Man said 21-month-old girl was 'being aggressive' during bath, so he shook her until brain herniated and was 'leaking through her ears': Police

Inset: Jesse A. Sartin (Dearborn Prosecutor’s Office). Background: Sartin being escorted into court on Aug. 5 (WXIX).

A 25-year-old man in Indiana is facing multiple decades behind bars for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s 21-month-old daughter, shaking the toddler so violently that doctors said it herniated her brain, causing it to leak “through her ears.”

Jesse A Sartin was taken into custody on Friday and charged with one count of murder and one count of aggravated battery in the little girl’s slaying, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office, officers with the Lawrenceburg Police Department on July 24, 2024, responded to a call from St. Elizabeth Hospital Dearborn in reference to a 21-month-old girl who had suffered a head injury the medical staff deemed “suspicious.”

When the child was first brought to the facility, it was reported to medical staff that she had been “injured in an accident.” Specifically, Sartin told the medical staff treating the toddler that she had been standing atop an ottoman in the home when the couple’s dog somehow knocked her over and she fell onto the ground, Cincinnati CBS and CW affiliate WKRC reported .

Due to the severity of the child’s injuries, she was transported about 30 miles east to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for more specialized treatment. The toddler underwent emergency brain surgery during which doctors attempted to remove a portion of her skull to help ease the pressure caused by severe swelling of her brain.

Doctors said the child’s brain was so swollen that it herniated and was “leaking through her ears,” The Kansas City Star reported. The little girl succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, Aug. 1, and was pronounced dead.

“The 21-month-old child was under the care of Sartin while the child’s mother was at work,” prosecutors said. “Following an investigation, it was determined that Sartin allegedly shook the little girl for about twenty (20) seconds.”

According to a report from Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT, in an interview with police, Sartin admitted that he became frustrated with the toddler while giving her a bath, claiming the child was “being aggressive and flailing her arms” because she didn’t want to get out of the bathtub.” In response, Sartin allegedly said he “shook her for about 20 seconds.”

Sartin on Monday afternoon made his initial appearance before Dearborn County Circuit Court Judge F. Aaron Negangard.

Dearborn County Detective Jeremy Shepherd testified at Monday’s hearing, reading from a letter authorities say Sartin wrote to his girlfriend after killing her child, according to courtroom footage provided by Newport, Kentucky, Fox affiliate WXIX.

“Once the bubbles were gone, I drained the water and put her toys away,” the letter allegedly states. “I tried to pull her out but she didn’t want to get out. Screaming and swinging her arms. I tried to pull her out but she kept pulling away and I was getting upset. Baby, I’m so upset. I shook her trying to get her to calm down.”

An autopsy reportedly confirmed that the victim’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was “swelling to the brain, significant hemorrhages in both eyes and hemorrhaging in the spinal cord” that was consistent with being violently shaken for a significant period of time.

Records show that Sartin is currently being held in the Dearborn County Jail without bond.

The post Man said 21-month-old girl was ‘being aggressive’ during bath, so he shook her until brain herniated and was ‘leaking through her ears’: Police first appeared on Law & Crime .