A babysitter, Jessica Amster is being charged with manslaughter in the death of a 17-month-old boy, Christian Bent she is taking care of.


Detectives say two children present at Amster's home told authorities the woman hit the child's head against the wall. According to police in Florida, one child said the woman had told Bent to stop crying.

On August 11, 2015, Christian was in a bouncer but ended up on the floor with his bouncer on top of him, his father Dwayne Bent told police, according to a report from the Sun-Sentinel.

The father didn't contact 911 and didn't believe Christian had been hurt, the newspaper reported.

The father took Christian to Amster's home on August 12, 2015. He had a nose bleed there, and Amster called Dwayne Bent to notify him, report said.

Source: Sun-Sentinel

Dwayne Bent collected Christian, who he said appeared to be alright, according to the newspaper.  


On August 14, 2015, at the babysitter's house, Christian had soiled himself and stopped breathing, so Amster performed CPR, the Sun-Sentinel described her as telling authorities. She made a phone call to her boyfriend - and he put Amster on speaker so Dwayne Bent could hear, the report said. Amster reportedly said that Christian was not alright yet did not say how serious things were. 

Christian's parents came to get the boy, who was 'unresponsive with facial drooping and unaligned eyes,' the newspaper quoted a police report as saying.

Police say Christian's parents brought the severely injured boy to the hospital.

He was declared brain dead on August 18, 2015, and had injuries including brain swelling, bite marks, and bone fractures, the newspaper reported.

Amster was being held on $50,000 bond at the Palm Beach County jail.