Mom Zinah Jennings Wont Say Where Missing 18mo Amir Is

[Whisper]

http://i39.tinypic.com/nc1h8x.jpg
In this undated photo provided by the Richland County Jail, shows Zinah Jennings. Columbia police are in a desperate search for Jennings 18-month-old son after she refused to tell them of his whereabouts. Jennings and her son were missing for a month before Jennings was found after she was in a traffic wreck on Christmas Eve

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - January 4, 2012 (WPVI) -- Police in South Carolina are on a desperate search for a missing 18-month-old boy after investigators said she wouldn't tell them where her son is.
Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott told The Associated Press Wednesday that investigators hope Amir Jennings is alive but they aren't getting much help from the boy's mother, Zinah Jennings.

The mother and son were missing for a month before she was found after being in a car accident Christmas Eve. The chief says Jennings told inconsistent stories, saying her son was with friends in North Carolina and Georgia
Police in both states have found no clues. Jennings has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
[...]http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/national_world&id=8490116

http://i42.tinypic.com/2e0nxhc.jpg

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - A missing 18-month old boy from Columbia is gaining national attention--but there's still idea no where the child is.
Police say Zinah Jennings, the 22-year old mom of Amir Jennings, is not cooperating with them.
"The unfortunate thing is Ms. Jennings will not tell us where the child is at, she's told us several different variantions of the story, but all of them proven to be false," said Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott.
Police are asking for your help to locate Amir, who has been missing since Thanksgiving.
Scott says he is concerned for Amir's safety because even the child's extended family isn't sure where the little boy is.
"Right now we have not ruled out foul play, but obviously we don't know where Amir is and we are not getting any solid answers... I am very concerned about his safety at this point," said Chief Scott.
Zinah's mother filed a missing person's report after not seeing her daughter or her grandson since Thanksgiving. But Zinah was seen again on December 24th when she was involved in a car accident--but Amir was not with her.
Police questioned her several times, and a warrant was issued for Zinah on December 29th. She was arrested and charged with unlawful conduct towards a child.
The charge was filed after police say she lied to investigators about her son Amir's whereabouts.
"We at this point don't understand why she's not telling us where Amir is at, when is the last time she has seen him," Jennings said. "Someone in the community has seen Amir and has seen Zinah. This is a criminal matter at this point."
Ms. Jennings is behind bars at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center where she is being held on a $150,000 bond.
"We are not stopping now," Scott says. "We don't know and until we know we will not stop looking, questioning family members, friends."
[...]
http://www.wltx.com/news/article/166330/2/Police-on-Missing-Toddler-We-Have-Not-Ruled-Out-Foul-Play

http://i40.tinypic.com/4ghxsw.jpg
Zinah Jennings
http://i42.tinypic.com/34qwowg.jpg
Amir Jennings

[crimsonsorrow]

The mother and son were missing for a month before she was found after being in a car accident Christmas Eve.

K.C.A. all over again.

[Lil Sox]

What a beast!

[sintax]

Oh, shit! It's Casey Anthony all over again!
This is so similar that it makes me wonder how many more kids are going to disappear?

[Whisper]

Give me a couple minutes and Ill find out whats going on

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former college student who became depressed and erratic after becoming a mother is charged with lying about where her missing 18-month-old son has been for more than a month, police said Wednesday.
Authorities said they were desperately searching for Amir Jennings after his 22-year-old mother, Zinah Jennings, told them several inconsistent and false stories about the boy being with relatives and friends in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.
"I'm trying to stay optimistic about this," Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott told The Associated Press Wednesday. "But short of being optimistic, this case bothers me."
The mother and son were reported missing in early December, but the mother turned up after she was involved in a car accident on Christmas Eve.
Scott said officers hope a tip line and media exposure will lead to more information.
"I want someone to call us and say, `We just saw this on the news, we have Amir, we're sorry, we didn't realize this was going on,'" he said. "Her stories are so across the board that our search right now is from Charlotte to Atlanta."
Investigators said they hoped Amir Jennings was alive but they weren't getting much help from his mother. In early December, grandmother Jocelyn Jennings Nelson reported her own daughter missing, saying that she hadn't seen her in several days and hadn't seen her grandson since the Thanksgiving holiday.
According to an incident report, Jennings had had a car wreck several days before and had been making "cryptic phone calls to other family members indicating her ongoing fight with depression is continuing."

That sort of behavior wasn't unusual for the young mother, according to relatives, who told investigators the one-time college student had begun disappearing for days on end, with her son, since his birth.
"The grandmother told me specifically that, when she was in school, she was a very good person, a very good student," said Scott, adding that relatives had previously filed several missing persons reports on Jennings. "But once the baby was born, the conduct kind of changed."
[...]
Early on the morning of Christmas Eve, Jennings wrecked her Dodge Neon in a one-car accident near her house in Columbia. Authorities learned that Jennings was reported missing and they say Jennings began giving shaky stories about her son's whereabouts. They also spoke with Amir's father, who told them he had seen the boy during Thanksgiving but generally has had little contact with the boy.
"First it's, `He's with my sister in Atlanta. Oh no, I'm sorry, he's with my friend in Charlotte,'" Scott said. "It's all over the place. ... Everything she's telling us is just lies."
Several days later, police again spoke with Jennings, who said her son was with a friend in Columbia, but that story was also a dead end. After days of giving police bad information, the mother was charged Dec. 29 with unlawful conduct toward a child and is being held on $150,000 bond.
The police chief said he did not know if Jennings had an attorney. The number listed for both Jennings and her mother was not working, and the grandmother did not immediately return a message left on her work number. Police have not released the name of Amir's father.
At this point, Scott said investigators have two theories.

