A father has finally learned his fate after he and his wife ordered their eight-year-old daughter to jump on the trampoline in extreme heat without food or water, eventually leading to her tragic death.
Daniel Schwarz was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he pled guilty to the manslaughter of his adopted daughter, Jaylin, in Odessa, Texas.
The Ector County District Attorney’s Office announced the sentencing in a statement and congratulated the Odessa Police Department for successfully seeking justice in the little girl’s senseless death.
Schwarz initially pled not guilty but changed his plea after his wife, Ashley Schwarz, was found guilty of Capital Murder on May 1, 2023.
A jury also convicted Ashley of intentionally causing serious bodily injury and she was given three life sentences for the brutal killing.
Victim statements read by Jaylin’s family during Daniel’s trial claimed he didn’t show any emotion during his daughter’s funeral or his wife’s criminal trial.
Daniel has already served 313 days in prison for his crime, which will count toward his 18-year sentence.
The horrific chain of events occurred nearly five years ago on August 29, 2020, when police responded to a medical call at the child’s home.
Jaylin was only eight-years-old when she tragically died of dehydration
Daniel and Ashley Schwarz were sentenced in individual trials for the death of their adopted daughter, Jaylin
They arrived at a gruesome discovery and found Jaylin dead at the scene on her trampoline, Odessa Police previously announced in a statement.
The investigation into the horrific events revealed that Daniel and Ashley didn’t allow Jaylin to eat breakfast and forced her to jump on the trampoline as a cruel form of punishment.
Her adoptive parents made her jump on the trampoline without stopping for an extended time. When she stopped jumping, Jaylin was refused water, according to police.
A search warrant revealed that the trampoline was at a scorching temperature of 110 degrees and the ground was approximately 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Around two months later, Jaylin’s autopsy revealed that she died of dehydration and her death was ruled a homicide.
Police arrested both parents for Capital Murder and they were booked into the Ector County jail on a $500,000.00 bond.
Jaylin’s siblings testified during Ashley’s trial that their parents frequently punished them by forcing them to jump on the trampoline for hours.
When she was called to the stand, Ashley claimed that she gave the girls pigs in a blanket for breakfast and that they did have water with them, according to local CBS affiliate, KOSA News.
Jaylin died at just eight years old after her adoptive parents cruelly punished her
Jaylin and her sister were placed in Daniel and Ashley’s custody after her biological mother battled addiction issues
However, the lead detective on the case, Sergeant Chavez, said that Ashley told him that Jaylin didn’t want breakfast when he interrogated her.
The prosecution refuted Ashley’s claim that water was available, showing the jury pictures of their yard after Jaylin’s death, that showed no water bottles outside.
Jaylin, and her sister Jade, came under Ashley and Daniel’s care after Ashley’s step-sister Alysha Anderton lost custody due to a battle with addiction.
In 2020, Alysha sat down with KOSA for an emotional interview on her daughter’s death.
‘What upsets me the most is that I never got to see her alive again. When they took them, I never got to say goodbye,’ she told the outlet.
Jaylin’s grave was painted and decorated by family members after she was buried
Alysha Anderton posted photos of her daughter during happier times after Jaylin’s sudden death
Alysha said that Jaylin had been living with Daniel and Ashley for four years. She added that the first time she saw her daughter since losing custody was in a casket.
‘That’s not fair to me. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t totally break down,’ Alysha said.
After Daniel was sentenced, Alysha posted her reaction on Facebook, writing, ‘Well…this is it babygirl.
‘Until he meets Jesus face to face, there is no more forcefully given punishment we can give you for what they did. None of us believe that it’s a fair deal but we all trust that God has a plan for all of this.’
Dailymail.com reached out to the Ector County District Attorney’s Office and Daniel Schwarz’s attorneys for comment on the case but didn’t immediately hear back.
