Texas Couple Accused of Sexually Abusing, Killing One Year Old Girl
Jamie Petronella, 23, and her boyfriend John Lawrence, 24, are accused of sexually and physically abusing Petronella’s one year old daughter, resulting in the death of Sunny Dakota Slade-Bort. The couple reported the one year old girl as being unresponsive. They claimed that she was hurt while playing with her two year old sister. They made the assertion that the 2 year old hit the younger child with a plastic chair, knocking her to the floor. There was an immediate investigation since the two had a history with Children’s Services. A 3 year old boy in their custody had suffered a broken arm just days before.
The girl was taken by helicopter to a hospital in San Antonio, where she was later pronounced dead. Doctors there said that the girl had injuries consistent with sexual abuse. When police arrived at the home, Lawrence was administering CPR. The girl had bruises on both sides of her mouth and on her forehead. Lawrence claimed the bruise on the child’s forehead was from him rubbing it in order to relieve the effects of the head injury.
Petronella and Lawrence were arrested on a charge of injury to a child through the omissions of seeking medical treatment, preventing injury or sexual assault, or by commission of the offenses, according to KHOU 11.
Police asked to recover DNA evidence from Lawrence, who has a prior arrest record.
He was arrested in 2015 for assault against his girlfriend at the time in Austin, Texas, according to KXAN.
A grand jury later indicted Lawrence on a felony strangulation charge.
In court filings, the agency was originally called to investigate the parents Vincent Bort and Petronella for ‘neglectful supervision and physical neglect’ of the three children in January 2015