Woman Charged in Granddaughter’s Death

PALESTINE — An Anderson County woman is in custody, charged with capital murder, in the death of a toddler. Jennifer Jill Whitehead, 38, of Palestine, was indicted Wednesday in the death of her 16-month old grand daughter, Emma Nicole Whitehead. She turned herself in to authorities Wednesday afternoon at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. She remains in the Anderson County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.

The little girl suffered head injuries on May 4th. The grandmother told authorities the youngster was injured in a fall from a playpen. The youngster was taken by family members to Palestine Regional Medical Center. She was transferred to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas where she died on May 5th.

A Dallas lab performed the autopsy. It said the cause of death was “blunt force trauma.” The autopsy listed the death as a homicide.