St. Cloud woman accused of strangling son now facing murder charge

A woman accused of choking her son to death inside a St. Cloud home is now facing a first-degree murder charge, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

The latest charge against Jasmin Kennedy, 37, comes a day after she was arrested for domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated child abuse and child neglect. Speaking to reporters Monday, Sheriff Marcos López said he was waiting for the Medical Examiners’ Office report before recommending the murder charge.

The affidavit against Kennedy, who allegedly killed her 13-year-old son at her home on Crosley Avenue, which she shares with her 5-year-old child and the children’s grandmother, has not been released in court filings as of Tuesday afternoon. But López said deputies arrived at the scene around 7:30 a.m. Monday to find the boy dead on a bed.

Kennedy, the sheriff added, cooperated with the investigation and confessed to investigators of killing her son.

No motive for the killing has been released.

Kennedy appeared in court Tuesday, where she was issued a no-contact order.

She is held at the Osceola County Jail without bond.