Deasia Watkins, a mother from Ohio, was sentenced to 15 years to life in jail for the murder of her beloved three-month-old baby, Jayniah. Deasia Watkins – aged twenty and residing in Hamilton County – was apprehended the morning following the discovery of an infant female’s body at her residence. Subsequently, she has been accused of aggravated homicide. Sources told WCPO in Cincinnati that the child had been decapitated. At the onset, Watkins denied culpability on the grounds of mental illness in reference to the charge of aggravated murder; however, she was deemed able to participate in proceedings and diagnosed with postpartum psychosis.
The Crime
Law enforcement personnel were called to an urgent situation in March 2015 and encountered a ghastly spectacle – that of an infant without its head, who had been placed on a kitchen counter by its temporary guardian. It was plain to see that the little one had suffered savage lacerations with a chef’s knife and fractures in their arm. Shockingly, authorities revealed that Deasia Watkins had placed the knife in the helpless infant’s hand.
A five-year-old child who was staying at the house to catch a school bus discovered the body of the baby. The child ran outside to inform a male relative, who in turn woke up the aunt. Upon coming across the infant’s deceased body, the aunt right away phoned the authorities while wailing uncontrollably and voicing out multiple cries of “Oh, my Lord!” In her call to 911, she said that her niece was accountable for taking away the life of the baby.
She described that she had dozed off when her son came by to drop off their kids and woke her up, informing her that the baby had perished. The son also spoke with dispatch staff confirming he had seen the baby on a kitchen table but wasn’t sure of what had transpired. Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor David Prem told The Cincinnati Enquirer in court that Watkins said she did it so people would think the kid did it, not her.
County prosecutor Joe Deters added that when police found her in a blood-splattered bed at her aunt’s house, she seemed to be suffering from “severe mental disorders.” Court docs revealed that Watkins was a danger to her kid and had been “acting crazy” and talking about devils when a juvenile court judge put the kid in Hamilton County Job and Family Services’ care.
They then placed the baby with an aunt who was cautioned by authorities to not let Watkins near the child unless social workers were there. Court filings said doctors ruled that she couldn’t be around the child unless she took meds. The prosecutor’s office said Job and Family Services did as the court asked, finding a relative to look after the kid and checking in on them often. But Deters claimed social workers didn’t know the mom had reportedly moved into the aunt’s place about a week before the murder. The autopsy showed the 3-month-old baby had no blood in her body, revealing the horrific fact that she’d been decapitated.
Facts About the Horrible Case
- The mom’s postpartum psychosis is a telltale sign she may’ve been born with a predisposition to mental illness and/or addiction. We’re not saying she should be blamed, just helping you understand what went down. Usually, we’re born with an inclination to develop certain diseases or conditions later on. Some things are inherited and some come along the way.
- But she was a recovering drug addict who’d been clean for two years, with no known family history of mental illness.
- She was convinced her baby was possessed by devils and that cutting off its head would save its life. In other words, whether she was mentally ill or not, the social workers were dealing with someone who was delusional.
- Deasia Watkins was made to take meds while she was getting over her drug addiction and was also told by a judge to get mental health counseling. This just shows she wasn’t mentally ill, she was just an addict who got confused.
- The child’s body was found without a head on the night of March 16, 2015, and her head was discovered the next morning at 8:30 and 10:30 AM in a really quiet neighborhood with no signs of any disturbance in or around the house.
Conclusion
To sum up, the case of Deasia Watkins tragically underscores the impact of unchecked mental health issues, especially postnatal psychosis. Despite having no family history or addiction history related to psychological problems, Watkins’ distorted thinking and insanity resulted in her committing a terrible crime on her child, Jayniah.
The 15-year to life imprisonment sentence may bring a sense of justice for this innocent soul’s passing but it also emphasizes the critical need to raise awareness and render services suitable for those going through mental distress. It is our hope that with the demise of sweet Jayniah will come active initiatives guaranteeing that anyone fighting mental ailments receives appropriate treatment and assistance designed to avoid such monstrous acts from taking place again.