July 29, 2023
Friday, an Escambia County woman was found guilty of battery and child abuse for an incident that claimed her daughter’s life in 2021.
Jessica Ann Caroline Bortle, 36, was originally charged with negligent manslaughter and aggravate child abuse for the death of 14-year old Jasmine Singletary inside Sacred Heart Hospital.
A jury returned a guilty verdict Friday on lesser charges of battery and child abuse.
Pensacola Police said Singletary — described as a special needs patient with a neuromuscular disorder — was in her room at Sacred Heart with her grandmother and Bortle.
Jasmine unexpectedly lost consciousness and stopped breathing, police said. Hospital staff began life saving procedures, but those efforts were unsuccessful and Jasmine died.
The autopsy showed that Jasmine had suffered massive injuries to her ribs and her liver. Those injuries were not present when she was admitted to the hospital.
Pensacola Police investigators said they determined that the injuries were caused by Bortle. An arrest report states told police that she “slammed the hospital table into Singletary’s abdomen and then leaned onto the table with her weight” after she became angry after Jasmine cussed at her over color crayons.
During her trial, Bortle maintained that it was all an accident.
Bortle is set to be sentenced on October 4. She remained in the Escambia County Jail without bond.