The Winter Haven mother arrested in the death of her 8-month old daughter is pregnant again, according to her family and friends.
- LeBeouf in jail charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child
- Arrest affidavit called child's death an accident
- LeBeouf's babysitter: "She does not deserve this."
19-year-old Jada LeBoeuf appeared in court Friday for the first time. Polk County deputies arrested her Oct. 19 and charged her with aggravated manslaughter of a child, saying she left her baby, Journey, unsupervised for hours while she went out with friends.
Authorities said LeBeouf lied to them about her whereabouts that night, and also didn’t tell her mother, step-father and sister, who were inside the home at the time, that she had left the baby in the living room alone. While she was out, Journey suffocated in her blanket.
The arrest affidavit said the death was an accident.
In court, prosecutors described LeBeouf as having an unstable home life, moving around from house to house. Her attorney told the judge she did have a job at a Walmart warehouse.
While the state believes LeBoeuf is a bad mom who neglected her eight month old daughter, her babysitter Keisha Burns has a different story.
“[LeBoeuf] loved Journey with every fiber of her being,” Burns recalled.
Keisha Burns shows a photo of 8-month-old Journey, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. (Stephanie Claytor, staff)
She said LeBoeuf worked all of the time, trying to provide for the baby. After Journey’s death, Burns helped LeBoeuf plan the funeral.
Both Burns and LeBoeuf kept Journey’s ashes, and Burns still has some of her clothes.
Burns wishes LeBoeuf would’ve called her to babysit the night Journey died.
"We talked it out, we cried it out, we toughed it out right here on this porch," Burns recalled. "I said, 'in order for you to move on in life, you're going to have to heal.'"
Burns said she let LeBoeuf live with her after Journey’s death. Meanwhile, her own family pushed for her to be punished, according to Sheriff Grady Judd.
"Everybody is just mortified in the family," Judd said. "One of the relatives asked 'what are you going to do with her about this?"
Burns told us she was shocked at the charges, because she was under the impression the case was closed.
"I prayed so hard that they let her go -- She does not deserve this," Burns said. "I know she is panicking, because nobody wants to be in Grady Judd’s jail."
"She's pregnant," Burns continued. "There’s a risk that she can just lose her sanity here, because she loved that little girl."
Judd, however, believes LeBeouf needs to stay in jail for awhile.
"She needs to be in jail long enough to figure out that taking a child’s life directly or indirectly by leaving it under a blanket at eight months old is absolutely wrong,” Judd said.
The judge set LeBoeuf's bail at $50,000. If she posts bond, she'll have to wear an ankle monitor and she will have a curfew.
The judge also banned her from being around children.