Mikaela Green (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida woman is behind bars after authorities say she neglected a girl with cerebral palsy before leaving her at a hospital and never returning or answering desperate calls from doctors.
According to a probable cause affidavit from investigators with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began when the caregiver, 37-year-old Mikaela Jazmine Green, brought the girl to Wolfson Children’s Hospital on June 23. Green told doctors the girl, who not only has cerebral palsy but also suffers from a brain injury, a seizure disorder, is dependent on a feeding tube and wheelchair, had been vomiting for over a week and had a fever, the affidavit said.
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Green left the hospital after staff admitted the girl and allegedly never came back. She failed to answer phone calls from the hospital, the Department of Children and Families and cops, according to the affidavit. She had a feeding machine for the girl and never bothered to take it to the hospital, cops noted.
Doctors determined the girl was in the 2nd percentile for weight, length and body mass index, the affidavit said. The girl, who is nonverbal, also had sores throughout her body including on her elbows, hips and upper back, per doctors. Investigators researched the child’s medical history and determined she had not seen a pediatrician since February 2023, a neurologist since April 2023 and a nutritionist since September 2023. Experts said given the girl’s condition, she should be seen by a doctor every three months or so. They also determined the girl had lost about 20 pounds in the last nine months, the affidavit said.
Detectives also learned that the child’s wheelchair had been broken for at least a year and Green never obtained a new one, according to cops.
“By the suspect’s lack of easily corrected discrepancies in being a caregiver, it is reasonable to believe [the girl] would be in improved physical state had she seen a medical doctor when scheduled to do so,” detectives wrote.
Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for child neglect with great bodily harm and child abuse for Green and went to a home in the 1000 block of Brandywine Street in Jacksonville on Nov. 30 to take her into custody. When they arrived, the homeowner allegedly said “I haven’t seen Mikaela Green in approximately three days.” But Green was actually in the back bedroom, cops said. It took some coaxing, but Green eventually walked out and deputies arrested her.
Green had a post-Miranda interview with detectives, but that portion of the affidavit is redacted. The report also does not detail the exact relationship between Green and the girl other than calling her the primary caregiver. The girl’s age also is not included in the affidavit but local CW affiliate WJXT reports the girl is under the age of 13. She is still receiving treatment, the TV station reported.
Green remains in jail on a $150,006 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Dec. 26.
