BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – The trial for a babysitter accused of leaving a 10-month-old in a hot car in Baker County two years ago continued on Thursday morning.
On day two, Rhonda Jewell, 46, who was Ariya’s babysitter, took the stand in her defense.
Recommended Videos
Jewell is accused of leaving Aryia Paige unattended in an SUV for five hours on a summer day when the temperature reached over 100 degrees.
Jewell admitted that she forgot Ariya was still in the SUV after the baby’s mother, Brooke Paige, came to pick her up.
“That‘s when I realized I didn’t get that baby out of the car,” Jewell said through tears, “I forgot the baby in the car...and I ran to the car and I opened up the door and she was still there. Ariya was still in the backseat.”
Jewell told the court she started watching children as a babysitter when she was 17 years old but took a break after she had kids.
She said she didn’t start babysitting again until 2017.
She agreed that she cared for the children she babysat as if they were her own.
When asked about her relationship with Ariya she said, “I loved her like she was my own.”
She also talked about her relationship with Ariya‘s mother and considered Brooke’s mother, Monique Carter, her best friend.
“I was there for baby showers, weddings. I gravitated to her, just like any baby,” Jewell said.
A detective who arrived at the hospital where Ariya was taken talked about the child’s condition.
He said she was kept in a climate-controlled environment but despite efforts to cool her body down, Ariya’s internal and external temperature was above 100 degrees.
He said when he interviewed Jewell, she told him she forgot to take Ariya out of the SUV because she was distracted by thoughts regarding a family event.
A medical examiner said the child died from hyperthermia, and a firefighter who testified said the temperature in the SUV was 133 degrees.
Jewell is facing a negligent homicide and child neglect.