OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — An Osceola County woman confessed to strangling her 13-year-old son in order to spare him from the devil, investigators said Tuesday.
Osceola County deputies said Jasmin Kennedy, 37, killed her son in his bed on Monday in a home on Crosley Avenue, which is near the intersection of Deer Run and Canoe Creek roads.
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A judge denied bond for Kennedy on Tuesday. She is charged with premeditated first-degree murder, domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated child abuse, and child neglect.
Deputies said Kennedy killed her teenage son with her 5-year-old son in the same room on Monday. He was in the top bunk.
Read: Sheriff: Woman admits to strangling her son, 13, at their home near St. Cloud
Deputies said the young boy apparently ran to try to get help, but by the time anyone realized what was actually happening it was too late.
“According to our deputies, she had been choking him on the bed,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said.
When deputies arrived around 7:30 a.m. Monday, the boy was already dead.
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Deputies said Kennedy confessed to killing her son during questioning.
According to court documents, Kennedy said her name was “Yahweh,” which translates to god in Hebrew.
When detectives asked her if she knew why she was being interviewed, she said: “she was being questioned due to her sending her son home.”
Kennedy was asked to clarify what she meant by that and deputies said Kennedy said she “spared him from the devil.”
On Tuesday, school officials confirmed the teen attended Canoe Creek K-8 School. An Osceola County School District official said they have grief counselors at the school to help students who may need support.
“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the children and family members involved in this tragedy,” the district said.
Channel 9 reached out to the Department of Children and Families to see if there was any history involving the family, but we are still waiting to hear back.
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