Who Is Jessica Bortle? Florida Mother Accused Of Murder

Jessica Ann Caroline Bortle is a Florida mother who was convicted of child abuse after the 2021 death of her 14-year-old daughter, Jasmine Singletary, inside a Pensacola hospital.

Bortle was originally charged with negligent manslaughter and aggravated child abuse after investigators accused her of slamming a hospital table into Jasmine’s abdomen and leaning her weight against it during an argument. An autopsy determined that Jasmine suffered devastating blunt-force injuries to her torso, including broken ribs and severe damage to her liver.

A jury did not convict Bortle of the original manslaughter or aggravated-child-abuse charges. In July 2023, jurors instead found her guilty of the lesser offenses of battery and child abuse. The judge later vacated the battery conviction because it was legally subsumed within the child-abuse conviction. Bortle was sentenced in October 2023 to one year and one day in custody, with credit for 212 days already served, followed by three years of probation.

Jessica Bortle Was Convicted Of Child Abuse, Not Manslaughter

A jury reached its verdict in Bortle’s case on July 28, 2023, finding her guilty of battery and child abuse rather than the more serious charges originally filed by prosecutors. Bortle had gone to trial on negligent manslaughter and aggravated child abuse charges stemming from Jasmine Singletary’s death. [NorthEscambia] [Holmes County Advertiser]

The verdict meant jurors rejected the state’s request to convict Bortle of the charged manslaughter and aggravated-child-abuse offenses but concluded that prosecutors had proven the lesser crimes. [Law&Crime]

What Sentence Did Jessica Bortle Receive?

Escambia County Circuit Judge Linda Nobles sentenced Bortle in October 2023 to one year and one day in custody for child abuse. The court gave her credit for 212 days she had already spent incarcerated. [Law&Crime]

Bortle was also ordered to serve three years of probation following her release and attend parenting classes. [NorthEscambia]

The Judge Vacated Jessica Bortle’s Battery Conviction

Although the jury found Bortle guilty of both battery and child abuse, the judge subsequently vacated the battery conviction. Judge Nobles concluded that the battery offense was subsumed within the child-abuse conviction, meaning Bortle would not separately stand convicted and be sentenced for both crimes based on the same underlying conduct. [Law&Crime]

The final sentence therefore centered on Bortle’s child-abuse conviction.

What Happened To Jasmine Singletary?

Jasmine Singletary was a 14-year-old girl with a neuromuscular disorder who was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola on July 8, 2021. Pensacola police said Jasmine had been taken to the hospital for treatment of an infection. [Pensacola Police Department]

On July 13, Jasmine was in her hospital room with Bortle and her grandmother when she suddenly lost consciousness and stopped breathing. Medical personnel attempted lifesaving measures but were unable to revive her. [Pensacola Police Department]

Jasmine Suffered Massive Injuries While In Her Hospital Bed

An autopsy revealed severe injuries to Jasmine’s ribs and liver that had not been present when she entered the hospital. Pensacola police said the medical examiner determined that the injuries were so severe Jasmine would have died within minutes of receiving them and that they necessarily occurred while she was confined to her hospital bed. [Pensacola Police Department]

The medical examiner testified at Bortle’s trial that Jasmine died from blunt-force trauma to the torso. Reporting from the trial described multiple broken ribs and catastrophic damage to her liver. [Holmes County Advertiser]

Prosecutors Said Jasmine’s Liver Was Severely Damaged

Investigators described the liver injury as extraordinarily severe. Court reporting said medical testimony characterized Jasmine’s liver as having been effectively obliterated or ripped open by blunt-force trauma. [Law&Crime]

Police said the injuries were comparable to trauma seen in serious vehicle crashes and were not present when Jasmine was initially admitted to the hospital. [Oxygen]

What Did Jessica Bortle Say Happened?

Investigators said Bortle initially claimed that she did not know how Jasmine had suffered the fatal injuries but later acknowledged pushing the hospital table into her daughter’s abdomen. According to the arrest report, Bortle said she slammed the table into Jasmine and leaned her weight against it after becoming angry during an argument involving crayons. [Law&Crime]

The arrest report said Jasmine had been cursing, throwing and breaking crayons shortly before the confrontation. Bortle told investigators that she continued leaning against the table while Jasmine complained that she was in pain. [Law&Crime]

Jessica Bortle Said Jasmine’s Death Was An Accident

At trial, Bortle maintained that she had not intended to kill or seriously injure her daughter. She characterized what happened as an accident. [NorthEscambia]

That distinction became central to the verdict. To convict Bortle of manslaughter, jurors had to find that she intentionally committed an act that caused Jasmine’s death. The jury instead chose the lesser battery offense, which required proof that Bortle intentionally touched or struck Jasmine against her will. [Law&Crime]

For child abuse, jurors had to conclude that Bortle willfully committed an intentional act that could reasonably be expected to cause physical injury to Jasmine. [Law&Crime]

What Did Jasmine’s Grandmother Tell Police?

