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‘I Accidentally Did It,' Crying Mom Allegedly Said About Shooting Death Of 2-Year-Old Daughter
Jasmine Daniels first blamed her toddler son, a stranger, and then a man named “Eddie” before confessing to shooting her daughter, police said.
A Milwaukee mother is charged with shooting and killing her 2-year-old daughter following a horrific scene where she was allegedly seen holding the toddler's bloody body.
Jasmine Daniels, 22, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide following the death of her daughter Zymeiia Stevens.
Authorities were dispatched to Daniels’ Milwaukee residence around 7:30 p.m. on July 21, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Oxygen.com. Witnesses allegedly saw the young mother “screaming frantically while holding the body of a child," and neighbors said the 2-year-old was “covered in blood,” the complaint stated. A trail of blood led inside Daniels’ home and into her basement.
Zymeiia was pronounced dead while en route to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She was shot once in her left arm, but a medical examiner concluded the bullet had passed through and had punctured the toddler’s lungs. Her death was ruled a homicide.
During the ensuing homicide investigation, Daniels allegedly misled police multiple times about how Zymeiia had been shot.
The 22-year-old mother first claimed during a police interview to have heard three to four gunshots, and that her daughter began “leaking” blood, the criminal complaint stated.
Daniels then allegedly blamed her 3-year-old son, telling detectives her other toddler had mishandled a pistol that was sitting on a table when she wasn’t looking.
“He didn’t mean to do it,” Daniels told law enforcement, according to the criminal complaint.
However, Daniels allegedly refused to turn the firearm over to investigators and became “uncooperative." She was later charged with obstruction of justice.
Her basement suite was then searched by authorities, who found a brass bullet lodged in the drywall of the basement. Cocaine, a Glock magazine, and multiple rounds of ammunition were also found and seized, authorities alleged.
Daniels then changed her story once more.
This time, police say she blamed the shooting on a stranger who entered her home’s basement, positioned himself on a sofa, and began cleaning a firearm. Gunfire erupted, Daniels allegedly told police, killing her daughter.
In another interview, she also tried to pin her daughter’s fatal shooting on an individual supposedly named “Eddie,” who wore “all black,"the complaint stated.
However, video evidence apparently discredited her story as no footage captured anybody walking into or leaving Daniels’ basement who matched the descriptions of potential suspects she described the evening Zymeiia was shot.
Daniels ultimately admitted to “accidentally” firing the gun and shooting Zymeiia, according to police. She allegedly claimed she had been “playing around” with the firearm when it discharged — striking her daughter.
“I accidentally did it,” a crying Daniels told detectives, according to the complaint.
Detectives also interviewed Daniels’ son, who allegedly corroborated her confession.
Daniels made her initial court appearance via teleconference on July 26.
Her attorney Reyna Morales insisted her client was innocent.
“It’s just allegations right now,” Morales told Oxygen.com.
A preliminary hearing in Daniels’ case has been scheduled for August 4, according to court records.
