State seeks death penalty for accused Montverde child murderer

TAVARES, Fla. – The woman charged with the horrific murder of her boyfriend’s daughter earlier this year now faces the death penalty.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Wieczorek filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in the case against Tyshael Martin of Montverde on Oct. 8, citing five aggravating factors in the case.

The capital crime was committed while the defendant was involved or an accomplice in the commission or attempt of serious child abuse.

The capital crime was particularly heinous, cruel, or cruel.

The capital crime was a homicide and was committed coldly, calculatedly and premeditatedly without any pretense of moral or legal justification.

The victim of the capital crime was a person under the age of 12.

The victim of the capital crime was particularly vulnerable because the defendant had familial or custodial authority over the victim.

Martin, 35, is accused of ordering a 103-pound Rottweiler to attack 9-year-old Jamaria Sessions and brutally kicking and beating the girl during a reign of abuse that lasted from October 2023 until her death in June, said a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.

Martin was arrested Aug. 28 on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect. Jamaria’s father, Lojuan Sessions, was arrested just days later in Orange County; He is charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter of a child and both suspects are being held without bail in the Lake County Jail.

Video surveillance in the home documented the torture and abuse of the once-smiling 9-year-old who loved animals and longed to become a veterinarian.

According to the affidavit, Vivint Security provided Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives with more than 2,800 videos from inside and outside the home. Six video files from June 15 with a timestamp between 11:50 p.m. and 11:57 p.m. showed Martin and the big dog attacking Jamaria. The following information was taken directly from the affidavit:

(Show videos) “Jamaria Sessions was brutally attacked by the family pet, a 103-pound male Rottweiler, as Jamaria was just out of frame. However, Tyshael Martin was seen holding the dog’s leash and was heard encouraging the dog to bite Jamaria Sessions.” Jamaria was lying on the floor, ending with Jamaria Sessions trying to get up in the doorway. The next few clips show Jamaria Sessions looking stunning, naked and disheveled. Jamaria’s hair, which was previously partially braided in a bun, was now messy and her extensions were falling out of her hair. Apparently, on Tyshael Martin’s orders, the dog bit the child on the head and pulled her hair. After this clip, Jamaria Sessions is instructed by Tyshael Martin to stand in the room with her arms raised. Jamaria Sessions exhibited orbital fluctuation, appeared disoriented, similar to intoxication, and leaned forward to pick up a blanket to cover herself. This caused Tyshael Martin to kick the child in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. The child lay motionless and moaned in pain as Tyshael Martin continued to kick her with full force in the hip and finally in the stomach area. When the child did not get up, Tyshael Martin grabbed the child by the hair and dragged him across the floor, offering minimal resistance to Jamaria Sessions, who appeared disoriented and motionless. The child was dragged near the stairs where the dog attack occurred, which occurred just out of frame. Tyshael Martin continued to order the child Jamaria Sessions to stand up, and since Jamaria was physically unable to comply, Jamaria was repeatedly punched and shaken by Tyshael Martin. The next video clip begins with Tyshael telling Martin what it sounds like: “I intend to kill her.”

Jamaria was found dead less than 30 hours later.

Just before 5 a.m. June 17, Lake EMS responded to the home of Martin and Sessions, 16017 Harbar Oaks Drive, Montverde, for a report of an unresponsive child. The fourth-grader-to-be was pronounced deceased by Lake EMS and they observed multiple injuries to Jamaria, including a “significant” number of abrasions, small punctures, burns, possible bite marks and bruises on her body, all of which were in various stages of healing. Lake EMS requested the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to respond after detecting rigor mortis on Jamaria’s jaw. According to Florida State University, if a body feels cold and stiff, death is likely to have occurred between 8 and 36 hours beforehand.

During a preliminary examination of Jamaria on site by the medical examiner, injuries were found all over her small body that indicate mistreatment. These injuries included superficial cuts indicating that she had been trapped with significant force, her face was swollen, some of her teeth were broken, she had blood in her left ear as well as a stab wound behind the ear and bruises all over her body. On June 18, during Jamaria’s autopsy, the medical examiner noted the number of superficial injuries that covered most of her body, noting that they appeared to be torture by fingernails and injuries inflicted by a blow with something, possibly a wire , are attributable.

On September 23, Martin and Session were indicted by a grand jury Inside the lake was in the courtroom when Martin pleaded not guilty to the crimes she was accused of. She claimed to have scheduled a meeting with an attorney, but three weeks later she still did not have an attorney, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records. Martin was ordered to have no contact with Jamaria’s next of kin, Althea Chenault, who was present at the arraignment along with her son Trane.

Jamaria and her younger sister Jaliah lived with Chenault, their maternal grandmother, and their mother Tadrina Dort while she battled leukemia. There he defeated leukemia, but later died of heart failure in 2022. The girls continued to live in Chenault after their mother’s death while Sessions was incarcerated on multiple charges, including child neglect. Sessions had little to do with his two daughters before his incarceration, Chenault said Inside the lake She was shocked when he picked up the girls from their Orange County school without her permission in October 2023. He didn’t allow her to see her grandchildren, and Chenault asked why Sessions was allowed to take the girls but never received a detailed explanation, she said. “Nana,” as the girls called her, immediately began fighting for permanent custody after her daughter’s death and is still fighting for Jaliah, who currently lives with another maternal family member.

Previous story: Father and girlfriend charged with murder of 9-year-old Montverde girl – Inside Lake