A 31-year-old Indiana woman will spend decades in prison for fatally injuring her boyfriend’s 1-year-old son because the child wouldn’t stop crying.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Richard W. Poynter sentenced Kassandra L. Bracewell on Tuesday to 33 years in a state correctional facility, with three years suspended, for her role in the death of 17-month-old Jalen Patrick Harding, known as JJ. Poynter handed down the sentence after Bracewell pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
“Seventeen months old. This child was just a baby, innocent, defenseless, and entirely dependent upon the adults responsible for his care and protection,” Jackson County prosecutor Lynsey N. Fleetwood said in a statement. “Instead of being protected, this little boy lost his life because of Kassandra Bracewell’s criminal neglect.”
According to the Seymour Tribune, the case began on May 16, 2024, when Brownstown police and firefighters responded to a home on West Spring Street after a report of an unresponsive toddler. First responders began lifesaving measures on JJ, with one officer describing him as “red-faced and almost lifeless.”
Bracewell initially told police the injury was accidental, claiming JJ had climbed out of his Pack ‘N Play and hit his head on a dresser. He was rushed to Schneck Medical Center before being transferred to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was declared brain-dead.
Doctors said his injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome or blunt-force trauma, and an autopsy reportedly found his brain had been left more “fluid” than solid.
Bracewell’s mother, Marjie S. Bracewell-Cook, gave investigators a different account, saying her daughter grew frustrated with JJ’s crying and pushed him into his crib, causing him to fall backward. She also said another child in the home had been told to lie to police.
On May 25, 2024, investigators confronted Bracewell with a recording of her saying, “he’s dead, I think I hurt him,” the Tribune reported. She denied making the statement and disputed that it was her voice.
“There is no sentence this Court could impose that would bring this beautiful child back,” Fleetwood said. “There is no number of years that can restore the life that was lost… But there must be accountability, and Kassandra deserves every single day she will spend behind bars.”
At sentencing, Bracewell told the court, “I’m sorry don’t begin to scratch the surface of how I feel.” JJ’s father, Andrew Finley, spoke of milestones he’d never share with his son, while JJ’s mother, Kayla Harding, said, “I struggled to get him back just to lose him.”
Poynter acknowledged Bracewell’s personal growth in jail but told her: “You can’t change your yesterday, Ms. Bracewell, but you can change your tomorrow.”