Shawna Hooey: Texas woman slapped with 50 years in prison for killing boyfriend's 4-year-old daughter

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HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, a Texas woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison last week for the 2019 murder of her boyfriend's 4-year-old daughter.

In accordance with the press release from Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, Tomball resident Shawna Hooey, 33, took 4-year-old Jakyzia Alexander to a 24-hour emergency center on September 7, 2019, while also taking care of her own five children.

Jakyzia Alexander died after suffering multiple injuries

The day Alexander died, her body was already cold when she arrived at the emergency clinic. At least four different versions of Alexander's injuries, including a visible black eye, are allegedly reported to the authorities and medical personnel.

"We have to work together as a community to protect our children who are particularly vulnerable to abuse from violent adults," Kim Ogg said.

"We are thankful to the jurors who recognized that this was not a single incident, but a pattern of abuse and rightfully sentenced this woman to spend decades behind bars," Ogg further added, Fox News reported.

When Hooey's father—who worked nights and had sole custody of her—began dating Hooey, Alexander moved in with her, according to Ogg.

The father of the girl only saw his daughter via video calls in the two months prior to her death; otherwise, he lived with family members in a different area that was closer to his place of employment.

Hooey reported that on the day of her death, Alexander needed to be awakened from her sleep because she was breathing heavily and abnormally.

Hooey eventually went home to change clothes and took Alexander to the emergency clinic, but not before driving the girl around "in a hot car to try to get her to breathe normally," according to Ogg.

Hooey stated that there were different accounts of Alexander's final moments, including one in which the young girl threw herself against the bathroom toilet paper holder and another in which she ran into a doorknob.

Shawna Hooey found guilty of murder

Two days prior to Hooey taking Alexander to the ER, both alleged incidents occurred, and she insisted that Alexander was behaving normally. According to Ogg, additional testing indicated that Alexander exhibited symptoms of recurrent past abuse, including new, healing wounds.

Alexander died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to Alexander's autopsy, Ogg said, adding that the fatal blow would have almost immediately caused seizures, vomiting, and dazed reactions.

Alexander was acting normally the day before she was brought to the emergency clinic, according to witnesses.

After conducting an investigation, the Harris County Sheriff's Office filed a murder charge against Hooey. A Harris County jury found Hooey guilty of murder after a nine-day trial and handed down a 50-year prison sentence.

The prosecutor in Hooey's case, Assistant District Attorney Gilbert Sawtelle, chief of the district attorney's office's Child Fatality Section, stated that child abusers frequently attempt to conceal signs of abuse by separating their victims from other adults or dressing their wounds to conceal them.

"Child abuse does happen, and when we see it, we need to call it out and notify the police and child protective services," Sawtelle said in the release.

"This girl was wearing long sleeves in the summertime—and if someone had noticed her injuries and intervened, she would probably still be here today," Sawtelle went on to say.

Hooey won't be eligible for parole until she has completed at least half of her prison term.