"It's either A: Zinah has given Amir to someone. Or Zinah has, in some way, shape or form, harmed Amir," Scott said. "Until we have something more on Amir, I do not rule out foul play. And in my mind, there's already an air of foul play, because no one will tell us where Amir is at. Foul play doesn't have to mean that someone is deceased. Foul play is lying to police."
Scott said he's struggling to remain optimistic that Amir will be found unharmed. He would not discuss any evidence police have collected from the mother's home or car.
"It's the way this whole case is playing out," Scott said. "It's more than just that the child is missing. The mother is lying about the whereabouts of the child."
There was no answer Wednesday at the blue two-story home where police say Jennings, her mother and son live, its door and front porch still festooned with Christmas decorations. The house, just a few blocks from one of Columbia's busiest thoroughfares, is on a quiet, tree-lined street of other one- and two-story homes, some with fenced-in yards and porches.
"We see each other and speak and say hello," said Selwyn Young, who lives across the street from the Jennings family and said he recalled seeing Jennings pushing the baby around the neighborhood and walking the family's dog. "Hopefully they find him. Hopefully they get it right."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/zinah-jennings-missing-son_n_1185759.html?ref=missing-persons

[Whisper]

Police use cadaver dogs in search for missing boy

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The Columbia Police Department used cadaver dogs this week to search a home and a vehicle of family members of a missing 18-month-old boy.
Police executed two search warrants at Jocelyn Jennings Nelson's Lady St. home early Wednesday. She's the grandmother of Amir Jennings, a toddler who was last seen on Thanksgiving.
The little boy's mother, 22-year-old Zinah Jennings, is jailed for lying about his whereabouts.
[...]
Police also searched the car that Zinah Jennings' confiscated car. According to Chief Randy Scott, investigators have discovered possible leads as a result of Thursday's searches. Scott would not say what those leads are.
"We've done the search warrants. We have been able to recover some evidence from the vehicle," said Scott. "We did a search warrant also yesterday on a possibility where Zinah and Amir have been and again we're not stopping."
Columbia police investigators spent Thursday in Atlanta, following up on leads and searching places where they think Zinah and Amir Jennings may have been.
Amir's grandparents told The Associated Press that they would release a statement to the media about the disappearance on Thursday, but that never happened.
Police said that they have not been able to get in touch with the grandparents all day. Columbia PD has been initiating communication with the family and updating them daily prior to today, but so far today they have had no luck in communicating with the grandparents.
[...]
Chief Scott says he's trying to stay positive but hasn't ruled out foul play. Police fear they may be running out of leads if they don't soon get a break in the case. http://www.live5news.com/story/16452564/sc-police-mother-wont-tell-them-where-son-is


Where is Amir Jennings?


TIMELINE OF EVENTS
•November 23, 2011 - 18-month-old Amir Jennings is last seen
•December, 2011 - Family members confront Zinah Jennings about Amir's whereabouts
•December 8, 2011 - Jocelyn Jennings Nelson reports her daughter, Zinah, and Amir missing
•December 24, 2011 - Zinah Jennings crashes car in Columbia. She is questioned and arrested
•December 31, 2011 - Zinah Jennings appears in court on unlawful conduct toward a child charges
•January 5, 2012 - Police search Nelson's home and Jennings' car with cadaver dogs

RELATED STORIES
•Missing child's mother once said she had no child
•Police: Mother of missing child not cooperating with authorities
•Mother of missing child arrested, charged with unlawful conduct

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION
•Call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SChttp://www.live5news.com/story/16452564/sc-police-mother-wont-tell-them-where-son-is

[Aena]

I honestly hope she didn't do anything to him and is only being a bitch because she is young and rebellious. On the other hand I am not sure how I feel about the cops holding her for absolutely nothing, they have no evidence she abused her kid, yet she is being charged with cruelty because she won't tell LE where he is. I think the charge should fit the crime, not trumped up charges because they are afraid of another Casey Anthony. You cannot punish someone for something someone else did, I feel that is what LE is doing and that is wrong.

[Silvahalo]

Another, ops! now what did I do with my critter?! Any of this sound even remotely familiar to anyone?

Sorry, but that is one ugly ass woman, and you know she's likely done something ugly to baby Amir, that is my guess, she's as guilty of no good as she is ugly. SICK OF THIS SHIT.

Be found baby Amir... safe and sound.

[Whisper]

SC missing boy's mom told cops she had no children

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The mother of an 18-month-old South Carolina boy missing for more than a month initially told investigators she didn't have a son when they questioned her.

Arrest warrants provided to The Associated Press show that 22-year-old Zinah (ZEE-nah) Jennings first told police last month she had no children before saying her son, Amir, was in Atlanta. Jennings also took investigators to a Columbia apartment complex where she said she dropped off her son later saying she didn't know the apartment number or location within the complex.

Jennings' mother says she hasn't seen Amir since Thanksgiving.

Jennings is charged with unlawful conduct toward a child after police say she told inconsistent stories about Amir's whereabouts.
[...]http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16461611/sc-missing-boys-mom-told-cops-she-had-no-children?Call=Email&Format=HTML%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20



Sad to say but the babys dead,just a matter of time until they find his body

[GGsMum]

Sorry, but that is one ugly ass woman, and you know she's likely done something ugly to baby Amir, that is my guess, she's as guilty of no good as she is ugly. SICK OF THIS SHIT.

