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1 woman, 2 opposite views

Prosecutors say the woman charged in her newborn's death is not mentally challenged but is a normal adult and a flight risk.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published September 21, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Christine Jamison was a good employee. She trained new team members at Target. She had a life outside work. She hung out in Ybor City and at Busch Gardens. She talked about her hair, her nails -sometimes, even her boyfriend.

"She was just like you and I," co-worker Julie Blaszczak said Wednesday.

But Jamison also struggled in school. She has learning disabilities. She's lived with her parents all her life. She's been taken advantage of, driven thousands of dollars into bankruptcy. Those close to her say she's 29 legally - but not mentally.

"My 16-year-old and Christine talk a lot," said neighbor Marie Mancuso, "and they're about the same caliber in mental capacity."

The prosecution and defense in the case of Jamison, charged with second-degree murder in the death of her infant, painted two different portraits of Jamison as they fought over her freedom Wednesday.

But together, both sides opened a window into the life of the Hudson woman accused of giving birth in a Target bathroom, then leaving the infant in the trash. The baby girl, born one month premature, was found dead Sept. 11.

The prosecution wants to reverse a judge's decision last week to release Jamison without requiring any bail. The hearing will continue Friday.

The murder charge demands high bail, Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis told the court, because Jamison is a flight risk. He used testimony of Target co-workers to portray her as a normal adult capable of fleeing before trial.

"Was there anything about her dealings with you that would suggest she was slow mentally?" Halkitis asked a witness.

"No," said Target employee Penny Payne.

"Maybe mentally handicapped," Halkitis said, "or mentally challenged?"

"No," Payne said. "She's a grown, educated person. She's very smart."

The defense objected.

Jamison's public defenders portrayed their client as someone who can't live on her own, much less run away. They want Jamison to remain home with her parents, where she wears an electronic monitor and checks in daily.

On the stand, her mother and neighbor said Jamison struggled for a semblance of normalcy.

It was hard work helping their daughter graduate from Hudson High School, but the Jamisons' work wasn't done. Even as an adult, Molly Jamison said, her daughter is emotionally dependent on the structured life her parents helped build for her.

"Did you ever seek mental health counseling for your daughter?" Halkitis said.

"No sir," the mother said. "We could never afford health insurance."

But even her parents can't protect her all the time, the mother testified. Their daughter filed for bankruptcy last month, $32,500 in debt. Christine Jamison spent thousands on acquaintances, her mother said, but was never paid back.

"She was trying to buy friends," the mother said.

New insight into the criminal case, for which Jamison faces life in prison, was also revealed in court. The mother and most co-workers said they didn't know she was pregnant or had a boyfriend. But one co-worker said Jamison told her two weeks ago she was pregnant.

A detective also testified why the medical examiner declared the infant's death a homicide: The baby girl may have either bled to death or was somehow deprived of oxygen.

J. Larry Hart, a defense attorney representing the defendant's parents, said the surest proof their daughter isn't a flight risk was sitting right in court Wednesday.

It was Jamison herself.

"She was here today," the lawyer said, "because she's not a flight risk."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified September 20, 2006, 22:53:50]