Tag: JANELLE PETERKIN
Texas Mother Arrested After Videos Allegedly Showing Her Abusing, Burning 1-Year-Old Son Posted on Facebook
A Virginia woman’s efforts to save her 1-year-old nephew from the hands of his abuser — allegedly his own mother — by turning to social media prompted police to investigate the case and resulted in the Texas woman’s arrest.
Ra’Neicha Broadnax, 20, is expecting her first child, but her motherly instinct has already kicked in and that in part inspired her to save her 1-year-old nephew Jaiden from harm, KTLA sister station KDAF in Dallas reported.
After seeing multiple videos of Jaiden being burned, hit and having a bag placed over his head, she reached out from Virginia to contact authorities in Texas, where the little boy’s mother lives.
Broadnax said, at first, she was told that nothing could be done.
Then she turned to Facebook.
Broadnax posted videos of the baby screaming while someone — the baby’s mother, according to Broadnax — taunted the child.
“Tell your daddy that’s what happens when you sit around and play with people,” a woman is heard telling the baby. “Say ‘Dad, you should have just left my mama out your b——-.’ Say that.”
The woman continues, “You just want to keep playing, so this is what you get. That’s too bad, Jaiden. Too [expletive] bad!”
In various videos, the woman can be seen holding a flame to the baby’s hand, tying a plastic bag over his head and stuffing a plastic bag into his mouth, KDAF reported.
Broadnax said she obtained 64 heartbreaking videos showing the innocent child strapped in a car seat, unable to get away from his abuser. Broadnax told KDAF that after watching three seconds of the first video, she was on the phone calling authorities.
Her older brother, who also lives in Virginia, fathered a child with 23-year-old Janelle Peterkin, who lives in Humble, Texas, outside Houston.
Broadnax said Peterkin was angry with the father, who has another girlfriend, and sent the photos and videos of her torturing their son to the couple.
The brother never received those messages because he was blocking Peterkin’s calls, according to the station. But after he was arrested last week, his girlfriend got possession of his cellphone. She unblocked Peterkin’s number and that is when she allegedly found the videos.
“His girlfriend was snooping through his phone and she saw he had (Peterkin) on the ‘Do Not Disturb’ features, so she took it off and the phone vibrated for an hour straight. When she looked, there were over 300 messages from Peterkin and 64 videos,” Broadnax explained.
Broadnax knew Peterkin’s address because she previously asked for it in order to send a gift to Texas for her nephew’s first birthday. She placed the address in Google maps to find the nearest police station.
That led Broadnax to the Humble Police Department, which Broadnax said she called immediately. Broadnax said she asked police to do a welfare check on her nephew, fearing he was dead. She said in one of the videos, she saw the baby’s eyes rolling back. Broadnax claims she explained to them what was happening, but they did not do anything.
That is when she decided to post the videos on social media. After that, she was flooded with responses from law enforcement from all over the U.S., she said.
“After I put the post up, someone from New York Police Department called me and from all different states, police were calling,” Broadnax said. “Then a detective called me from the Humble Police Department asking where Janelle was.”
Broadnax said investigators went to the Jaiden’s day care and called her, saying that they saw no physical evidence of abuse.
But after watching the videos Broadnax forwarded them, the case was handed over to Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constables, who conducted an interview. Deputies confirm that Peterkin admitted that she made the videos about 90 days ago to show her ex-boyfriend and father of her child that he did not care enough about their baby.
Peterkin was then arrested and charged with child endangerment, according to KDAF. She was released from jail after posting a $15,000 bond.
Broadnax said her brother, who has three children, had no idea his son was being abused. The brother learned about Jaiden’s abuse while watching television in jail.
“My brother was watching TV and saw me on the news and thought it was for my other brother’s baby until he heard his son cry,” Broadnax said.
She said he wishes that his son’s abuse had not been publicized on social media, but is grateful that his sister took action to make sure the baby was saved.
Still, Broadnax does not feel the baby is completely safe because he remains in the custody of Peterkin’s family. Broadnax said Peterkin has a history of displaying erratic behavior and has previously vandalized her brother’s vehicle.
“Her craziness is what got her on the blocked list,” Broadnax said. “My brother loves his kids; he has three little babies. Janelle has taken him through hell.”
Broadnax said she called Peterkin after seeing the videos, asking why she hurt Jaiden.
“She was so nonchalant with an ‘OK, I don’t care’ attitude, and she was saying it is her son, and that we did not do anything for the baby,” Broadnax said. “This is all about my brother. This is about nothing else but my brother and I want everyone to know that.”
Broadnax also wants her nephew to heal and never be harmed again.
Neither Peterkin nor her family has given a statement to KDAF.