A Florida woman is facing charges of first-degree murder for the alleged killing of her 5-year-old son, whose body was discovered in a trash bag near a bay’s edge.

Jalynda Smith, 36, has been charged with the murder of her son, Ja’Kaiden Smith, who was autistic and nonverbal. The incident reportedly occurred in early February, and Smith is accused of attempting to conceal the crime, as detailed in court documents. The indictment was handed down in Escambia County on Thursday.

According to an arrest warrant and a motion for pretrial detention, Smith allegedly wrapped Ja’Kaiden in blankets and towels before placing him in a black trash bag and disposing of it in Perdido Bay. Prosecutors assert that Smith starved her son, as he was found extremely underweight, at just 20 pounds.

The arrest warrant describes the harrowing state of Ja’Kaiden’s body: “The arms and legs appeared as skin over bone, inconsistent with a 5-year-old child’s expected mass. The torso and limbs lacked muscle, and the child seemed emaciated. The rib cage was visible through the skin, and the lower abdomen was sunken.”

The child’s body was discovered on February 6 in Perdido Bay, after being seen in the water along Lillian Highway. A passerby noticed the bag and alerted the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, initiating the investigation. Local ABC affiliate WEAR reported statements from Sheriff Chip Simmons regarding the situation.

The investigation also uncovered that Smith’s mother had reported her daughter and grandson missing on February 5, after losing contact with them on February 1. She expressed concern over the uncharacteristic lack of communication and the disconnection of Smith’s phone, as noted in the pretrial detention motion.

“On February 6, 2026, the defendant’s sister received a text from the defendant from an unknown number,” the motion explains. “The Defendant also emailed her sister and asked her to download the Telegram app. In the email, the defendant also asked her sister not to tell their mother or the police that the defendant contacted her sister.”

According to the arrest warrant, Smith told her sister, “Please don’t tell ma u heard from me and please don’t tell the police ill tell you everything but please download the app Telegram I need to make sure everything is secure and u cant find me.”

Smith allegedly told her sister “she was scared,” and then asked her to call the police and tell them she had found Smith and that Smith was no longer missing. When the sister asked about what happened to Ja’Kaiden, Smith told her, “I came in the house and he was not breathing,” according to the arrest warrant.

“The sister went to the defendant’s apartment,” the detention motion says. “The defendant and [Ja’Kaiden] were not there, sheets were missing from the bed, and the apartment was extremely cold. Neighbors told the sister that they had not seen the defendant in several days, which was unusual.”

Smith was allegedly captured on surveillance footage at a local Walmart and other nearby stores before leaving in a rideshare vehicle. She was eventually located and taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies, with police saying she asked for a lawyer “immediately.”

Ja’Kaiden’s autopsy showed that he was “severely malnourished and dehydrated” at the time of his death. He weighed only 20 pounds and no other injuries were noted.

Police interviewed Ja’Kaiden’s pediatrician and learned that he was diagnosed with autism and had “both speech and language issues,” according to the arrest warrant. Ja’Kaiden weighed 30 pounds in December 2025, per the pediatrician.

“The physician responded that the child losing one-third of his body weight in less than two months was incredibly concerning,” the arrest warrant states. “The fact that Ja’Kaiden Smith’s weight had been permitted to drop by a third indicated to him either abuse through starvation, or medical neglect.”

Smith’s criminal background history includes a 2022 arrest for child neglect after she left Ja’Kaiden “home alone in his crib for several hours,” according to prosecutors. She successfully completed pretrial intervention and a Department of Children and Families investigation was closed after the agency found that Smith “was meeting the child’s needs and Ja’Kaiden Smith was safe with Jalynda Smith,” the arrest warrant says.

Smith is currently being held at the Escambia County Jail without bond. Her next court appearance is set for May 19.