Be found baby Amir... safe and sound.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought she was....ahem, fairly unattractive.

Hopefully she isn't doing this for the "fame" or the attention, but seems all signs are pointing in that direction. I pray Amir is found safe and sound though.

[Whisper]

Shovel, Bloody Clothes Found in Search for Missing SC Toddler
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)— Columbia police looking for a South Carolina toddler missing since Thanksgiving have found a shovel and what appear to be bloody clothes and blankets.

Search warrants show police went to 22-year-old Zinah Jennings' home earlier this month after her stepfather told police he saw her in the backyard with a shovel around the time Amir Jennings disappeared.

Investigators found a shovel at the family's home. Police also found what appeared to be blood stains on blankets and clothes in the back of Jennings' car.

Authorities have said the items are being analyzed by state police for DNA.
[...]http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-shovel-bloody-clothes-found-in-missing-toddler-search-120110,0,1782889.story

[Rockin Ma]

Search warrants show police went to 22-year-old Zinah Jennings' home earlier this month after her stepfather told police he saw her in the backyard with a shovel around the time Amir Jennings disappeared.

Investigators found a shovel at the family's home. Police also found what appeared to be blood stains on blankets and clothes in the back of Jennings' car.

Shouldn't there be a digging up of the backyard? If there's a warrant for the home...why not the yard? It makes no sense to me.

[Rockin Ma]

Zinah Jennings, the mother of a Columbia toddler last seen Nov. 29, squeezed the little boy’s hand until he screamed with pain the last time a longtime friend saw them in late November, the friend said Tuesday.
“She wanted Amir to say ma-ma, and when he wouldn’t, he started to scream. I looked down and she was squeezing his hand,” said friend Jessica Thomas, 24, a criminal justice student at Columbia’s Benedict College.
Thomas, who went to Dreher High School with Jennings, said Tuesday that Zinah in recent months had seemed to undergo a personality change and last autumn threw Thomas’ 2-year-old nephew on the floor, causing him to cry.

Amir Jennings
- xx /xx
Reward offered

Columbia police Tuesday announced a $10,000 reward for anyone who can give information leading to the whereabouts and return of missing toddler Amir Jennings.

People can give tips anonymously through Crimestoppers by calling toll-free, 888-CRIME-SC.


Today's news video

“She just said, ‘He was bothering me,’” said Thomas, who has also told her story to Columbia police officers investigating the disappearance of Amir Jennings, who was 18 months old when he went missing.
Jennings, 22 and an unemployed single mother, remains jailed after being charged Dec. 29 with unlawful conduct toward a child for refusing to tell authorities the whereabouts of her son. Meanwhile, Columbia police are running forensic tests on what appear to be bloody clothes and blankets found recently in Jennings’ car and a shovel found in her back yard.
City police investigating Amir’s disappearance are familiar with accounts of seemingly abusive behavior by Zinah Jennings, Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said Tuesday.
“Family members do tell us that they began to see a change in behavior after Amir was born,” said Scott. “Up to then, she was a college student, a good adult.”
However, Scott would not comment on specifics of what police are learning.
Jennings, who initially talked with police and gave them conflicting, unfounded accounts of where her son might be, now is silent, Scott said.
“She has a lawyer and is refusing to talk to us now,” Scott said. “She’s not cooperating in any way, shape or form. She is a mother who is continuing not to assist law enforcement with her child’s safe return.”

According to search warrants in the case, police have:
• Searched the two-story blue frame house at 2309 Lady St. in the Waverly neighborhood, where Jennings lived with her mother and Amir. The warrant said police were looking for “any human remains” and anything that “could be used to dispose of such remains.” A cadaver dog was used. Police seized a shovel.
• Searched a car used by Zinah Jennings and found “stains consistent with bloodstains” on clothing and blankets. Police took a swab of fluid or tissue from her for DNA identification purposes. No results have been announced.
• Gotten Zinah Jennings’s library and computer-use records from the Richland County Public Library at 1431 Assembly St. Police said they were acting on a tip that she frequented the library. Police also obtained copies of library surveillance videos.
• Received 28 pages of medical records from Palmetto Health Richland hospital concerning Jennings’ treatment Dec. 24 after a Columbia car crash. Until then, Jennings had been reported missing along with her child. Officers also sought statements from nurses and doctors who talked to Jennings during her treatment. When officers questioned her, she gave the first of “numerous false statements” to police and family, a warrant said.
Jennings also told the hospital’s staff she did not have a child, according to a warrant.
Jocelyn Jennings Nelson, Zinah’s mother, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Jocelyn Jennings is cooperating with police, as is the biological father of Amir, Scott said.

http://www.thestate.com/2012/01/11/2109261/friend-says-missing-toddlers-mom.html

[AngelFire]

The ugly horse face whore killed him.

[Whisper]

Zinah Jennings appears in court, grandmother hopes missing boy found alive

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS/AP) – The mother of a boy who has been missing since before Thanksgiving appeared in court Wednesday morning, but the reason why may remain a mystery. The grandmother of that missing boy said Wednesday she's holding out hope the boy will be found alive.
Amir Jennings was 18-months-old when his grandmother, Jocelyn Jennings Nelson, reported him and his mother, Zinah, missing in December. The mother resurfaced at Christmas after crashing her car, but without the boy. Police this week said they found what appear to be bloody clothes and blankets in Jennings' car.

