‘I accidentally did it:’ Mother of 2-year-old girl killed, charged with first degree reckless homicide
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Jasmine Daniels, the mother of a 2-year-old girl who was shot and killed on July 21, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide, according to a complaint.
Witnesses heard a gunshot around 7:30 p.m. and watched Daniels, 22, run outside with her child who had been shot.
First responders were called and witnesses helped perform CPR on the victim before paramedics arrived, a complaint said.
Paramedics performed life-saving measures, but the 2-year-old girl was pronounced dead en route to Children’s Wisconsin.
Another witness said they saw a black male exit the residence after the shooting with a gun in his waistband and enter a 4-door silver car.
At the hospital, Daniels was interviewed by police. That’s where officials say she had multiple storylines about what happened leading up to the shooting.
She reportedly told police her two children — a 3-year-old son and 2-year-old girl — were in her basement apartment when she went outside and heard “3-4 gunshots.”
After being confronted again, Daniels claimed she was in the basement with the two children and a gun she owned for protection was lying on a table. The defendant said she looked away for two minutes and heard a gunshot. The defendant looked and saw the 3-year-old crying and the 2-year-old bleeding. The defendant said, “he didn’t mean to do it”, blaming her 3-year-old son for the shooting.
Only the three of them were in the basement at the time of the incident, according to Daniels.
A detective asked for consent to search the residence for the gun. The defendant refused and said the gun would not be located inside the residence.
That’s when the defendant was taken into police custody for obstruction, according to a complaint.
A search of the residence found the following items:
A black digital scale
A package of suspected cocaine knotted in a clear baggie on the floor by a couch
Sergeant major munitions box with 4 unspent cartridges
Multiple cells phones
A black Glock magazine; (loaded with multiple different brand 9mm cartridges)
A plastic baggie containing 3 nickel 9mm luger cartridges
A pill bottle containing suspected cocaine
A fired brass bullet located in the drywall
During additional questioning on July 22, the defendant provided a third account of
what took place the night of the shooting: She claimed that a week prior to the shooting, she found a gun at the park and admitted she did not check the gun to see if there was a round in the chamber.
On the day of the shooting, Daniels decided that she was going to get rid of the gun. She said she put the gun on the couch, with the 2-year-old seated on the opposite end. The defendant said she turned away for a few minutes and heard a gunshot. The defendant turned and saw the 3-year-old standing by the gun and the 2-year-old bleeding. The defendant grabbed the 2-year-old and ran upstairs, according to a complaint.
During the interview, police say the defendant remained uncooperative, refusing to identify other individuals that lived in the upstairs portion of the residence. Daniels was adamant that there were only three people who lived in the basement.
In a fourth interview, the defendant admitted that she lied again to police.
She admitted that her 3-year-old did not shoot her 2-year-old. The defendant claimed that she was in the basement when an unknown black male came into the basement and sat on the couch. According to the complaint, the unknown black male began cleaning a gun. Despite her children playing in the very same room with an unknown male while he was cleaning a gun — the defendant reportedly took no action. Daniels claimed that it did not bother her that an unknown person was inside her residence, cleaning a gun, while her children were playing in the same room.
Five minutes later, the defendant heard a gunshot, according to the complaint.
The unknown male allegedly fled the residence and her 2-year-old was laying on the floor. The defendant admitted other people were present inside the upper portion of the residence but refused to identify who those people were.
Investigators recovered surveillance video outside of the residence during the timeframe of the shooting, which they allege Daniels was once again lying about the circumstances of her own child’s death.
The video did not show an unknown black male entering or leaving the building around the time of the shooting.
Daniels also denied that her boyfriend and father of her children was at the residence at the time.
The defendant continued to refuse to provide information regarding other male individuals inside the residence, even after being shown still photocopies from the surveillance video.
Another interview was conducted on July 23. During the interview, detectives say the defendant lied again as to how the toddler was shot. This time, Daniels told a story about a person named “Eddie” wearing all black who shot the 2-year-old. There is no person matching that description on the surveillance video, according to police.
Daniels then broke down and started to cry admitting “I accidentally did it.”
The defendant admitted the gun was hers and she was playing around with it in the basement when the gun went off and shot her 2-year-old child.
When interviewing Daniels’ 3-year-old son, detectives asked him what happened. The boy said “Nuk-Nuk hurt (the 2-year-old).”
When asked what her 3-year-old calls her, Daniels replied, “Nuk-Nuk.”
If convicted, Daniels could face up to 60 years in prison. She is due back in court on August 4 for her preliminary hearing.