Sentenced: Father Of Deceased Toddler Told Investigators “I’m Not The Greatest Parent"

[Sugar Cookie]

Two people have been arrested in connection with the death of a 1-year-old in Lake Isabella, according to sheriff’s officials.

Ashley Saffell, 27, and Jeffrey Sullins, 29, were arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment, officials said. Sullins is listed as held on $20,000 bail and due in court Tuesday while Saffell is no longer in custody, according to inmate records.

An investigation began at about 9:19 a.m. Saturday when deputies were dispatched to the 1900 block of Bernie Drive to a report of a child not breathing, according to a Kern County Sheriff’s Office release. A child was found unresponsive and life-saving measures were performed but the child could not be revived.

The child was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

2 arrested in Lake Isabella child's death

 

[cubby]

I hope that baby had been playing outside in the dirt before that picture was made, but it looks like that dirt has been there a while. Poor baby girl.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

 

[DeeDee]

Jesus. First pic the baby and the playpen are filthy. Cake pic the floor is filthy. How hard is it to grab a broom or a facecloth for the poor baby's skin?

Just makes you sick to see.

 

[runninfawn]

yea looked like animal poop going towards that little flower mat and pee stain by the mat ,, barfing here i shouldn't have looked

 

[Sugar Cookie]

By their own admission, Jeffrey Sullins and Ashley Saffell fought regularly.

The Lake Isabella couple argued at least once every two weeks, Saffell told deputies. She said Sullins has an anger problem and sometimes punched walls. She listed him in her phone under the name “Jeffrey Dahmer.” Her two children by other men reported frequent fighting between the two.

Sullins was out of work and stayed home all day smoking marijuana and playing video games, he said according to court documents. He said he watched the children.

Then how did he not notice bruises covering the body of the 1-year-old girl he and Saffell had in common, investigators asked after the child died earlier this year. Why didn’t he take her to a hospital?

“I’m not the greatest parent,” Sullins said according to the documents. “I don’t know.”

Detectives seized a pink stuffed unicorn and pink Minnie Mouse pillow with blood on them inside her crib, documents said. They also seized phones belonging to Saffell and Sullins and two glass bongs.

According to court documents, a pathologist who examined the girl found bruises “covering her entire body” in different stages of healing, injuries to her throat consistent with strangulation and severe head trauma causing bleeding to the brain.

Saffell told investigators she found the girl dead in the morning, a 32-inch flat-screen TV having fallen onto her as she slept in a crib.

The pathologist said that didn’t explain the extent and nature of the injuries the girl suffered.

Sullins said he left the morning of Jan. 29 to help his cousin with something and didn’t hear about the child’s death until later, according to the documents.

He said he wouldn’t hurt his daughter. Investigators noted he repeatedly referred to the child as “that girl.”

“I also noticed Sullins did not appear to be upset or emotional during my interview with him,” an investigator wrote.

Sullins said Saffell became pregnant when they first dated about two years ago. He told investigators he broke off the relationship after discovering she had cheated on him, but they reconnected in July 2021 and he moved in three months later.

There were rumors he wasn’t the father, Sullins told detectives, but he said he always considered the girl his daughter.

‘I’m not the greatest parent:’ Reports detail turbulent relationship of couple charged in toddler’s death

The Lake Isabella couple argued at least once every two weeks, Saffell told deputies. She said Sullins has an anger problem and sometimes punched walls. She listed him in her phone under the name &…

www.kget.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Big, livid bruises covered the motionless child’s forehead. As deputies removed her onesie and searched for a pulse, more marks were revealed across her body.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

How the 1-year-old received the fatal injuries formed the basis of attorneys’ opening statements Tuesday in the murder trial of her parents, Jeffrey Sullins and Ashley Saffell.

Prosecutor Nick Lackie said Sullins, 31, beat his daughter to death in January of last year at their Lake Isabella home. The girl, Karamarie, had injuries in various stages of healing, some inflicted weeks earlier, he said.

He showed the jury photos of the child’s purple-splotched corpse.

“She died as a result of severe blunt force injuries all over her body,” Lackie said.

Although Sullins inflicted the injuries, Saffell, 28, is also responsible, the prosecutor said. He told jurors she knew her daughter was in danger and didn’t get help.

“Miss Saffell, she knew what was going on, she knew that her daughter was not safe,” Lackie said.

The death of Karamarie was tragic, said Sullins’ public defender Lexi Blythe, but Sullins didn’t harm her.

It was well known Karamarie threw violent tantrums, running into furniture, banging her head on the ground, Blythe said. She said a babysitter will testify she was “uncontrollable” and a “wild child.”

