A community built relying on one another, the Moorings Apartment complex residents came together Feb. 13 to mourn and celebrate the life of 5-year-old Jakaiden Smith.
Jakaiden was found dead in a garbage bag on the Perdido Bay shoreline Feb. 6, and Jason Brown felt it was necessary to bring the community together as someone who knew Jakaiden’s mother, Jalynda Smith, who is facing criminal charges in connection to the child’s death.
“Her sister and I are real close, we’re teachers together,” Brown told the News Journal during Jakaiden’s vigil just outside the apartment complex. “I just felt it was a need that we needed in the community because we have so many kids out here, so many single parents out here.
“I just felt it was a need to come and try to make some sense out of this, and bring peace and bring our community back together,” Brown added.
Dozens of community members surrounded each other, bringing stuffed animals and balloons as they joined in prayer and heard a short message from Pastor Vincent Dickens. Many of the tight-knit residents took the opportunity to talk about their “need to stick together” as many of them said they see each other as family.
One resident even told others that they “need to check on each other, because you just never know.”
Much of the community were left baffled after Escambia County deputies arrested Jalynda Smith on aggravated manslaughter charges, alleging her culpable negligence led to her son’s death. During Jakaiden’s autopsy, the medical examiner found that he weighed just 20 pounds and said he appeared malnourished and dehydrated.
“This was a nice turnout,” Brown said. “I hope that we all stick together, continue to love each other, continue to support each other. Like they say, ‘one band, one sound.'”
Jalynda Smith is awaiting her next court date March 6 where she’s scheduled to be arraigned on any charges the Office of the State Attorney decides to file.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Neighbors seek to heal, ‘make some sense’ of 5-year-old Jakaiden Smith’s death
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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