“I Just Killed My Daughter” Mother Stabbed 3-Year-Old Daughter then Called 911 | Jellisa Baxter

At approximately 2:00am on December 27, 2022, a 911 dispatcher in North Miami Beach, Florida answered a call from 24 year old Jellisa Amoyer Baxter saying I just killed my daughter. When she was asked how, she explained it step by step saying I tried strangling her. That didn’t work, so I stabbed her with a knife. When the dispatcher asked what condition the child was in, Jalissa said, she’s on the floor in the living room. When asked what she was wearing, she responded with a robe. White welcome LaMs. Welcome to love and murder, heartbreak to homicide. Surprise your Florida Man Friday edition. I found this case that I was doing an article on and I just had to like. As soon as I finished writing the article, I had to come and record this because, uh, uh, you’ll see why, you know, I’m about mental health and you know, really supporting mental health. And you’re gonna see in this case why this, this whole thing irked me so badly. But before we get into all of that, hi, my name is Ky and I will be your host. Don’t forget to subscribe to Love and Murder on whatever platform you’re on so you don’t miss an episode. But the easiest way to subscribe and keep current is by subscribing to the Patreon. Patreon.com/loveandmurder for free. You will not miss an episode. Plus you do get a little bit of bonuses for just being a free subscriber to the Patreon. However, if you want more bonuses, if you want to help keep Love and Murder listener funded and if you want to help to become a voice of the victim, then join us at one of our bonus tiers. Starting at just $3 a month and up with the bonus tiers, you get an after show. After almost every Monday episode, you get bonus episodes. So you can get between one and two bonus episodes a month. Or like right now I’m doing the day by day rundown and commentary with my commentary of the Gerhard Koenig case. And if you haven’t heard of the Gerhard Koenig case, it’s a man, a doctor, who tried to allegedly push his wife off a cliff in Hawaii. But she survived. Patreon.com/loveandmurder now without further ado, let’s get back to your Florida Man Friday episode. When officers arrived at the apartment, they found the woman in the living room wearing a white robe and nearby her three year old daughter was lying on the floor. According to the arrest affidavit, the child was, quote, lying on the ground with several deep stab wounds to her chest, neck, and face. A knife was found right next to her body, and the toddler was pronounced dead at the scene. Jellisa was immediately arrested. When investigators attempted to question her, she, quote, invoked her constitutional rights and refused to speak further. Basically, she pled the fifth. As the investigation moved forward, police found that Jellisa was originally from Jamaica. Yes, it matters. And was dealing with serious financial instability. Records and neighbor accounts showed that she was unemployed and had received an eviction notice just days before the murder and even had her water shut off. She was, by all accounts, in a desperate situation. So this is a high stress she just had. Well, her baby’s three years old, so that’s another high stress situation. So, you know, she’s trying to provide for her child. She’s a single mother. It appears to be. She didn’t have a job. She’s probably frantically searching for a job. Everything’s getting cut off bit by bit because of lack of money. High stress situation. Not that I’m making excuses for her. I’m just painting a picture. Her family situation wasn’t much stronger. Her stepfather, Harold Hemmings, told reporters that he only met Jalissa and her daughter once after Jellisa’s mother died from cancer in September 2021. Based on that brief interaction, he said she, quote, didn’t seem like a bad mama, and she appeared to be a good mother. I mean, people who abuse children usually don’t show that in public. So you saw her once for a short time. You can’t really judge based off of that. But after everything that happened, he said that he couldn’t make sense of it and said, quote, she’s sick. That’s all I can say. She’s sick. Jellisa was transported to the Turner Gulford Knight Correctional center and held without bond because she’s a Jamaican national. She was also placed under an immigration hold. See why I had to mention that she was Jamaican in the beginning? Because it has to tie in. I’m just pointing this out because some people will be like, why does it matter where she’s from? It mattered in this episode because I had to explain, okay, I’m done. The very next day, on December 28, 2022, she appeared in court before Miami Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glaser. During that hearing, Judge Glaser formally laid out the charges, saying, Ms. Baxter, you are charged with one count of first degree murder, one count of aggravated child abuse. I will appoint your public defender to you. First degree murder is no bond. Count two, aggravated child abuse, is $10,000. You will see a judge in 21 days for your arraignment. You also have an immigration hold. At that point, the case appeared to be moving towards a standard prosecution for first degree murder, and Jellisa was facing the possibility of the death penalty. But as the case progressed, it took a turn that changed everything. At some point during the proceedings, Jellisa was evaluated by doctors and found incompetent to stand ah, trial. