Mom accused of strangling her 13-year-old son to death in bed, Florida sheriff says

A 13-year-old boy was found strangled in bed, and his mother has been arrested as a suspect, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office in Central Florida.

It happened around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, at a rural home near St. Cloud, about 30 miles south of Orlando.

“On their arrival, deputies saw a white male juvenile laying face up in the bed,” Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said at a news conference.

“Fire-rescue crew members advised that a female subject ... spontaneously stated that she killed her son. According to our deputies, she had been choking him on the bed.”

Investigators say Jasmin Kennedy, 37, is cooperating with the investigation and has been charged with domestic battery by strangulation, child neglect and aggravated child abuse, Lopez said.

“There were some signs of strangulation,” but a medical examiner is determining an official cause of death, he said. More charges could be added, Lopez said.

A motive wasn’t revealed, officials said.

Kennedy and her two children were living with “grandma and grandma’s boyfriend” at the time, Lopez said. Her other child, a 5-year-old, was not reported as being injured.

Another member of the family called 911, Lopez said.

Records show deputies were called to the same home earlier this year, but that incident “had nothing to do with harming any of the children,” Lopez said.

This story was originally published August 22, 2023 at 4:16 AM with the headline "Mom accused of strangling her 13-year-old son to death in bed, Florida sheriff says."