The life of two-year-old Jacklyn Schwingel was brutally ended at the hands of a 27-year-old man in 2022. He was recently convicted of her murder and has received his sentence.
On May 3, 2022, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) received reports of child abuse from AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares, Florida, after a two-year-old child was transported to the Emergency Room with critical injuries.
Medical personnel attempted life-saving procedures on the little girl, later identified as Jacklyn, but to no avail. She was ultimately pronounced dead.
The MCSO’s Major Crimes Unit responded to the report and began investigating the child’s death. Detectives learned, after speaking with the victim’s mother, that she had left Jacklyn in the care of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Ray Thompson.
Travis and the mother were reportedly longtime friends and had been in a relationship for several months before breaking up just a week prior to the incident. Authorities stated that Travis had been upset about the breakup, but he still agreed to babysit his ex’s child.
About 25 minutes after the mother left, he called to inform her that Jacklyn had become unresponsive. She immediately returned home and found Jacklyn “lifeless” with a “distended abdomen,” according to the police report.
They both drove Jacklyn to the hospital, but when the mother noticed Jacklyn wasn’t breathing, she told Travis to call 911. First responders met the pair at a nearby business and began administering what medical treatment they could.
After examining Jacklyn, the medical team determined she had suffered internal bleeding and reported potential child abuse. When investigators interrogated Travis, he claimed he and Jacklyn were in separate rooms when he heard a loud noise and found her unresponsive.
He said he didn’t know how she was injured. In September 2022, the Medical Examiner’s Office released test results that provided a clearer picture of how Jacklyn’s injuries were sustained.
“The Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was traumatic injuries to the victim’s torso with a severing of her spine and internal bleeding behind her abdomen,” the report stated.
“Based on the severity and nature of the break, it was determined that Thompson applied significant, gradual force to the victim’s upper and lower body and bent her backward beyond her natural range of motion until her back broke,” it continued.
Travis was subsequently arrested and charged with first degree murder. He was convicted on the evening of Wednesday, June 4, 2025, and sentenced to life in prison.