Zinah Jennings walked into a Richland County courtroom Wednesday morning for a judge to hear a motion her defense team filed.

The 22-year-old's public defender, Gregory Collins, filed a motion late Tuesday asking for an emergency hearing in the case. Exactly why Collins asked for the hearing is not clear.

A copy of the motion was not filed in the public record in the clerk's office and neither side would tell WIS what the motion dealt with. After a 15 minute closed-door meeting with circuit court judge Alison Lee and prosecutors, Collins withdrew his motion.

Lee would not allow WIS cameras in the courtroom. There was no discussion of the motion held in open court.

Jennings walked into the hearing wearing shackles around her wrists and ankles, wearing a green jail shirt and blue detainee pants. She did not speak while sitting in the jury box of the third floor courtroom. Jennings' family did not appear for the hearing.

A source close to the case told WIS that Jennings' attorney called for the hearing after the 22-year-old mother underwent mental health evaluations over the weekend. Allegations were that some of the information Jennings gave during her evaluations was leaked to prosecutors. WIS is trying to independently confirm the information.

Fifth circuit solicitor Dan Johnson would not comment on the motion Wednesday, citing court rules that prohibit prosecutors from discussing pending cases and discussions that happen outside of the courtroom. Collins declined to comment, citing the same as Johnson.

Jennings is charged with cruelty to children, but police have not provided any evidence that Jennings has harmed her son.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Jennings Nelson told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she is sure her daughter did nothing to harm Amir. Police have said Zinah Jennings has given them conflicting accounts about the boy's whereabouts and she has been charged with lying to investigators.

Nelson says her daughter doesn't trust police and may not fully understand the seriousness of the search for her son.

Police have served four search warrants in the investigation. Two searches happened at Zinah's mother's Lady St. home, one search of her car and another at the Richland County Public Library branch on Assembly St. Investigators found several pieces of potential evidence in the searches. The evidence was sent to the State Law Enforcement Division for DNA analysis.

SLED's work could take several more weeks to finish.
[...]http://www.live5news.com/story/16497255/zinah-jennings-files-motion-appears-in-richland-county-courtroom

slideshow
http://www.live5news.com/slideshow?widgetid=43504

[Whisper]

This is just getting more and more freaky

Mom of missing SC boy faces prostitution charges

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The mother of a South Carolina toddler missing since Thanksgiving was arrested in Georgia and accused of prostitution shortly before her son disappeared, according to police records.

Zinah Jennings, 22, was arrested by East Point, Ga., police in November after she offered sex to an undercover officer, police said in a report obtained by The Associated Press.

Clad in a short skirt, Jennings "appeared to be trying to get the attention of every passing motorist" when an undercover officer saw her Nov. 9, the report said. The officer approached Jennings, who agreed to take $40 in exchange for sex. She also faces a marijuana charge.

Jennings had been staying with a half-sister, Denise Jennings, in the Atlanta area for three weeks before her Nov. 9 arrest. East Point is just south of Atlanta.

On the day Zinah Jennings was arrested, her half-sister reported her missing, telling police that she had left her home and suffered from "schizophrenic tendencies" that had not been diagnosed.

Zinah Jennings has been in jail in Columbia since late December, charged with lying to authorities about where her son is. Amir Jennings was 18 months old when his grandmother said she last saw him over Thanksgiving.

The grandmother, Jocelyn Jennings Nelson, has said her headstrong daughter frequently traveled to visit relatives and friends in the Carolinas and Georgia but had been depressed since the birth of her son. Nelson said she reported Jennings and the boy missing last month after becoming concerned during their visit to Atlanta.

"I was assured by both her sister and her that, 'Everything is fine.'" Nelson said.[,...]
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16515041/mom-of-missing-sc-boy-faces-prostitution-charges?Call=Email&Format=HTML%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20

[tmdgirl]

Nelson says her daughter doesn't trust police and may not fully understand the seriousness of the search for her son.

This just pisses me off...she doesn't understand the seriousness of the search for her son?????? WTF. Does she think the cops are just in it for shits n giggles?? Is it a joke to her to send them all over looking for her baby?

Personally, I think the stupid bitch killed him. I seriously hope she didn't, and that he will turn up with one of her many family members, but the chances are pretty slim.

They should promise her full immunity from any charges if she tells where he is (or his body), then take her out back and just shoot her.

[Silvahalo]

On the day Zinah Jennings was arrested, her half-sister reported her missing, telling police that she had left her home and suffered from "schizophrenic tendencies" that had not been diagnosed.
great.
another bat-shit crazy bitch who will say I don't know, i don't know....and not tell and we'll probably never really know even if his body turns up. I really hope he's w/ family but in my gut I just don't think so.

Hit me kinda hard today. A friend of mine has a newly adopted nephew. It struck me that Amir might have looked like him an infant. Beautiful babies thrown away like they never mattered. It's a mad, mad world.

[Valasca]

I personally don't give a rat's ass Zinah was a prostitute. I barely care she had drugs. This really has no bearing on the case. BUT... The media will do anything to drag her through the mud. Understood. But this really isn;t helping the investigations.

