MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New information revealed more than one family member tried to get custody of Jermyle Campbell before he died.
The same details also showed a troubled pattern with courts, law enforcement and the Department of Children Services.
Nineteen-year-old Raven Campbell stood silently and answered questions quietly in General Sessions court Monday morning.
She said she didn’t have a lawyer, so the judge set a date for the next hearing.
Bond hadn’t been set at the time.
Campbell was initially charged with aggravated child abuse, neglect and endangerment — but those charges were upgraded to first degree murder after the death of her two-year-old son Jermyle.
The toddler wasn’t breathing when first responders arrived at the family’s house on Fairoaks Saturday in North Memphis.
Campbell told police she put Jermyle under a mattress and was responsible for the scratches and bite marks on his body.
The toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Late Saturday afternoon, Jermyle’s maternal grandmother Jacqueline Campbell, spoke with WREG.
“I’m trying to find out what happened to him because the only thing she said is that he stopped breathing,” she said.
Despite Campbell’s own admission to authorities, her mother told WREG she didn’t do it.
“She didn’t hurt him ’cause she loved her baby,” she said.
The On Your Side Investigators also confirmed Saturday it wasn’t law enforcement’s first visit to the home.
Memphis Police said there have been 39 calls from the address on Fairoaks over the past two years.
In some cases the Memphis Fire Department responded.
That included 12 domestic disturbances, two woundings and three crime scene calls.
There were also calls to report a possible attempted suicide and a missing person.
WREG has also learned the family, including Jacqueline, has a long and complicated history with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and the courts.
DCS would only confirm it has prior contact with the family that dates back up to three years.
Court records showed family members thought Jermyle was in danger as recent as the fall of 2014.
Exactly one year ago, Jacqueline was awarded temporary custody of Jermyle with his mother getting supervised visits.
That case was dismissed two months later and Jermyle stayed with his mom.
Later in 2014, a cousin petitioned the court for custody of the boy when she said Jacqueline and Campbell got into a fight, which led to Jacqueline putting Campbell and the baby out of the house.
Again the case was dismissed, but this time because neither party showed up to court.
Also, when Campbell herself was 16, the same cousin tried to get custody of her and her younger siblings after allegations Jacqueline’s live in boyfriend choking the kids.
The court eventually dismissed the case after the petitioner failed to appear in court and a DCS case worker said the kids were in a “safe environment” and the boyfriend no longer lived at the home.
That same custody petition also alleged Jacqueline neglected to provide proper clothing and food for the children, and that Campbell was cognitively delayed and at 16 couldn’t say or recognize the alphabet.
WREG spoke with family members Monday who said funeral arrangements have not been made for Jermyle.
The Medical Examiner’s office is performing an autopsy.
