A North Carolina woman convicted of fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter later sought an “after life” photo session featuring images of the child, according to the photographer she contacted.
Jeanie Kassandra Ditty was found guilty in the killing and sentenced to life in prison, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys announced Thursday.
The sentence came more than 10 years after Ditty’s daughter, Macy Grace Ditty, was taken to Cape Fear Valley Regional Medical Center on December 2, 2015, with bruising across her body, prosecutors said in a news release.
Doctors determined the Fayetteville toddler had “suffered at least 40 separate physical blows” within a 24-hour period, according to district attorneys.
Macy died two days later. Ditty, now 33, was arrested in 2016 and charged with first-degree murder and negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
Ditty’s live-in boyfriend, Zachary Keefer, was also arrested and faced the same charges, but the case against him was later dismissed.
Weeks after Macy’s death, Ditty contacted photographer Sunny Jo on January 4, 2016, asking whether he could create “after life” photos of her with her deceased daughter, ABC News previously reported.
Jo offered a memorial package called “One More Time,” in which translucent images of a deceased loved one are added to a photograph to create an angelic effect. Among the resulting images was one showing Macy appearing to hold her mother’s hand in a cemetery.
Macy Grace Ditty, two, died on December 4, 2015, after she suffered ’40 separate physical blows’ at the hands of her mother, Jeanie Kassandra Ditty
About a month after her daughter died, Jeanie contacted a photographer to create ‘after life’ images of her and her deceased daughter. The images depicted Macy holding her mother’s hand through a cemetery, among others
He also shared the shocking excuse that Jeanie gave to him about how her daughter died.
‘She told me her daughter had passed away by choking on a banana, and that choking gave her seizures which made her lose oxygen to the brain and then she passed away,’ Jo told WRAL.
Jo, who had heard about Macy’s death and offered the package to Jeanie for free, then passed that information on to police.
Jeanie turned herself in to the police on March 24, 2016.
All the charges against Keefer were dismissed in November 2020 after investigators determined he was not present when the horrid abuse was inflicted on the toddler, Law & Crime reported.
Her case went to trial in 2020, but it ended with a hung jury following a 10-2 vote in favor of her guilt.
Jury selection for her new trial started earlier this month, and 16 witnesses testified, including medical professionals who treated the girl, according to WRAL.
Some witnesses also testified that they tried to intervene after noticing Jeanie’s aggressive behavior toward little Macy.
She was found guilty after less than three hours of deliberations.
On Thursday, Jeanie was sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parole
According to prosecutors, as jurors exited the courtroom, Jeanie (pictured with her late daughter) ‘created a severe disturbance in the courtroom, cursing and shouting at individuals present’
Jeanie will spend the rest of her life behind bars without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge, followed by 157 to 201 months for felonious child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, prosecutors announced.
During her sentencing, Macy’s paternal grandmother and maternal great-aunt delivered emotional victim impact statements, the DA’s office said.
‘Macy was a precious toddler who was loved by so many people. They carried the grief of losing Macy while always continuing to fight for her story to be told and justice to be served, and though it was a long road, it finally reached a conclusion,’ Special Prosecutor Lisa Coltrain with the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys said.
Coltrain added: ‘The jurors in this trial have my deepest respect and appreciation; it was a difficult story to bear witness to, and they were incredibly diligent in their fortitude and earnest intent to find the truth in this case.’
According to prosecutors, as jurors exited the courtroom, Jeanie ‘created a severe disturbance in the courtroom, cursing and shouting at individuals present.’
During her sentencing, Macy’s paternal grandmother and maternal great-aunt delivered emotional victim impact statements, the DA’s office said
Several officers had to step in and subdue her before her sentencing. She was also shackled in leg irons and handcuffs after the outburst.
Kimberly Spahos, Director of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, echoed Coltrain on the outcome.
‘This verdict reflects years of extraordinary perseverance by a team that never lost sight of who this case was about: Macy,’ she said.
‘Their work ensured that Macy’s story was told, that her voice was heard, and that the evidence was presented with the care, skill, and determination this case demanded.
‘Justice was a long time coming for Macy, but I am grateful it was finally realized and for the team that never stopped pursuing it,’ Spahos added.