[Silvahalo]

I personally don't give a rat's ass Zinah was a prostitute. I barely care she had drugs. This really has no bearing on the case. BUT... The media will do anything to drag her through the mud. Understood. But this really isn;t helping the investigations.
I don't care about the prostitution but the drugs, well that can certainly be problematic. What concerns me is her state of mind. How many times have we read "she had a history of mental illness", TOO many times.

The media can run her through the mud and then some since the bitch don't want to talk she can deal w/ the crap that is slung at her.
besides. she was probably fucking horses.

[Valasca]

Good call, Silvahalo. I hadn't looked at it quite that way.

[Rockin Ma]

I'm kinda confused. First articles talk about how perfect she was before she had her baby, but as we go, there's the drugs and prostitution stuff going on. So what I am wondering is is this criminal behavior something new? It does appear (based solely on reading media reports) that she quickly went off the deep end for some type of reason, right now it's been stated that it started after having her baby.

[Whisper]

I'm kinda confused. First articles talk about how perfect she was before she had her baby, but as we go, there's the drugs and prostitution stuff going on. So what I am wondering is is this criminal behavior something new? It does appear (based solely on reading media reports) that she quickly went off the deep end for some type of reason, right now it's been stated that it started after having her baby.

I know of 3 women that have lost it after giving birth and 2 are in psych wards and another had her kids taken away and hubby divorced her b/c she always had thoughts of dumping hot tea/water on her babies
Shes lost all touch with reality (shes alot older then I am but I grew up with her family living next to us)
After she had her first baby you could see she was turning weird and drs didnt want her having anymore b/c of the chemical imbalance but she had another one
Doesnt bother with her family at all anymore.
They have tried everything to get her help at least 30 years b/c her kids are older then mine

[Whisper]

Her new name in online posts now have her being called "Zinah"Dont Call Me Casey" Jennings"

[Whisper]

How come they are always pregnant??

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – The Columbia mother charged with lying to investigators about where she last saw her 19-month-old son, is now pregnant and deemed "mentally ill," according to court records.
[....]
Jennings hired Columbia attorney Hemphill Pride to represent her after ditching her tax payer-funded public defender on Jan. 17. Pride filed four motions between Jan. 23 and Jan. 25, asking for evidence from prosecutors to support the cruelty to children charge, and Pride asked for a judge to reduce Jennings' $150,000 bond.
The filings also show that Jennings is pregnant and being detained at a psychiatric facility in Columbia.
"She is in dire need of prenatal care," Pride argued in his filing.
Hospital staffers tested Jennings for pregnancy when she crashed her car Dec. 24, the night Columbia Police first questioned her about where her son is. That pregnancy test, according to sources close to the case, came back negative.
Jennings was re-tested on Dec. 28 while undergoing mental health evaluations, according to sources, when that test came back positive for pregnancy.
A Richland County probate judge ordered Jennings to undergo mental health examinations after her arrest on Dec. 30.
On Jan. 11, records show that Dr. Michael J. Ferlauto issued a report that showed Jennings was, "mentally ill, needs involuntary treatment and because of this mental illness…lacks sufficient insight or capacity to make responsible decisions with respect to his/her treatment…and, therefore, involuntary hospitalization; [and] involuntary outpatient treatment is recommended."
On Jan. 17, records show that probate court judge Theresa L. Clement held a hearing and found Jennings "mentally ill." Clement's ruling included a year-long mental health treatment that included medication.
Pride has asked for Jennings' bond to be reduced. A hearing must be set by the circuit court and the solicitor's office.
MOTION FOR ZINAH JENNINGS TO NOT APPEAR IN INMATE CLOTHING
A forth motion would all Jennings to appear in court wearing "civilian clothing," instead of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center uniform issued to all inmates. Pride's reasons, "this case has been widely publicized, locally and nationally, via every source of the news media."
Pride argued that Jennings' showing for court hearings in the inmate uniform, "impedes her right to a fair and impartial trial," according to the court record.
Pride's motion also asks the judge to "bar media coverage of any and all future court proceedings," if the court would not allow her to appear in "civilian clothing."
Pride declined to discuss the details of his motions, but said he's asked for a day in court to argue his motions.
http://www.live5news.com/story/16607896/records-zinah-jennings-is-mentally-ill-pregnant

[badfish76]

She wasn't too mentally ill to understand that she had better chances if she dumped the public pretender. Also, if they have deemed that she should be involuntarily committed I'm not sure what good a bond reduction is going to do her, but I will bet that she magically improves if her bond is reduced.

[sintax]

Judge delays decision on lower bond for mother of missing toddler

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/01/30/2134148/judge-delays-decision-on-lower.html#storylink=cpy

[sintax]

Judge will not lower bond for mother of missing boy


A judge has denied a request to lower the bond for the mother of a South Carolina boy missing since Thanksgiving.

Circuit Judge Casey Manning on Tuesday ordered that Zinah Jennings continue to be held in the Richland County detention center on $150,000 bond. Click here to read Judge Manning's order.

Jennings has been in jail since late December, when police say they arrested her for lying about the whereabouts of her son, Amir. The boy was 18-months-old when his grandmother reported him missing in early December. Police say Jennings has fabricated multiple stories about where he is.

She's charged with unlawful conduct towards a children.

Jennings' attorney said Tuesday he was shocked at the judge's decision. Hemphill Pride II says his client would have a lower bond if authorities were not still looking for her son.

During a Monday hearing, Pride argued police were violating Jennings' constitutional rights by opposing her release on bond.