Jasmine’s grandmother was also inside the hospital room shortly before the teenager collapsed. Investigators said she provided an account describing the argument between Bortle and Jasmine immediately before the fatal injuries. [Law&Crime]

The grandmother told investigators that Bortle initially moved the hospital table toward Jasmine so she could color but that an argument developed after Jasmine began cursing and throwing or breaking crayons. [Law&Crime]

Hospital Video Became Evidence In The Case

Hospital surveillance video was also presented as evidence surrounding the timing of Jasmine’s injuries. Reporting from the trial said footage showed Bortle leaving the hospital room shortly before Jasmine was found unconscious and appearing to shake or flex her hand. [Holmes County Advertiser]

The video did not itself show the entire alleged incident inside the hospital room, but prosecutors used it along with medical evidence, witness testimony and Bortle’s statements to reconstruct the events preceding Jasmine’s collapse.

Why Was Jessica Bortle Originally Charged With Manslaughter?

Pensacola police initially concluded that Bortle caused the injuries that killed Jasmine. After the medical examiner contacted police following the autopsy, detectives investigated the circumstances of the teenager’s sudden death and obtained an arrest warrant for Bortle. [Pensacola Police Department]

Bortle was initially charged with manslaughter in August 2021. The prosecution eventually proceeded to trial on negligent manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. [Pensacola Police Department] [NorthEscambia]

Why Was Jessica Bortle Not Convicted Of Manslaughter?

The jury chose lesser included offenses rather than finding Bortle guilty of the prosecution’s original charges. Jurors convicted her of battery instead of manslaughter and child abuse instead of aggravated child abuse. [NorthEscambia]

The verdict does not mean jurors concluded that Jasmine’s fatal injuries never occurred. The medical examiner’s finding that Jasmine died from blunt-force trauma was presented at trial. Rather, the verdict reflects the specific elements jurors determined prosecutors had proven beyond a reasonable doubt for Bortle’s criminal liability. [Holmes County Advertiser]

Why Was The Sentence Only One Year And One Day?

Bortle’s sentence reflected the child-abuse offense that remained after the jury rejected the more serious charges and the judge vacated the separate battery conviction. She was no longer being sentenced for manslaughter or aggravated child abuse. [Law&Crime]

Judge Nobles imposed one year and one day of incarceration, gave Bortle credit for 212 days she had already served and ordered three years of probation and parenting classes. [NorthEscambia]

Who Was Jasmine Singletary?

Jasmine Singletary was Bortle’s 14-year-old daughter and lived with a neuromuscular disorder that required significant medical care. She was receiving treatment at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital when she died on July 13, 2021. [Pensacola Police Department]

Her hospitalization had begun five days earlier for medical treatment unrelated to the torso injuries subsequently identified during her autopsy. [Holmes County Advertiser]

What Did Ascension Sacred Heart Say About Jasmine’s Death?

Ascension Sacred Heart described Jasmine’s death as an unimaginable tragedy. The hospital said her death was heartbreaking for the nurses and doctors at its children’s hospital who had cared for her and extended sympathies to Jasmine’s family and everyone who knew her.

Who Is Jessica Bortle?

Jessica Ann Caroline Bortle was 34 years old when she was arrested in August 2021 and 36 when she went to trial in 2023. Reporting has identified her as a resident of Bonifay, Florida, although some coverage of the case described her as having connections to Alabama. [Holmes County Advertiser] [Law&Crime]

Her case received national attention because Jasmine suffered fatal traumatic injuries while already hospitalized and because the prosecution alleged that an ordinary hospital table had been used to exert enough force against the teenager’s torso to cause catastrophic internal damage.

Where Does The Jessica Bortle Case Stand?

The criminal trial is over. Bortle was convicted in July 2023 of the lesser offenses of battery and child abuse, after which the battery conviction was vacated because it merged into the child-abuse offense. [Law&Crime]

She was sentenced in October 2023 to one year and one day in custody with 212 days of jail credit, followed by three years of probation and mandatory parenting classes. [NorthEscambia]

As of September 17, 2026, no later published court development located in a review of available reporting changes the underlying conviction or sentence. The original 2021 characterization of Bortle solely as a woman accused of killing her daughter is therefore outdated: the case proceeded to trial and resulted in a child-abuse conviction rather than a manslaughter conviction.