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was reportedly experiencing severe delusions, including the belief that her daughter was still alive. That diagnosis brought the legal process to a complete standstill, because under the law, a, uh, defendant has to be competent in order to understand the charges against them and participate in their own defense. This is where the case became less about what happened on December 27th and more about whether Jellisa could even be brought to trial at all. On January 7, 2025, Judge Andrea Wolfson ruled that Jellisa would be involuntarily medicated with psychiatric drugs, including, I don’t know how to say this, Risperdal, while in custody. In explaining that decision, she said the government has an important interest in bringing a homicide and death penalty case to trial and warned that without treatment, quote, Ms. Baxter could literally sit and remain incompetent within MDCR custody ad infinitum. I mean, they could have just said, period. They didn’t have to get all fancy ad infinitum. She also made it clear that the decision was, quote, not only practically appropriate, but legally appropriate. The prosecution supported that position, arguing that Jellisa needs to be restored to competency so she can face the charges against her, especially given the existence of her recorded confession. So they’re still moving forward with this? Their argument relies heavily on medical experts who believe that with consistent medication, her mental state could improve enough for her to understand the proceedings and assist in her own defense. Defense against what? Okay, let me finish this, and I’ll tell you my thought, because this is what Jellisa’s attorney, Manuel Alvarez, objected to. The forced medication, arguing that there is insufficient evidence that the drugs would actually resolve her delusions or restore her competency. He also emphasized that Jellisa herself does not want to be medicated, raising both medical and ethical concerns about forcing treatment on a defendant under these circumstances. Okay, so now, instead of the trial focused on evidence, testimony, and a verdict, the case is stuck in this ongoing legal and medical limbo. If the medication works and she is restored to competency, she will move forward on trial on a first Degree murder charge, where the death penalty is still a possibility. If she’s never restored to competency, she could remain in the custody of the Miami Dades Corrections and Rehabilitation Department indefinitely. So what are your thoughts on this case? I’m, um, about to tell you mine. So, first of all, we found out that she’s schizophrenic, going through a full blown episode. Like, a full blown episode. So this means that she’s like, hallucinating and stuff. And we’re still going under the assumption that she murdered her daughter. I mean, if she’s clearly literally out of her mind right now, wouldn’t that mean that she was hallucinating when she murdered her daughter? So why isn’t it that we’re trying to put her in a mental health facility for the rest of her life? Because clearly, when she goes through schizophrenia, she can become dangerous. So wouldn’t that be the solution, not trying to get her sane for a little while? M. Because who knows if this medication works? Because if it doesn’t, she might come. Come out of it for a little while, stand trial, and then fall right back into it. You know what I’m saying? Like, why you. Is she schizophrenic? Then? Clearly, in my opinion, I’m going to say she murdered her daughter while she was going through an episode. She’s still going through that episode. That’s diabolical work that you still want to put her in jail either for life or on the death penalty. I just. I don’t get that. But that’s on the prosecution side. Now, for the defense, your objection to being forced medication. Of course there’s insufficient evidence that the drugs would actually resolve her delusions, because they don’t know what baseline is for her. They don’t know what medicines she’s had before, if ever. They don’t know what medicine is going to work. There are some, uh, medical issues where you don’t know exactly what medication is going to work right away, so you do sometimes have to do testing. So, yeah, you’re just basically saying the cause of wetness is water. Yeah, we know this. And also, Jellisa doesn’t have a ground to stand on saying that she doesn’t want to be medicated. She’s not in her right mind. Of course she thinks she’s sane and you’re insane. So while she’s seen a portal over there open up, she thinks you’re crazy that you don’t see that portal opening up. She cannot say that she’s not going to take medicine. She’s not in her right mind. And why are you trying to pretend that she is, uh, talking about this is raising both medical and ethical concerns. Ethical concerns? Are you serious? She’s not in her right mind. She cannot make decisions for herself. The ethical concern here is leaving her like this, and you’re fighting to leave her like this. So there’s problems all around, both the prosecution and the defense. There’s problems all around, and no one is really considering the real problem, which is this woman is in a terrible mental health state right now and she needs help. And once she comes down, when she comes back to baseline, if she ever comes back to baseline and finds out that she murders her daughter, she’s going to freak the F out. And this reminds me of another mental health episode where I was saying the same thing. When this guy comes down and realizes that he murdered his daughter, he’s going to freak the F out. And if I remember exactly what episode that is, I’m also going to put that in the show notes below so you can listen to that one. So let me know your thoughts in the comments below. This one really, as Peter from Family Guys would say, grinds my gears. It really annoys me. Like I, I, I just, I can’t. Like when it comes to mental health is just some people just don’t understand it and they don’t care to understand it, and they really act like somebody who’s going through a full schizophrenic delusion is a fully functioning adult. And we have to take what they’re saying