A Syracuse woman charged with murdering the 3-year-old daughter of her partner, Nathalie Alejandro, in a drunken-driving crash erupted in court Wednesday, accusing her own defense attorney and prosecutors of framing her and tampering with the child's autopsy before a judge ordered her dragged from the courtroom. Jazmine Vann, 25, appeared before Judge Matthew Doran seeking a new attorney, and Doran granted the request, but not before the hearing devolved into a shouting match over claims Doran called baseless.
Vann told the court that her attorney and prosecutors were trying to frame her and had planted evidence, specifically alleging the autopsy of her partner's daughter, Yasmeen Shaaf, had been tampered with, according to syracuse.com. She offered no evidence to back the claims, and Doran said there was no basis in the record for her accusations. When Vann kept trying to speak over him, the judge ordered her removed from the courtroom.
A Deadly Crash at 70 MPH
Vann is charged with second-degree murder in Yasmeen's death and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted, per the same outlet's reporting. Syracuse.com reported that police court documents placed Vann's speed at roughly 70 mph around 12:25 a.m. during the July 31 crash at Park and DeWitt streets in Syracuse. The SUV went airborne, flying 34 feet before slamming into a tree, according to prosecutors cited in the report.
The outlets diverge on where Yasmeen was pronounced dead: syracuse.com reported she died around 12:50 a.m. at Upstate University Hospital, while CNY Central reported she was pronounced dead at the scene. CNY Central also reports that prosecutors allege Vann was driving 70 to 73 mph in a 30-mph zone while intoxicated and ignored traffic controls before the crash. An Onondaga County grand jury later upgraded the case from an initial aggravated vehicular homicide charge to the murder indictment Vann now faces, the station notes.
Two Other Women Tangled in the Case
The case has also ensnared two other women connected to the crash. Nathalie Alejandro, Yasmeen's mother, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in exchange for five years of probation and agreed to cooperate as a witness, the article notes. CNY Central's separate report states that prosecutors said Alejandro did nothing to stop an intoxicated Vann from driving, and that she entered her plea in Onondaga County Court.
Vann's sister, Ren’Tasia Broome, was offered a plea deal this week carrying four to 12 years in prison. Here too the record is inconsistent: syracuse.com identifies the offered charge as second-degree manslaughter, while LocalSYR reports Broome is charged with criminally negligent homicide, accused of giving Vann's keys back to her after police had taken them away at a party. A separate syracuse.com report on the crash's aftermath states that officers took Vann's keys because they believed she was intoxicated, and that Broome returned them after police left the scene.
What Happens Next
Vann is scheduled to return to court Thursday with her newly assigned attorney, Graeme Spicer, according to the outlet's reporting. The courtroom outburst marks the latest turn in a case that has already produced a guilty plea from one co-defendant and a pending plea offer for another, even as Vann herself continues to insist, without corroborating evidence, that the case against her was fabricated.
