bracewell to serve 33 years in a state correctional facility with three years suspended for her role in the death of Jalen Patrick Harding, authorities announced.
Poynter handed down the sentence after Bracewell pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
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“Seventeen months old. This child was just a baby, innocent, defenseless, and entirely dependent upon the adults responsible for his care and protection,” Jackson County prosecutor Lynsey N. Fleetwood said in a statement. “Instead of being protected, this little boy lost his life because of Kassandra Bracewell’s criminal neglect.”
The case began May 16, 2024, when Brownstown police and firefighters responded to a home in the 200 block of W. Spring St. regarding a report of an unresponsive toddler, according to the Seymour Tribune.
Upon arriving, first responders began lifesaving measures on JJ, with one officer reportedly describing the boy as “red-faced and almost lifeless.”
Bracewell had initially claimed her boyfriend’s son was injured in an accidental fall, telling police JJ had climbed out of his Pack ‘N Play and struck his head on a dresser.
Emergency medical personnel transported him to Schneck Medical Center, but due to the severity of his condition, he was transferred to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was declared brain-dead.
But Bracewell’s account was undercut by the extent of her boyfriend’s son’s injuries, which doctors said were consistent with shaken baby syndrome or blunt-force trauma to the head.
A subsequent autopsy reportedly determined that JJ’s brain was left more “fluid” than solid as a result of his injuries.
Bracewell’s mother, Marjie S. Bracewell-Cook, later gave investigators a different version of events, reportedly claiming her daughter became frustrated because JJ would not stop crying and pushed him into the crib, causing him to fall backward. Bracewell-Cook also said another child in the home had been instructed to lie to police about what happened.
The investigation also focused on the emergency call made after JJ was injured.
On May 25, 2024, police confronted Bracewell with the recording in which she said, “he’s dead, I think I hurt him,” according to the Tribune. She denied making the statement and then disputed that she was the voice on the recording.
“There is no sentence this Court could impose that would bring this beautiful child back,” Fleetwood continued. “There is no number of years that can restore the life that was lost or erase the horrific consequences of Kassandra Bracewell’s actions. But there must be accountability, and Kassandra deserves every single day she will spend behind bars.”
At her sentencing hearing more than two years later, Bracewell spoke about the death and her time behind bars.
“I’m sorry don’t begin to scratch the surface of how I feel,” she reportedly told the court.
While multiple people testified to the positive strides Bracewell had made during her time in jail, several family members castigated her for JJ’s death. JJ’s father, Andrew Finley, reportedly spoke about the milestones he would never experience with his son and said there was no excuse for Bracewell’s actions.
The boy’s mother, Kayla Harding, had lost custody of him shortly after his birth because of substance use but had worked to regain partial custody.
“I struggled to get him back just to lose him,” Harding reportedly said.
The judge recognized the changes Bracewell had made in jail but told her that personal growth could not undo what happened.
“You can’t change your yesterday, Ms. Bracewell, but you can change your tomorrow,” Poynter said.
The post Woman who left toddler’s brain more ‘fluid’ than solid because of incessant crying is sentenced first appeared on Law & Crime.