into account. Of course, if they’re baseline, they’re fully functional, mentally healthy adult at that point in time. But if they’re going through delusions, they’re going through a schizophrenic attack. They’re what you would call insane. If anybody wants to look up the. Let’s actually, let’s look up the definition of insane together, shall we? According to the Webster Dictionary, insane means unable to think in a clear or sensible way, also means exhibiting a, uh, severely disordered state of mind. And apparently saying insane is now offensive. That’s what it says here. It says dated. Now, usually offensive. Are you kidding me? So saying somebody’s insane is offensive, but then by law you can say affected with insanity. What’s the difference? Uh, again, semantics. I can’t sometimes. Anyways. Another definition which also apparently is now usually offensive is that it’s intended. It’s used for people having a severely disordered state of mind, for instance, an insane asylum. But saying that somebody is Insane in terms of saying they have a severely disordered state of mind is offensive, but we can say they’re affected with insanity. Okay, anyways, I guess I learned something new today, but. Okay, that’s offensive, that’s offensive, that’s offensive. Sorry, that came from an Instagram video. But anyways, that is a definite definition of insanity or insane. And, uh, so if somebody is being afflicted with insanity, let’s say that way because I don’t want to offend anybody, um, then they’re not in their right mind. How are you going to say we need to respect their wishes that they don’t want to be medicated? They just probably saw a dragon fly overhead and then they say, by the way, I don’t want the medication because I’m in my right mind and you’re the one who’s crazy. I know some people are probably going to be like, oh, you are ranting really hard about this, Ky. But unless you’ve actually dealt with this situation, which I have dealt with this situation, in dealing with other people and trying to help and watching, uh, the system let people just run off into the night completely not in their right mind. And you’re worried about this person hurting themselves because you know what happens when they’re not in their right mind. But the system is saying something like this defense attorney is saying and acting like, well, they’re grown, they can make their own decisions. And until that happens to you, the person dealing with it, it’s your friend, it’s your family member, it’s somebody you really care about and you know this person desperately needs help and needs to be looked after so they don’t hurt themselves or other people. As we can see in some of the cases that we’ve done that these people go out there and unintention mind you hurt somebody because they’re in a full blown delusion. Until you actually deal with that yourself and how the system blocks you from getting help for your loved one, then you won’t understand the overwhelming annoyance in dealing with the system. So right now I have a problem with both the prosecution wanting to get her medicated just to continue prosecuting her and trying to get her the death penalty or life in prison for something that was done most likely while she was out of her fricking mind. And I have a problem with the defense for acting like she is a rational human being and has a say in taking medicine that would literally help get her to baseline, meaning baseline is rational mind, get her out of this schizophrenic delusional mindset right now. And back to baseline, sane, um, mind. So, yeah, that’s why I’m ranting. Anyway, that is your Florida Man Friday episode. I think on last week’s episode we did have a couple comments, so let’s pull one of them up and read that. So, yeah, last week’s Florida Man Friday, I was ranting as well. That one was a Florida mother left a newborn to drown in a toilet and went to perform in a play. That was the case of Anne Mae Demegillo. And if you listen to that case, I was ranting my ass off. Oh, my God, it pissed me off so bad. If you missed that one, I’ll leave that link, uh, in the show notes below so you can listen to that also. And LaM Patreon, Vicky Stevenson said you and I would be shocking if we worked together. We would be fighting each other to get at that biatch. Keep up the good work, lady. Thank you, Vicki. Yeah, yeah. I mean, in that episode I was. I wanted to slap, uppercut, punch, kick. Oh, my God, that woman had me pissed off in that episode. So, Vicki. Yeah, ah, I guess me and you’ll be fighting each other, trying to get to her, to fight her, and everybody will be just looking around confused, like, what is, what is going on here? Anyways, you. If you missed that episode, I will post the link in the show notes below. And like I said, if I find that episode, because I have six years of episodes, that’s a lot of cases. If I find that episode that is similar to this, where the man was going through a, uh, mental health crisis and he did kill his daughter. Um, so it’s similar to this one. And I was saying almost exactly the same things. If I find it, I’ll post that link in the show notes below as well. And you can go back and listen to that one if you’re new here and you haven’t heard it yet. So anyways, thank you for joining me. I just put out day five and four of the Gerhardt Konig trial, my commentary on those days in the Patreon, as well as the full trial videos. So if you want to hear me talk about that trial, then go ahead and join the patreon at the $10 tear. Patreon.com/loveandmurder if you just want other bonus episodes, because at the $5 tier, there are other bonus episodes. Even at the $3 tier, you get the after show. So that’s another bonus episode. So you could join at those tiers as well. And that is all I have for you today. And I will see you on Monday. Bye.

