A Douglasville woman was sentenced to 100 years — 50 in prison and 50 on probation — after beating her baby, authorities said.
Kayla Jordan Ray, 21, was secretly recorded on video the morning of Sept. 13, 2018, abusing her 7-month-old, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Steven C. Knittel said in a news release. A family member who was suspicious of Ray made the recording.
The video showed Ray throwing the baby into the crib after choking, smothering and punching the child, according to the release.
The child, who suffers from a respiratory condition, was seen in the video becoming motionless for a period of time after the beating. Later that morning, police and emergency medical services were sent to the home and found multiple bruises on the child’s knees, back, head and nose, the release said.
According to Knittel, authorities were advised by the doctor treating the child not to return it to Ray’s custody, as that could risk the child’s life.
The investigation revealed the child had two healing bone fractures that occurred at different times.
“What the video captured was just the latest, and thankfully last, abuse the child had to suffer at the hands of its own mother,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Samantha Newman said.
Ray entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to five counts of cruelty to children in the first degree Thursday.
“Ms. Ray abused her baby in such a vicious, cruel manner, that she deserves to spend the rest of her natural life in prison or under the state’s supervision,” District Attorney Ryan Leonard said.
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