"She's charged with a crime. For some reason they think that if you're charged with a crime and you don't cooperate with them then you're a flight risk," Pride told Judge Casey Manning. "I submit to you that Ms. Jennings has an absolute right to remain silent and she cannot be punished for it."

Authorities argued Jennings is a flight risk.

Also on Tuesday, a flood of missing posters and yellow ribbons went up in the Columbia neighborhood where Amir Jennings' grandmother lives. The reminders are up on nearly every corner of the historic Waverly Community, and as more times passes since the little boy vanished, the level of concern goes up as well.

"I'm hoping that the mother would come forth and let us know what's going on," said concerned resident Brenda Williams."I have children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and I keep a very close watch on my daughters and my sons. If anything is strange I'm gonna ask because I'm that kind of person. My daughter tells me I'm nosy, but it's good to be nosy, especially when it's your family."

Other residents, who did not want to comment on the record to WACH Fox News, why the boy's family didn't flood the area with the ribbons and posters two months ago when Amir, who was 18-months-old at the time, first disappeared.

There is no answer for those worries at this point, but the concerns are very real.

People aren't only worried on the streets, they are also expressing their concerns about the case online. A Facebook page entitled "Find Amir Jennings" has been set up. Updates are posted about the case back to the early days of the investigation. More than 1,000 people have liked the page.

Police are urging anyone with information about the Amir Jennings case to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. All calls are anonymous and there is a possible $10,000 dollar reward tied to information in the case.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=714002#.TyiyZlzwtid

[sintax]

DNA results in in missing toddler case

...Samples were taken from Jennings’ car in December after investigators found “stains consistent with bloodstains” on clothing and blankets. Investigators also searched a two-story house in the Waverly neighborhood where Jennings lived with her mother and Amir. They also took a swab of fluid or tissue from Zinah Jennings for DNA identification purposes...


Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/04/2140700/police-chief-says-hell-comment.html#storylink=cpy

[malq]

Last seen on Thanksgiving and Christmas eve it comes to light the child is missing.

Weirder yet, we are just now hearing about it. How did Casey Anthonys case lite on fire so fast?

[sintax]

Last seen on Thanksgiving and Christmas eve it comes to light the child is missing.

Weirder yet, we are just now hearing about it. How did Casey Anthonys case lite on fire so fast?

You pose interesting question, malq. How did Casey's case catch on so fast? I don't know, but my guess is cute white girl vs. troubled black girl. Other than that, I find the cases disturbingly similar. They are both lying bitches that killed their kids, didn't bother to mention that fact to anyone, then lied, lied, lied.

[malq]

You pose interesting question, malq. How did Casey's case catch on so fast? I don't know, but my guess is cute white girl vs. troubled black girl. Other than that, I find the cases disturbingly similar. They are both lying bitches that killed their kids, didn't bother to mention that fact to anyone, then lied, lied, lied.
Race probably is a big factor, but for me ,if I remember right, it was the fascination of a bitch being so cold and fake with the pretending to be a carefree partygirl. Photos and all!

[Whisper]

DNA results expected in missing SC toddler case
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/dna-results-expected-missing-sc-toddler-case/nHT6r/

[sintax]

Zinah Jennings' attorney blames mental illness for lack of progress


It's been 113 days since Amir Jennings was last seen by family members.

WHERE IS AMIR JENNINGS?
18-month-old Amir Jennings has been missing since November 24th. His mother, Zinah Jennings, is in jail and refuses to tell police where the little boy is.

Since her arrest in December, the 18-month-old's mother, Zinah Jennings, has been either unable or unwilling to help police locate her son.

Jennings remains in jail on child abuse charges, but she is not charged in connection with the disappearance of Amir.

Jennings' attorney Hemphill Pride says his client is hamstrung by a combination of mental illness and medication.

"She's not very happy taking it and it sort of zonks her out," said Pride. "It makes it difficult in that she is sort of, I would say that she's depressed and she's down and she's sort of a lackluster kind of attitude."

Pride says Zinah Jennings has been taking Risperidone, also known as Risperdal.

The National Library of Medicine says that medication is used for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and irritability from autistic disorder.

Pride says the Risperdal and her illness have prevented Zinah Jennings from having the mental clarity that might help police find Amir.

"She doesn't remember much about where he is," said Pride. "She has, as you know, given various stories to the police department who are charged with the responsibility to try to find Amir. And it is my understanding from the discovery information that I read that she has given various stories about where he is."

When asked if Jennings believes that Amir is out there somewhere, Pride responded:

"Well she gives the impression that he is out there. And that she loves him and that she looks forward to seeing him again and being with him."

Pride says he's planning to ask a Richland County Probate judge to reconsider her order for Zinah Jennings to be given the anti-psychotic medication.

Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott has not been available to respond to Pride's remarks.

On Sunday, March 18th, the organizers of the "Find Amir Jennings" Facebook Page are hosting a vigil at Martin Luther King Park in Columbia. The vigil is at 6 p.m.



http://www.wbtv.com/story/17170160/jennings-attorney-blames-medication

[Rockin Ma]

From Feb. I can't find the follow up, but I saw comments from others DNA testing came back "inconclusive". I'd like to know for sure


Results from DNA testing on samples collected from the car of Zinah Jennings are in, but Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott says he will not comment until the first of the week when he expects to be briefed by State Law Enforcement Division agents.
“I have not seen the report,” Scott said Saturday. “SLED is finished with one portion of the preliminary results, and I will be briefed on those findings on Monday.”
Jennings, 22, is the mother of Amir Jennings, last seen Nov. 29, when he was 18-months-old.

