Escambia County Mother Charged With Killing Her 5 Year-Old-Son
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
February 9, 2026
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. A mother has been charged in the death of her 5-year-old son after authorities recovered the body of the boy Friday morning around 10:15 a.m. from the Perdido Bay off Lillian Highway in a trash bag.
Deputies initially responded around 9:30 a.m. to the 9500-block of Lilian Highway near San Sebastian Circle after receiving a call from Smith’s sister, who Sheriff Chip Simmons says “shared some concerns about her 5-year-old nephew.”
Deputies conducted a further investigation but did not say what led them to the spot where the body was found.
Jalynda Smith, 36, was booked into Escambia County Jail on Saturday at around 1:40 a.m. on a charge of Aggravated Negligent Manslaughter of a Child.
She’s being held without bond.
Court records show Smith was arrested in Escambia County in March 2022 for child neglect. That charge was later dropped after Smith completed a Pre-Trial Intervention parental skills course.
After the boy’s body was recovered, crime scene investigators were sent to search Smith’s apartment, which is about 30 minutes from where the boy’s body was found, but the sheriff’s office has not released if anything was found there.
The sheriff’s office is still asking anyone with information to call them. They can be reached at (850) 436-9620 or 911.
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