Woman charged with failing to seek medical attention for severely injured 4-month-old sentenced to 364 days in jail and 4 years of probation
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Emma Belle Smithey, 20, has been sentenced to 364 days in jail, followed by four years of probation, after entering a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of child neglect with severe bodily harm.
Smithey and Timothy Smith were arrested in January 2023 after Smithey took the infant to the hospital with “significant inflicted traumatic injuries,” including injuries to his body and face with one eye hemorrhaging, bleeding in the brain, bruising on various parts of his body, and blood in his diaper.
The investigation found that Smith allegedly injured the baby while Smithey was at work because he was frustrated that the baby would not stop crying; Smithey reportedly claimed that she didn’t know how to care for an infant with a head injury, so she only put ice around his head for a few minutes after the incident. She said she asked friends what to do, and they said to do nothing. The investigation determined that the lack of medical care for three days after the incident contributed to the condition of the infant.
The case was assigned to Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney John Durrett after Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brian Kramer declared a conflict of interest because Smith is related to an employee in his office. Smith is still awaiting trial.
She “didn’t know how to deal with a head injury” was her defense?
She figured out it was easier having a child than caring for one would be more appropriate.
Hopefully she won’t be having any more children before she’s responsible to provide everything a child needs.
On a side note, if judges are supposed to be impartial, why can’t prosecutors? Must be a well liked employee if Kramer can’t find one person to prosecute the case fairly. Then again, could be something else.
Do not misquote my daughter to make her out to be some type of idiot that couldn’t care for a child. She was dealing with abuses you couldn’t imagine on top of working full time to provide everything she could..while he played Xbox and abused my grandson….Fire that gun where it should be aimed….Timothy Smith!
So why didn’t you step in? You are just as guilty. I have been in an abusive relationship and my children were never harmed because I protected them. That baby was defenseless. I don’t care if she had bills to pay, your child is priority. She should have done better. She deserves so much more than jail. She’s lucky she got off that easy.
Hopefully she will never have contact again with the child again. Not knowing what to do with her baby’s head injury is pretty lame excuse.
being a first time parent and a teenager at that and away from your entire family and counting on the child’s FATHER to not harm him…yeah..her mistake….or was it mine…HER MOTHER!!! Cut me down..not my child.
Was she unable to access a safe legal abortion prior to the unwanted pregnancy. Did any upstanding citizens to adopt the unwanted infant. Guess not
Rubbers are cheap.
Super stupid, no concern about the long term health of the baby, but you had to interject your logic about abortion. And learn how to write.
I didn’t know the infant was up for adoption or it was an ‘unwanted pregnancy.’ You’ve got inside information. Maybe she had thought she could handle it. Maybe she liked the potential government benefits.
He was wanted and loved and she thought she could trust his father with him…..she was wrong about him. was all miss Oliver and want nothing but the best life for him. The government NEVER paid a red cent for my grandson while he was in his mothers womb or care…. I have the paperwork to prove it smart guy!
Yes she was in fact unable to access an abortion as the father would not let her and she felt pressured to keep the baby….I am her mother and I was there…she had our support to do what she needed either way…he on the other hand was a different story and used religion and her love for him and the idea of a family unbroken as a reason to bring my grandson to the world…Thankful as I am for Oliver and Lord knows I love him and I am so glad he exists…she certainly wasn’t ready and has said as much and owned up and is serving her sentence.
Her sentence is not severe enough. I don’t care what she owned up to. She’s disgusting for not protecting the child. Period. If she worked daily, she was away from the home and should have told someone and got help. That’s what a parent does to protect t their child. Get off your high horse. Your daughter screwed up, don’t make excuses and blame just the father. Your daughter is more guilty because she knew about what he did and did nothing but lie to protect him. It’s disgusting.
I would support her if she was standing trial for murder of the person who did this to her baby?
Animals protect and nurture their young. Please DCF case closed never ever allow her to have contact with the child.