Amir Jennings
- xx /xx
Today's news video

Samples were taken from Jennings’ car in December after investigators found “stains consistent with bloodstains” on clothing and blankets. Investigators also searched a two-story house in the Waverly neighborhood where Jennings lived with her mother and Amir. They also took a swab of fluid or tissue from Zinah Jennings for DNA identification purposes.
Scott said multiple submissions were made and sent for testing in SLED’s crime lab, and only a portion of those results have come back.
In addition, he said he would not know until Monday whether the report included DNA testing from a shovel found at the home.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/04/2140700/police-chief-says-hell-comment.html#storylink=cpy

[sintax]

Missing boy's mom wants case nixed


The lawyer for the mother of a South Carolina toddler missing since late last year is asking a judge to throw out a charge against her and release her from jail.

Hemphill Pride told a judge at a hearing Thursday that prosecutors don't have enough evidence to prove a unlawful conduct toward a child charge against Zinah Jennings and are only holding her because she won't tell them where her son Amir is.

Judge G. Thomas Cooper gave prosecutors until Monday to make their argument to keep the charge against Jennings.

Amir Jennings has been missing since December. He would be almost 2 years old now. His mother was jailed after authorities say she told them several inconsistent and false stories about who is caring for him.


http://www.wistv.com/story/18728387/apnewsbreak-missing-sc-boys-mom-wants-case-nixed

[Kimberix]

If she wants the case nixed and she claims to be full on innocent then why the hell not just produce the whereabouts of the baby? oh thats right cause he's prolly buried in some backwoods somewhere, bet ya they will find him when his poor body is too decomposed to tell how the child died

[sintax]

A judge should throw out an indictment against the mother of a missing South Carolina toddler because prosecutors don't have enough evidence to prove their case and are only holding Zinah Jennings because she won't tell them where her son is, the woman's attorney said Thursday.

"You can't weigh the rights of a defendant against the rights of a missing child," Jennings' attorney, Hemphill Pride II, said in court. "The entire holding of Zinah Jennings in this case is a mere pretext."

Judge G. Thomas Cooper set a July trial date for Jennings, whose son, Amir, was 18 months old when he was last seen around Thanksgiving. Zinah Jennings' mother reported her missing several weeks later, telling police she thought her daughter and grandson were in Atlanta but that she was receiving evasive answers when she asked about Amir.

Speaking to police after a Christmas Eve car wreck, Jennings first said she had no children and then said her son was with relatives and friends in cities from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C. Investigators say they chased down Jennings' stories in several states but arrested her after several dead ends.

Prosecutors said Amir's blood was found on blankets in Jennings' car. Agents have used cadaver dogs to search a wide rural area but found no sign of the boy.

Clad in a black and white jail outfit and visibly pregnant, Jennings, 23, was shackled at the ankles during Thursday's hearing. Cooper allowed her handcuffs to be removed while she was in the courtroom.

She was indicted last month on a charge of unlawful conduct toward a child. On Thursday, Pride said prosecutors hadn't included enough information in their indictment, like specific allegations about how Jennings had allegedly harmed her child, and asked that it be thrown out.

Pride also detailed the interrogation tactics used by police trying to elicit information from the young mother about her son's whereabouts. According to the attorney, police used Jennings' half-sister, a minister and even the love of a dog to try to get her to say where Amir was.

"'Zinah, baby, I want to pray with you,'" Pride said, paraphrasing the minister's interaction with his client. "And then at the end of the prayer says, `Where's the baby?'"


During all of those initial conversations, and in ones since, Jennings has consistently refused to discuss Amir's whereabouts, saying only that he is safe, Pride said.

"The case should be dismissed," Pride said. "You don't hold people in order to make someone tell you where a child is."

Cooper gave prosecutors until Monday to respond in writing to Pride's arguments. On Thursday, prosecutor Dolly Justice Garfield said that she felt confident in the case against Jennings.

"We are charging her with abandoning the child," Garfield said. "It would be a travesty to abandon the indictment when South Carolina law provides exactly what is reflected."

Cooper also ordered that Jennings be evaluated to see if she is competent to stand trial. She has already received one evaluation, which found that she has schizophrenia. Jennings was prescribed Risperdal, but Pride has said he fears that the drug is harmful to his client's unborn baby, due to be born in August.

Since last week, Jennings has been held in solitary confinement after a confrontation with a jailhouse nurse.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/amir-jennings-update-mom-zinah-wants-case-dismissed_n_1580361.html?ref=crime

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The mother of a Columbia boy who has been missing since last year is now facing an assault charge.

Jail records show that Zinah Jennings has been charged with third-degree assault and battery.

Jennings' attorney has said the charged stems from an allegation that his client pushed and shoved a jailhouse nurse over medication earlier this year. Jennings has been ordered by a judge to take an antipsychotic drug.

Jennings has been in jail since late last year on a charge of cruelty to children. Authorities say she has refused to tell them the whereabouts of her son, 2-year-old Amir Jennings.

The young mother is pregnant with a second child. Her trial on the cruelty charge is set to begin later this month.http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20120810/APN/1208100623

[Kylie]

This is the first time I am even hearing about this case. But damn what a fucked up mess this is. Fucking unbelievable that she is pregnant....just what she needs....another child.

And regarding her refusing to tell the whereabouts of her son....if I pulled that shit my parents would beat the information out of me.

