Court documents reveal disturbing details of alleged abuse prior to 7-year-old Bayport girl’s death
Authorities say the child endured repeated physical abuse while living with her father’s 50-year-old fiancée, who had custody of the girl at the time. Also charged in the case are the fiancée’s mother and daughter.
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Court documents are shedding disturbing light on the alleged abuse and neglect suffered by 7-year-old Jor’dynn Duncan of Bayport before her death.
Authorities say the child endured repeated physical abuse while living with her father’s 50-year-old fiancée, who had custody of the girl at the time. Also charged in the case are the fiancée’s mother and daughter.
Prosecutors allege the abuse was ongoing and severe. Court filings state investigators documented “at least 90 recent injuries” across Jor’dynn’s body, along with “at least 20 older injuries” and scars believed to have been caused by whipping with a cord.
The documents also detail alleged text messages exchanged among the defendants discussing how to conceal the abuse. In one message, a defendant allegedly wrote, “Looks like she got beat the whole summer. Another defendant responding, “She will be healed up by school.”
Another alleged text thread stated: “You can’t hit her face. You gotta hit her body if you going to hit her. That’s another thing we gotta hide.”
School attendance records indicate Jor’dynn missed class for nearly the entire month of May. The school district has not publicly stated whether concerns about her attendance were reported to Child Protective Services.
The case has renewed scrutiny of Suffolk County’s child welfare system, particularly in the wake of the death of 8-year-old Thomas Valva, whose 2020 death exposed significant deficiencies within county agencies responsible for child protection.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine defended Child Protective Services, saying the agency should not be solely blamed in Jor’dynn’s case.
“It’s not a failure of CPS,” Romaine said. “And the child’s placement was done by a judge.”
When asked whether warning signs may have been missed, including the child’s absence from school for much of May, Romaine said investigators and prosecutors should be allowed to complete their work before conclusions are drawn.
“We’re going to let the DA bring out the case,” he said. “Based on the many facts that will come out over many months as this case is prosecuted and the trial takes place, we will act on any information that comes out that suggests to us that improvements can be made.”
The three defendants have pleaded not guilty.
