Smith's version of events leading up to Jakie's death change multiple times, Dubose said. She said she put the two children in the bathtub, unattended, thinking she had turned the water on cold. But the water was scalding hot and the other child, burned, was able to get out of the tub. Jakie, not being able to walk or speak, could not.
When the younger child got Smith's attention, she went into the bathroom and got an "obviously burned" Jakie out of the tub. She did not render any type of first aid.
After speaking with police, Smith was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child.
At first, Dubose said, Smith told investigators she laid Jakie against her chest. When she woke in the morning, he was dead, she said.
She would later say a scalded Jakie was crying and, when he wouldn't stop, she began to beat him.
"That's how the baby ended up with cracked ribs," Dubose said.
Jakie likely died in "late April."
On Sept. 11, Smith led police to the home she had been staying in and showed them to the basement. Jakie's body was behind a wall, hidden by a loose piece of plywood. He had been wrapped in a sheet and placed in a garbage bag. Smith then duct taped the bag before placing Jakie's body in larger, black garbage bag.
His body was too decomposed, Dubose said, to see any visible signs of burns or make a positive identification. He did, however, have two bruises on his head, one on the right and one on the left. The bruises appear to be from different time periods. Investigators are having to rely on DNA to prove the body is that of the 5-year-old.
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