A Grand Crossing neighborhood man hit and shook his 5-month-old daughter, killing her, when he was supposed to be caring for her while her mother was at work, prosecutors said Monday.
Dangelo Jackson, 21, was ordered held without bail Monday in the fatal child abuse injury of his daughter, Janylah Jackson, in their apartment in the 1300 block of East 70th Street, on Oct. 23. Janylah was pronounced dead at 6:54 p.m. that day at Comer Children’s Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office — less than an hour after Jackson had called police because the girl wasn’t responsive.
Jackson and his girlfriend, the girl’s mother, lived together in the apartment, and the day of Janylah’s death, her mother left for work about 2 p.m., and Jackson was alone with the girl until about 6 p.m., according to prosecutors.
About 6 p.m., Jackson called 911 to report that Janylah was unresponsive, and emergency crews went to the apartment, where they found her on the floor, not breathing, according to prosecutors. She was then pronounced dead.
An autopsy initially was inconclusive, and the results were marked pending, but recently, final results following further studies showed Janylah died from multiple injuries suffered in abusive trauma, and the medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide, according to a spokeswoman for the office.
The office found blunt head and neck trauma, blunt torso trauma and blunt trauma to the girl’s extremities, prosecutors said. The injuries would have become evident within about an hour of the girl suffering them, the office determined.
The injuries to the brain, eyes and spinal cord were consistent with “significant acceleration and deceleration situations, such as, but not limited to, shaking,” prosecutors said.
The girl also suffered bruising to the right side of the face, and the back of the nape of the neck, fractured left ribs and scrapes on her arms, prosecutors said.
The injuries “are indicative of non-accidental trauma,” according to prosecutors. “Significant force would have been necessary to cause the injuries.”
Janylah was a well-developed, otherwise healthy girl before her death from abuse, prosecutors said.
Jackson gave “numerous” versions of what happened to his daughter, according to prosecutors.
According to prosecutors, among the versions of Jackson’s story were: that he dropped Janylah and she possibly hit the back of her head on the floor; that he lost his balance and fell on top of her; that while he was holding her, she hit her head on a closet door.
None of Jackson’s explanations were consistent with the medical examiner’s office’s findings, prosecutors said.
Jackson was arrested about 3:45 p.m. on Friday at his apartment, according to a police spokesman and his arrest report.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was investigating Janylah’s death in connection with an allegation of abuse, a spokeswoman said Monday. The investigation was still pending Monday afternoon.
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There were no other children in the home at the time of the girl’s death, and the agency had had no prior contact with the family regarding the girl, the spokeswoman said.