UPDATE: Mom Charged in Baby's Death Pleads Guilty To Lesser Offenses

UPDATE: 4:05 p.m. Dec. 2: Jaimie Nakail Whitney Beck was sentenced to 15 years, five of which she will have to serve in the state penal system and the rest on probation, said Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney Shannon Wallace.

Once she’s released, she is ordered not to have any contact with former boyfriend Michael John Naples; have no unsupervised contact with child Kristy Johnson until she reaches 16 years old or any other minor children; complete parenting and intimate partner violence classes at the Cherokee Family Violence Center; provide evidence of evaluation and treatment for mental health conditions; not consume any alcoholic beverages or narcotic drugs unless prescribed; not associate with anyone who uses or possesses any illegal drugs; and not use alcohol and operate a motor vehicle.

ORIGINAL STORY

The mother charged with murder in the death of her 17-month-old daughter has pleaded guilty to three lesser offenses.

Jaimie Nakail Whitney Beck, 24, last week entered guilty pleas to two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree and one count of making false statements, according to court documents.

Beck entered the plea before Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea, who has yet to schedule the defendant’s sentencing.

Beck and her boyfriend, Michael John Naples of Woodstock, were arrested and charged with the murder of Kaylee Rayne Elise Johnson, who passed away in October 2012.

Beck was initially indicted on two counts each of felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, making a false statement and one count of cruelty to children in the second degree.

Naples was indicted on one count of felony murder and two counts each of cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.

Deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 14, 2012, responded to a call of an injured child at a home located at 304 Red Bird Way in Woodstock. Kaylee was found unresponsive at the home.

Beck reportedly told deputies she woke up to get a glass of water and discovered her child unresponsive at the bottom of the basement stairs.

The child was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite where she died from her injuries just two days later.

The final lab results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the cause of death was “blunt force trauma to the head” and classified the death as a homicide.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office were able to determine Kaylee’s injuries were not consistent with those of a child who fell down the stairs.

According to the accusation filed last week, the first cruelty to children charge contends Beck left her daughter in the care of Naples between July 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2012, “knowing that the said Kaylee Rayle Elise Johnson was being intentionally injured while in the custody and care of the said Michael Naples.”

The second count notes Beck also left her daughter in the care of Naples on Oct. 13, 2012.

The false statement charge stems from when Beck told Cherokee Sheriff’s Office detectives that she never left Kaylee and another child alone with Naples.

According to the accusation, Beck did leave her daughter and another child alone with Naples on Oct. 13, 2012, “in order to go to Kroger.”

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Photo: Jaimie Nakail Whitney Beck. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office