Shemeeka Davis is the aunt and foster mother of Jazzmin Davis. Presently, Ms. Davis is held on a 1.5 million dollar bond for the death of Jazzmin Davis. She face’s life in prison if convicted.
Jazzmin’s classmates and friends report that she had many signs of child abuse. They say that she routinely came to school with bruises, scars and once with a broken arm. Tanaiia Saunders and Kaitlyn Bagley, classmates, said that Jazzmin had a new bruise everyday that she came to school and frequently she came to school with scratches. The classmates report that Jazzmin had signs of abuse from sixth to eighth grade. They noticed she was very thin and would often ask classmates for food while at school. When asked by classmates, she would deny the beatings but say her family life wasn’t right. The classmates say that she came to school with a black eye once but told them she was “jumped”.
Jazzmin has a twin brother that has also been the victim of abuse. Shemeeka Davis will be charged with child abuse in his case as well.
Investigators and reporters question how the signs of child abuse went unreported by the teachers of Antioch Middle School and the foster care worker from San Francisco’s Human Services Agency. The last visit by the caseworker for Jazzmin was this past March.
Abusive parents or caregivers have risk factors such as substance abuse, low self-esteem, mental or physical disability, depression, history of abuse as a child, poor coping skills, poor impulse control, a history of violent behavior or history of being raised in a group setting with no positive parental role. All children are potential victims of child abuse, but some factors increase the risk for a child to be abused.
