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Judge grants bond for Baker County babysitter convicted in 10-month-old’s hot car death as she awaits appeal

Rhonda Jewell was sentenced to 17 years for third-degree murder, child neglect

Rhonda Jewell took to the stand Thursday in trial for a 10-month-old who died after she was left in a hot car in July 2022 (WJXT)

MACCLENNY, Fla. – A judge granted a motion Tuesday that will allow a Baker County babysitter, who was recently convicted of killing 10-month-old Ariya Paige, to be out of prison on bond as she appeals her conviction.

Rhonda Jewell, 47, was back in a Baker County courtroom last week requesting a bond so that she can be back at home while she appeals her third-degree murder and child neglect conviction.

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Weeks after she was convicted, Jewell was sentenced to 17 years in prison in December.

The conviction came just days after Jewell took the stand and admitted the toddler she was babysitting died because she forgot she left the child in a hot SUV for five hours.

Since Ariya's death, Paige and her family members have advocated for child safety. (Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

News4JAX has learned that Jewell’s court appeal is based on what the jury was not allowed to consider when they received their instructions before deliberation.

Jacksonville attorney John Holzbaur is not affiliated with the case but reviewed the appeals documents to explain the nature of Jewell’s appeal argument.

“It’s not a question of whether the act occurred. The defense attorneys in the second half of this motion are challenging the constitutionality of the instructions to the jury,” Holzbaur said. “The judge determined that as to the counts, the defendant was found guilty of did not require mens rea. That is the intent to commit the act.”

Jewell’s defense attorney provided examples of similar criminal cases in Florida involving defendants who did not intend to kill someone.

The judge’s order granting the motion for what is called a “Supersedeas Bond” mentions Jewell’s “significant” community ties, her not being a flight risk and her clean criminal record before this case as evidence that was considered in his decision.

To be released from custody, Jewell will need to pay a $100,000 bond and was ordered to comply with a series of conditions which include surrendering her passport, wearing a GPS monitoring device, abiding by a daily curfew and not having unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 6.


About the Author
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Award-winning broadcast and multimedia journalist with 20 years experience.

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