Paige Carson-Barrett, Dinah’s maternal grandmother, cradles her in the photo below while in the pediatric intensive care unit.
What led up to this?
On April 23rd, Justin called 911 about Dinah being in trouble.
Facebook; pictured above Dinah’s grandmother holds her while she is in the hospital on life support
When police officers arrived at his house just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, he was giving Dinah CPR on the floor of the kitchen.
Officers later remarked that he and Jamie appeared way too calm. Most moms and dads would be absolutely distraught over their child not breathing and just lying on their kitchen floor, but not these young parents.
Facebook; pictured above Dinah’s dad Justin kisses her on her forehead
Did the police suspect abuse? One of the officers on the scene reported that “As I was talking with Justin and Jamie Whited, I was a little puzzled that they weren’t showing any emotions.”
He continued to state, “Mr. Whited appeared to be calm and collected and Ms. Whited had been standing in the doorway, emotionless.”
Yet, both of Dinah’s parents swore that they had never abused their child. Justin told officers that Dinah was just crying uncontrollably when he woke up from a nap, and she couldn’t even breathe she was crying so hard.
He watched her do this for a bit, and then Dinah started turning completely blue, he told officers. She started gasping to breathe, and he then decided to call 911.
Facebook; Justin cuddles up to his newborn daughter Dinah in the above photo, appearing to be a proud dad
This is really far from the truth though… Dinah was rushed to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Eagleston’s pediatric intensive care unit.
There, doctors discovered this poor little baby suffered multiple broken bones to her collarbone and ribs, as well as severe bleeding in her brain. Clearly, this doesn’t just happen to a baby that’s barely six months old. Someone had to have done this to her.
Facebook; poor little Dinah is pictured above while in the hospital
Police interviewed Jamie. Court records state that she admitted that she had been using drugs the day Dinah got taken to the local hospital.
That doesn’t explain what atrocious things happened to poor Dinah, and how she got such disgustingly severe injuries…
Facebook; Dinah is pictured in the hospital in the above photo
Jamie then admitted to officers that Dinah frequently had bruises all over her face. She also had black eyes for the abuse she endured. Jamie said she maybe felt like taking her to see a doctor, but she was afraid CPS would get involved and take her child.
Jamie still maintained her innocence and said she never abused her child. Yeah, right, Dinah’s disgusting injuries spoke otherwise.
Police quickly charged Dinah’s parents and incarcerated both of them. Justin, her 23-year-old father, was charged with aggravated battery and her 24-year-old mother, Jamie, was charged with cruelty to children. Only if Dinah died would they be charged with murder.
“The doctors [have] made several attempts by conference calls to the father in jail to explain this baby will never live a normal life,” A family friend, Susan Ronnie Ogle posted on a GoFundMe page that has since been taken down, “She will never walk, talk, or play. She has no quality of life.” Arguably, the most heartbreaking and infuriating part of this story is still coming up…
Walton County Sheriff’s Office; pictured above is Dinah’s dad Justin’s mugshot
Dinah was on life support for three months following the call to 911 her father Justin placed. This poor baby was hooked up to tons of tubes. Her maternal grandmother came to visit her constantly.
Her mom was in jail while she lay in a hospital bed, brain dead. She couldn’t even breathe on her own and needed a ventilator to help her little body cling to life.
This poor little girl endured such horrific things in her short life. Justin refused to sign the papers taking Dinah off life support because he selfishly didn’t want to be charged with murder. This story caused a media frenzy and stirred up a lot of questions about how ethical this was for a parent to do.
Walton County Juvenile Court Judge, David Dickinson, granted Dinah’s parents permission to visit her while she was on life support.
Facebook; pictured above is an adorable photo of Dinah and a news clipping about her death
At the time, neither Jamie nor Justin had been actually convicted of abusing this poor little girl, so that is why the judge decided to let them visit her while in the hospital.
Sadly, poor baby Dinah Paige was taken off life support by her parents. Yes, the same people that put her in this position made the decision to take her off this.
They were given 30 minutes to say goodbye to her. After she passed away, both her parents were charged with felony murder.
Police said, “The brutal injuries that Dinah suffered over time, along with the lack of medical attention, ultimately lead to her death.”
Facebook; pictured above is another news clip about Dinah’s case
