Stepmom who 'ordered Rottweiler to attack girl', 9, faces execution

A woman accused of setting a huge Rottweiler on her nine-year-old stepdaughter, then finishing the murder herself faces execution.

Tyshael Elise Martin, 34, was allegedly seen on the family's security cameras instructing the 103lbs dog to attack Jamaria Sessions on June 15. 

After the dog was finished, the wicked stepmother kicked the little girl as she lay motionless on the floor, detectives who reviewed the footage alleged. 

She then allegedly dragged Jamaria's unconscious body across the ground before hitting and shaking her, while possibly saying 'I'm fixin' to kill her'.

Martin was arrested near her home in Montverde, Florida around 6pm on August 28 and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and child neglect.

Prosecutors filed a notice of intent filed earlier this month informing the court they would seek the death penalty if Martin was found guilty.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office began investigating on June 17 after a 911 call about Jamaria being unresponsive at the home on Harbar Oaks Drive.

Paramedics responded to the scene to find the girl with abrasions, bruises, burns, and suspected bite marks. 

Detectives searched the family's security cameras and found shocking footage from the night of June 15.

The dog was seen viciously attacking Jamaria while Martin held its leash and appeared to direct the assault. 

Investigators also uncovered through interviews and text messages that the child was frequently subjected to horrific methods of punishment. 

This included being forced to sit against a wall for hours, running in place with her arms raised, as well as being hit with objects, kicked, and punched. 

Jamaria's autopsy results indicated her cause of death was complications from multiple blunt injuries to the head, torso, and extremities, as well as a heat-related injury to her right foot.

Martin is being held without bond at Lake County Jail. 

In a fundraiser to cover her funeral costs, Jamaria's maternal family described her as a 'bright and beautiful nine-year-old girl' who left behind a five-year-old sister. 

They said the girls were living with their father, Lojuan Sessions, since October 2023, after the death of their mother from leukemia at 24. 

They previously lived with their grandmother.

'Despite our efforts to be a part of their lives and provide them with the love and support they need, we have been met with insurmountable barriers,' the family wrote.

Sessions had served a five-year prison sentence for two counts of child neglect, trafficking in MDMA and fleeing and eluding, until his release in August 2023.

He was also arrested in August and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.