NYC mom admits to beating seven-year-old daughter to death, son charged with molesting the young girl | Law Enforcement Today

NEW YORK CITY, NY - On Wednesday, March 12th, the mother of seven-year-old Julissia Batties admitted that she beat her daughter to death in their Bronx apartment in 2021. Her son was also charged with molesting the young girl.

According to the New York Post, 35-year-old Navasia Jones pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter as part of a plea bargain with the Bronx District Attorney's Office to take full responsibility for Julissia's death and to get her son, Paul Fine Jr., off the hook for the girl's death and alleged sexual assault.

Fine's lawyer, Deveraux Cannick, said in a statement, "It's anticipated that a motion to dismiss will be filed on Friday. Once the motion is filed then the matter of bail will be academic because the charges will be dismissed, and the records will be sealed and Paul Fine Jr. will be freed of all charges. It's a done deal, but it's a matter of formality that the motion must be officially filed and received by the court."

Jones, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a 15-year sentence. Jones' lawyer, Edward Sapone, said that a "certain nature and quality" of the evidence in the case "could have presented a problem" for prosecutors had the case gone to trial. He did not go into any more detail.

He told reporters outside the courthouse, "So we thought about it, we negotiated, and we thought that ultimately, the certainty of a 15-year sentence would be the way to go for her."

Julissia's father, Julius Batties said that he thought the 15-year prison sentence was too light. He said he wanted Jones sent away for life, adding, "It does make me angry because she's getting away with murder and she's getting her son back. I don't get my daughter back." During the court hearing, the grieving father sat wearing a pendant with his daughter's picture on it.

He said, "I barely looked at her. After what she did? I don't want to remember her. I'm very much destroyed because I'll never get to see my daughter again." 

Police discovered Julissia's battered body in Jones' apartment on August 10, 2021, sparking an investigation into Jones. At the time, she told police that her daughter fell and hit her head on a desk. In June 2022, Fine Jr. was arrested in the girl's death and allegedly admitted to sexually abusing his little sister. During questioning, Fine Jr. allegedly admitted that he had punched his sister eight times in the face when their mother went to the store around 5:00 p.m.

Hours later, he allegedly said Julissia threw up and passed out, so his mom called 911. Fine Jr. was initially charged with murder, assault, and sexual abuse. Three years later, in 2024, Jones was also arrested. The case was ruled a homicide after the coroner said the young girl died of "blunt force abdominal trauma."

One authority said, "Mom and brother are both culpable. They both had a role in it, but who delivered the fatal blow is not clear." Police were called to the apartment in the city public housing complex six times over the past three years. A source familiar with the situation said at least one of those times, the mother covered for the teen boy. The last call came in March 2020.

Jones lost custody of Julissia and her four other sons due to alleged negligence and physical abuse. Against objections by her grandmother and a court-appointed lawyer, the city Administration for Children's Services returned Julissia to live with her mother. In court on Wednesday, Julissia's grandmother burst into tears as Jones admitted to killing the young girl.