Smith County mother indicted for abuse of newborn corpse

TYLER – A Smith County mother was indicted for abuse of a corpse after her newborn child’s body was found in March in a bucket outside a home. According to our news partner KETK, Jazzlyn Cooper-Holmes, 23 of Longview, was arrested on March 18 after officials with the sheriff’s office were called to the home in Lindale where the baby was found. The homeowner, who reported to live with Cooper-Holmes, showed deputies a red mop bucket that was reportedly placed outside.

According to her arrest warrant, Cooper-Holmes told detectives she gave birth to the child on March 12 around 4 a.m. in a toilet “and only looked at it once” before wrapping the baby in a towel and placing it in the bucket and taking it outside. Cooper-Holmes allegedly checked on the baby outside once before returning to her room to sleep. Deputies were called to the scene around 7:20 p.m. on March 15 by Cooper-Holmes’ roommate. She was indicted for abuse of a corpse on June 1, and has remained in the Smith County Jail since her arrest, as of Thursday.