She did protect her son as best as she could…I am her mother and here I am doing the same….He was 6’4″ and 245lbs…she was 5’4″ 100lbs soaking wet…do the math…she did all she could…she wasn’t stupid and didn’t know what to do …she treated his injuries to the best of her ability till she could run with my grandson to the hospital…..if you don’t know the whole story…keep your mouth shut and opinions to yourself!
Please don’t let her have that baby back!
I’d rather pay to have her tubes tied than 3 hots & a cot.
Yes please do blame her for what HE did to my grandson…that logic makes perfect sense…and she was misquoted…she never said she didn’t know what to do..and she called me and her two grandmothers with medical backgrounds did a facetime and my grandson appeared healthy ….on the Saturday the injuries happened…the bruises showed up as the days went on the injuries presented more seriously as the days went on and she fought to take him to the hospital and had to run!..Know the facts before you judge!
We are blaming HER for not doing what SHE should have done. There are no excuses. You have a lot of them and want to just blame him. She’s more guilty than he is because she lied to protect him. None of you deserve to be anywhere near that baby and I hope your daughter never has another because she won’t protect it.
What about Timothy, was he the father, isn’t he responsible also???
His case is still being prosecuted. But it’s been 19 months since these two were arrested and he’s out on pre-trial release under court supervision. I hope there are serious restrictions around his ability to be anywhere near children.
Although, to be fair, he probably would physically abuse an adult as well.
Yeah what happened to the scum who beat up this poor baby?
He needs punishment.
He is free on bond playing Xbox and living his life until trial on August 8th…..I am the grandmother of the beautiful perfect baby boy Oliver that Timothy took from us all …he died and had to be brought back to life and put on life support because of what TIMOTHY did to my grandson.
You’d think that generation would Google “child abuse crime” … 👹👺👿🤡
Children are defenseless and they cry when they don’t know what else to do it’s just a sad shame that someone didn’t step in before this all happened and I think they both should do about 15 to 20 there are places that you can drop unwanted infants off at so I don’t understand why the both of them didn’t come to a compromise and just drop the baby off at a safe place as soon as she had it I pray to my God that I don’t ever run across the two
Perfect comment!
he wasn’t unwanted by my daughter….he was loved and cared for and held and was in perfect health until she trusted his own father to be with him and that’s when Timothy Smith abused my grandson and daughter.
Sure, her negligence is criminal, but the bigger and more common crime is the beating by the husband/boyfriend and likely situation where she did not go to the hospital out of fear for and of the boyfriend is was thus protected. This physical intimidation – sometimes leading to murder – is all too common and those men who lord it over their physically weaker mates are animals.
I am the mother of Emma Smithey Grandmother to Oliver Jackson. She was in fact being abused by the father as well… she was misquoted and she did ask for help from two of her great grandmothers with medical backgrounds and Me! We all advised her to get medical treatment and the father Timothy Smith whom inflicted the injuries on my grandson, would NOT allow her to get treatment and made several threats ..both during this horrific incident and before my grandson was born. We as a family did all that we could to give both Oliver and Emma support and to try to separate Timothy and Emma but they were not prepared to separate their sons family. Unfortunately Timothy did not have the support system and family to help both himself and my daughter with a new born which is necessary, but Neither did my daughter and please do keep in mind she had NO ONE there in Florida she knew, he was 6’4″ 245 lbs and she was %’4″ roughly 100lbs…do the math…and then remember she isn’t a bad mother…she raced to the hospital….she did all she could with what she had and y’all saying such nasty things should be ashamed of yourselves making such judgments without knowing the full story…Shame on YALL! for m=not focusing on the “man” that actually inflicted such horrible injuries on my perfect, smart, gorgeous grandson that the state has kept from all of his family! Talk about that!
Raced to the hospital three days later?
You’re an enabling idiot and so are the two grandmothers with medical background, if y’all KNEW the child had been hurt and didn’t step your ass up and either report it your self or intervene! Don’t know what the “medical background” is but most ppl with “medical background” are mandatory reporters and as such are required to actually do something other than a “FaceTime evaluation”
PERFECT COMMENT!!
To the reporter that chose not to do your research…I am Emma Smithey’s mother and I will be contacting an attorney to sue you for defamation regarding your false reporting on my daughters case.