CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana woman was arrested after allegedly beating her young stepdaughter to death.
Clarksville Police Department said investigators responded to Norton Children's Hospital on Aug. 22 after medical staff reported a 3-year-old girl who had suffered a traumatic brain injury earlier in the evening.
Officers said concerns of the injury being inflicted were "immediately recognized."
Ashanti Jackson, who was the caretaker at the time, called 911 and allegedly said her stepdaughter had fallen off a bed during a seizure and then became unconscious from the fall.
Authorities said further testing later revealed that the child suffered a serious traumatic brain injury not plausible with a fall from a bed while having a seizure.
The young girl ultimately died from her injuries after being on life support for two days.
Police said the autopsy ruled her death as a homicide from "blunt impact injuries of head, in the setting of battered child syndrome."
After several months of investigative work, an arrest warrant was issued for Jackson for several felony charges including aggravated battery, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old.
Jackson was arrested and is currently in custody at the Clark County Jail. Her bond is set at $1 million cash.
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