[sintax]

Defense Set To Begin in Case of Missing Amir Jennings


The prosecution is wrapping up its case against the mother of the missing South Carolina toddler.

Prosecutors expect on Wednesday to rest their case against Zinah Jennings on a charge of unlawful conduct toward a child.

Amir Jennings was 18 months old when he was last seen around Thanksgiving, and his mother has refused to tell police where he is but said she left him somewhere safe.

Defense attorneys will begin their case after the prosecution finishes.

Jennings gave birth to a baby girl last week, and a judge ruled that she is well enough to stay on trial this week. A high school friend testified last week Jennings told her she was stressed and pondered selling or giving away the boy.


http://www.wltx.com/news/article/200493/2/Defense-Set-To-Begin-in-Case-of-Missing-Amir-Jennings

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Mom pressed Jennings to help investigators

Amir Jennings’ grandmother said in court Wednesday she worried about her grandson’s whereabouts but didn’t think her daughter would hurt him.

Jocelyn Jennings, at times crying and wiping tears from her face, testified in a Richland County courtroom that her daughter had once been a child with a bright future. Good academically and athletically, she was a Girl Scout and well-rounded student at Columbia’s Dreher High School, where she was on the color guard squad and girl’s basketball team.

But, the mother testified, her daughter dropped out of Winthrop University and had a baby. Relations between the two became strained in the months before the 18-month-old disappeared in November, Jocelyn Jennings testified.

Still, she replied, “No, sir,” when asked by her daughter’s attorney, Hemphill Pride II, if Zinah Jennings would have killed Amir.
[...]

Besides Jocelyn Jennings, other defense witnesses told the jury that Zinah Jennings had treated Amir well, had gone to church regularly with her son and been a good babysitter for other children.

Earlier Wednesday, prosecutors put up the last of their 40 witnesses – FBI agent Craig Januchowski. He introduced tape recordings of telephone calls between Jocelyn and Zinah Jennings made in February, when Zinah was an inmate at the county jail.

Jail inmates are warned all calls are recorded. In the calls played in court, Zinah Jennings is heard talking to her mother about life after jail.

“The first thing I’m going to do when I get out, and that’s to go back to school and get my school stuff how I want it. I need to go back to school,” says Zinah Jennings.

“School is important,” Jocelyn Jennings says. “But ... I can’t stop thinking about my grandson ... who I have come to know and to love. And he is your seed. ... I don’t understand.”

Zinah Jennings replies: “So if I get out, where are they going to put me?”

In another February call, Jocelyn Jennings begs her daughter to tell police Amir is safe.

“I already told them that,” Zinah Jennings says.

“For you to say that is one thing, (but) that don’t mean nothing. They think Amir is dead. ... I don’t want to believe you would take your son’s life. ... But until you let his whereabouts be known, they’re not going to let you out. ... They’re building a case against you, a murder case. ...You’re battling against the Columbia Police Department, the FBI, SLED – SLED, this ain’t no joke.”

People are putting yellow ribbons on telephone poles in hopes of Amir’s safe return, Jocelyn Jennings tells her daughter.

And, Zinah Jennings says: “Yeah, now everybody knows I had a baby.”
http://www.thestate.com/2012/09/06/2426866/fbi-agent-listened-to-39-calls.html#.UEi5D5bF-7s


A high school friend testified last week Jennings told her she was stressed and considered selling or giving away her son.

Jennings gave birth to a second child last week.http://www.wistv.com/story/19466251/grandma-never-feared-amir-would-be-hurt

[sintax]

Really?!!!???? You disappear your child and only get ten years?!!!??? Un-fucking-believable!


Zinah Jennings Found Guilty, Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison


A judge has sentenced Zinah Jennings to 10 years in prison in connection with the disappearance of her son, Amir Jennings.

His decision came about 30 minutes after a jury returned a guilty verdict against the woman on a charge of unlawful conduct toward a child.

The jury needed less than three hours of deliberation to reach their conclusion.

Police say Amir was last seen during a visit to a bank with his mother back in November of last year.

During the trial, prosecutors brought over three dozen witnesses to testify. The defense called just two, including Zinah Jennings's mother.

Some of the prosecution witnesses testified the mother said she was stressed and needed a break from the boy. Her mother said she didn't believe her daughter would have ever harmed him.

Zinah Jennings never took the stand in her own defense.

During deliberations, the judge received two notes from the jury: one requested a copy of the statute, the other asked for 12 copies of Jennings's statements to police.

Before sentencing, the judge heard from Zinah Jennings's mother, Jocelyn Jennings Nelson. She begged the judge to show mercy on her child, acknowledging that her daughter is troubled.

"I noticed it [motherhood] was difficult (for her)," Jennings Nelson said. "I noticed she was depressed and needed help. I went agency to agency to get help."

Zinah Jennings herself did not speak.

The judge, however, wasn't swayed, saying that a mother should want to protect her child, and that he "doesn't take into account what family members have to say when sentencing."

The judge did say Jennings would get credit for time served, which is about nine months.


http://www.wltx.com/news/article/200789/310/Zinah-Jennings-Found-Guilty

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Really?!!!???? You disappear your child and only get ten years?!!!??? Un-fucking-believable!
I wonder if the decision to charge her with "Unlawful Conduct Towards a Child" doesn't leave the door open for other charges if they find a body or other evidence?

[Rockin Ma]

I'll take the 10 years over getting off scott free.