Youngstown woman 'failed' baby who died in her car, she says at sentencing

YOUNGSTOWN

Traniqua Floyd said just before she was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of a baby in her care that she now realizes how important it is to provide good care for children – because she has been taken from hers.

Floyd, who has been jailed since the Dec. 12, 2013, death of 10-week-old Jaron Jones, told Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday that she wants to return from prison as a good mother for her children. She also apologized to the parents of Jaron.

“Being without my children has shown me that Jaron Jones deserved to be protected. I failed,” she said.

Floyd pleaded guilty March 31 to a charge of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Jones, who was taken to Akron Childrens Hospital from a house in the 700 block of Pasadena Avenue where Jones was babysitting. The Summit County Coroner’s office ruled Jaron’s death a homicide, saying that he died as a result of massive head tramua.

Prosecutors were asking for 11 years in prison. Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin said Floyd gave several different versions of how Jaron died.

Jaron’s mother, Jasmine Nickerson, said she was friends with Floyd for a long many years.

“This is a hard day for me,” Nickerson said. “I still to this day do not know what happened to my son.."

For more on the case, read Thursday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.