...{sigh}... Black Etowah County Birmingham mom arrested for capital murder in death of 4-year-old son A Birmingham mother is charged with capital murder in the beating death of her 4-year-old son. Lakita Shameka Swinnie, 21, was arrested Friday, according to jail and court records. Her son, Jamarion Swinnie, died December 16, 2012. In April, Swinnie was charged with aggravated child abuse and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Robert Lewis Martin, charged with capital murder in the alleged beatings and death of Jamarion. Court records made public Monday show a Jefferson County grand jury on Nov. 8 upped the charges against Swinnie to capital murder, murder, manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. Allegations against Swinnie outlined in court records accuse of a number of crimes ranging from beating Jamarion to failure to remove him from an abusive environment and failure to get him medical treatment. Already out on bond from the April abuse charge, Swinnie was booked back into the county jail at 12:45 p.m. Friday. She is now being held without bond. Jamarion died at Childrens of Alabama about 8:30 p.m. after being taken there by Birmingham Fire and Rescue. At a preliminary hearing held for Swinnie and Martin in June, a Birmingham homicide detective testified that an autopsy showed Jamarion had deep tissue bruising on much of his body, from the back of his thigh to his chest and neck. He also had a laceration on his pancreas. Both Swinnie and Martin were questioned over two days, police have testified. This is what they told detectives: About 9 a.m., Swinnies two sons, Jamarion and a 3-year-old, were playing in their room when Swinnie and Martin heard strange noises. Swinnie said Jamarion lied about finding a piece of glass on the floor. She went back to bed and got up a noon, when she whipped Jamrion with a belt and spaned her other son before making them stand in two kitchen corners with their hands held in the air for several hours while she cooked. Neighbors reported hearing, about 3 p.m., slamming, screaming and hollering from a nearby apartment. One of them said they heard a man screaming and a child saying, please stop. Swinnie told Jamarion to go to his room and lie down when he complained of a stomach ache. She said she took food to him at 7 p.m. and he was on the floor, struggling for breath. A short time later, Martin went upstairs and saw Jamarion wasnt breathing. Martin called 911. Jamarion was pronounced dead at Childrens Of Alabama at 8:38 p.m. During questioning by detectives, Martin and Swinnie changed their stories, each accusing the other of spanking Jamarion at 3 p.m. A guest at the home told officers that he saw martin hit Jamarion on the hand and the bottom and Swinnie hit him on the head and whipped him.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 01:51:44 +0000
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