Past Cases Mentioned in this Episode:

Vegas Father Throws Newborn Off Balcony Before Setting Apartment on Fire | Clarence Martin Jr.
https://murderandlove.com/he-threw-his-newborn-baby-off-the-balcony-clarence-martin-jr/

Florida Mother Left Newborn to Drown in Toilet and Went to Perform in a Play | Anne Mae Demegillo
https://murderandlove.com/florida-mother-left-newborn-to-drown-in-toilet-and-went-to-perform-in-a-play-anne-mae-demegillo/

Sources: (what the sources say)

https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/i-just-killed-my-daughter-florida-mom-casually-tells-dispatcher-she-stabbed-toddler-to-death-in-chilling-911-audio/

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/judge-orders-north-miami-beach-mother-who-killed-daughter-to-take-medication-in-jail/3509370/

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/florida-mom-admitted-to-killing-3-year-old-daughter-by-stabbing-baby-in-the-chest-neck-and-face-police/

https://www.courttv.com/news/florida-mother-accused-of-fatally-stabbing-3-year-old-daughter/

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/i-just-killed-my-daughter-chilling-911-call-released-after-mother-fatally-stabbed-3-year-old-in-north-miami-beach/2939484/

https://people.com/crime/florida-mom-allegedly-admitted-stabbing-daughter-death/

https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-mom-stabbed-killed-toddler-daughter/42360990

https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-mom-calls-911-confesses-to-stabbing-3-year-old-daughter-to-death-police

https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/mother-who-killed-3-year-old-daughter-faces-judge/