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Who is Jakyzia Alexander? Texas Woman Sentenced To 50 Years For Allegedly Killing Boyfriend’s 4-Year-Old Daughter
Prosecutors said that a Texas mother who killed her boyfriend’s 4-year-old daughter in 2019 will serve fifty years in jail.
Trigger Warning: This article includes references to child and physical abuse
33-year-old Shawna Hooey was found guilty of murder on April 3 by a Harris County jury after a nine-day trial. She was given a 50-year prison sentence, according to a news statement issued by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on April 5.
Jakyzia Alexander was killed in 2019
Alexander’s father was a night shift worker who had exclusive custody of his daughter. After dating the girl’s father, the four-year-old moved live with Hooey and her kids. Alexander’s father rarely visited his daughter because of his work schedule, which kept him staying with relatives nearer to his workplace. Alexander’s father did not see his daughter for at least two months before her death, and the two of them mostly talked via video conversations, according to the authorities.
“As a community, we must unite to safeguard our children, who are especially susceptible to maltreatment by aggressive adults,” stated Ogg. “We express our gratitude to the jurors who correctly sentenced this woman to several decades in prison by acknowledging that this was not a single incident but rather a pattern of abuse.” On September 7, 2019, the day of her death, Hooey took 4-year-old Jakyzia Alexander to a 24-hour emergency hospital while also caring for her own five children, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutors said that the girl’s father worked nights and had exclusive custody. After he began dating Hooey, he and Jakyzia moved in with Hooey and her four kids in Tomball, Texas. According to the statement, Jakyzia’s father rarely saw his daughter because of his work schedule, which required him to live closer to his place of employment. “He saw her only via video calls for at least two months before her passing.”
According to the announcement, Jakyzia had an obvious black eye and other injuries, and her body was “already cold” when Hooey brought her to the ER. Prosecutors alleged that Hooey gave inconsistent accounts of the girl’s condition to medical personnel and law enforcement. Hooey drove Jakyzia about in a heated automobile to encourage her to breathe regularly, as she said that Jakyzia needed to be awakened and was acting strangely, taking heavy, labored breaths. After driving home, Hooey dressed and drove Jakyzia to the emergency clinic.
Hooey lied about the events of the day
According to Hooey’s several versions of events, Jakyzia crashed into a doorknob and hurled herself into the bathroom’s toilet paper holder, according to the prosecution. Hooey said the injury happened two days before she took Jakyzia to the ER, and the girl had not behaved strangely after that.
Jakyzia behaved regularly the day before she was brought to the emergency hospital, according to testimony given by witnesses during the trial. The announcement notes that “further examination revealed that the girl had signs of repeated past abuse, including fresh injuries, some that were resolving, and others that were healed.” An autopsy revealed that Jakyzia’s cause of death was a “head injury caused by blunt force. She would have almost instantly had convulsions, vomiting, and bewildered reactions from the injury that killed her.”
Following an investigation by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Hooey was ultimately charged with murder. At Jakyzia’s sentencing hearing, her relatives stood before Hooey and made moving speeches. “My niece weighed only thirty pounds. “I’ll never understand how she managed to inflict severe injuries to her head and separate her spine from her body,” Jakyzia’s aunt, April Alexander, stated, as reported by ABC 13.
“It’s challenging.” The girl’s grandma, Vonda Harris, said, “It’s been awful for four years,” according to the source. In the news release, the case’s prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Gilbert Sawtelle, stated that child abusers frequently attempt to conceal evidence of their abuse by separating their victims from other adults or treating their wounds to hide them.
“Child abuse does occur, and we must report it to the police and child protective services as soon as we witness it,” Sawtelle stated. “This girl would likely still be here today if someone had noticed her injuries and taken action—even though she was wearing long sleeves in the summer.” According to the prosecution, Hooey won’t be eligible for release until she has completed at least half of her prison term.
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