Her death was an accident, Blythe told the jury.

Gary Turnbull, Saffell’s attorney, called the charges against her “ludicrous.”


“She did not want this child dead, she did not commit murder in any sense, in any sense,” he said.

Continue reading at link

Defense says ‘wild child’s’ death an accident as murder trial begins

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Big, livid bruises covered the motionless child’s forehead. As deputies removed her onesie and searched for a pulse, more marks were revealed across her bod…

www.kget.com

 

[BuffettGirl]

Lock 'em both up and throw away the keys...

 

[Jellyfish Brain]

I hope that baby had been playing outside in the dirt before that picture was made, but it looks like that dirt has been there a while. Poor baby girl.

There's dirt all in her neck folds. That's definitely been there at least a few days.

 

[Symmachus]

“I’m not the greatest parent,” Sullins said according to the documents. “I don’t know.”

You're definitely not the greatest parent, Bucko. It's very easy to not kill babies and children.

 

[Busy Bee]

Spay and neuter clinic for both of them! They were too busy with their own failures to give thier children proper care!

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Lake Isabella couple have been found guilty in connection with the death of their 1-year-old daughter, who suffered severe head trauma, bruising all over her body and injuries to her throat consistent with strangulation.

Jeffrey Sullins, 31, was found guilty of murder, assault and child cruelty and faces 25 years to life in prison. Ashley Saffell, 29, was found not guilty of murder and instead convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty. She faces seven years behind bars.

Sullins’ public defender, Lexi Blythe, argued at trial the death was an accident. She told the jury it was well known the toddler threw violent tantrums and had repeatedly injured herself.

Gary Turnbull, Saffell’s attorney, called the case against her “ludicrous” and said she had no idea of the severity of her daughter’s injuries. The child always wore a onesie, he said, and Sullins, as the primary caregiver, changed her.

Turnbull said Saffell was a caring, loving mother.

But Lackie said Saffell knew her daughter had previously been injured while in Sullins’ care. Her phone had messages in which a mouth injury was discussed. Despite insisting she would take the girl to a doctor, Saffell never had her examined, he said.

https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/lake-isabella-couple-guilty-in-1-year-old-daughters-death-jeffrey-sullins-ashley-saffell/

According to court records, Jeffrey Sullins was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and Ashley Saffell will serve a six-year prison term.

On January 29, 2022, Ashley found the victim, one-year-old KaraMarie, unresponsive and cold in her crib. She called 9-1-1 and first responders immediately pronounced the girl dead. Saffell told Sheriff’s deputies that there was a flatscreen television on the child’s body when she found her.

The DA’s office said severe bruises were covering her entire body, from her head to the bottom of her feet. During the autopsy, it was found that she had multiple severe brain injuries, which caused her death, as well as lethal neck compression. The forensic pathologist opined that the injuries occurred over a time extending at least two to three days, and possibly longer, as well as that the television could not have caused the injuries.

Jeffrey Sullins had been KaraMarie’s primary caretaker for several weeks, during which time she sustained several injuries, including having a tooth knocked out. Although another adult noticed the tooth and urged Sullins and Saffell to seek medical attention, they never did so, according to the DA’s office.


The child also lost a significant portion of her body weight during this time. The DA's office said Saffell testified at trial that she did not notice the weight loss because she did not hold the girl for a month before her death.

Sullins was home alone with the child the entire day on January 28, 2022, while Saffell was at work. When she arrived home, Sullins told her the child was asleep.

Lake Isabella parents sentenced in one-year-old daughter's death

Two Lake Isabella parents found guilty of the death of their one-year-old daughter in Jan. 2022, were sentenced to prison on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

bakersfieldnow.com

Name​

SULLINS, JEFFREY CLEMENS

Parole Eligible Date​

September, 2038

Name​

SAFFELL, ASHLEY KERA

Parole Eligible Date​

August, 2025

 

[Jellyfish Brain]

A "Loving mother" who doesn't hold her daughter for a month straight, and has never seen her without her onesie on. Do the lawyers saying this have to go give themselves a minute after speaking such nonsense?

 

[Busy Bee]

Her attorney was trying to make her look good?? She can ignore such obvious injuries, weight loss in a 1 year old child! Facial bruises! She didn’t hold her 1 year old child for a month! Makes her look even worse!

 

[Angiebla]

How does a flat screen fall into a crib?

I dont think a baby needs a tv in their room.

 

[HijabiGirl]

How hard is it just to feed the baby, clean the baby and NOT beat the baby?! Not one of those pictures show a baby whom was cared for properly. The environment is filthy and her clothes and face are filthy. And then to beat her over a period of days/weeks? WTF?!