A Milwaukee woman was charged with first-degree reckless homicide on Sunday for fatally shooting her two-year-old daughter last week. Jasmine Daniels admitted to her crime after changing her story multiple times during interrogation, including blaming her toddler son for shooting dead her daughter. However, she finally admitted to her crime saying that she shot her daughter but "accidentally".
One of the witnesses said that a black male who was seen exiting the residence moments after the incident could have also been involved in the shooting. The victim was pronounced dead while being transported to the hospital by the Milwaukee Fire Department.
Reckless and Ruthless
A cash bond was set at $10,000 on Sunday for Daniels, 22, for shooting her two-year-old daughter Zymeiia Stevens last Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint. However, the motive behind the incident, which took place near the 105th Street and Daphne Street, is still unknown.
According to Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, Daniels gave conflicting statements, changing her story at least five times, before admitting to have fired a bullet at her daughter. However, she said that she "did it accidentally" while playing around with "her gun" in the basement of her house. The autopsy report reveals that Stevens suffered four gunshot wounds from a single bullet.
One of the witnesses heard a gunshot and saw Daniels running outside with her daughter. First responders were called, while witnesses helped perform CPR on Stevens before the arrival of paramedics, who performed life-saving measures. However, Stevens was pronounced dead while being transported to a nearby hospital.
Daniels had initially told investigators that she was walking outside her home with Stevens when she heard three to four gunshots and Stevens began "leaking" and was screaming. However, that was just the first of the many conflicting stories she shared before admitting to her crime.
Daniels' Many Versions of Stories
According to prosecutors, Daniels started weaving multiple stories during interrogation including blaming her three-year-old son for shooting Stevens. She reportedly told investigators that her two children were in the basement apartment when she went outside and heard "three to four gunshots."
After being asked by the police, Daniels said that she was in the basement with her two children and a gun she owned for protection was lying on the table. She looked away for a couple of minutes and turned back suddenly after hearing a gunshot and saw her son crying while her daughter was bleeding. She also said that her son "didn't mean to do it".
However, she was finally taken into custody after she objected to one of the detectives when he asked for her consent to search her home for the gun. Daniels said that the gun would not be located inside the house and she refused the detective entry. On searching, police recovered a black digital scale, a package of suspected cocaine knotted in a clear baggie on the floor by a couch, a box with four unspent cartridges, multiple cellphones, a black Glock magazine loaded with 9mm cartridges and a plastic baggie containing three nickel 9mm Luger cartridges. The fired brass bullet was also located in the drywall.
Prosecutors said that Daniels remained uncooperative throughout the investigation and even refused to identify the other people who stayed in the upstairs of the residence. She also denied that her boyfriend and father of her children was at the residence at the time.
In another of her stories, she said that there was a fourth man named "Eddie" wearing an all-black who shot her daughter. However, police didn't find any footage of a fourth person upon checking the surveillance camera.
Finally, during the fifth round of the interrogation, she admitted to owning a gun which she was playing around with when it went off and hit her daughter. If convicted, Daniels could end up serving up to 60 years in prison.
