On December 30, 2015 at 1:09 a.m., Longview Police were dispatched to a Check Welfare at the Contessa Inn, located at 717 South Highway 31. Officers were told that there may be an injured child in one of the rooms at the location. When Officers arrived they located the room and were told that the mother of the 2 year-old child had taken her to the hospital just prior to officer's arrival at the motel. Additional Longview Officers went to Good Shepherd Medical Center and located an unresponsive child being cared for by medical staff. The child was flown by helicopter to Dallas due to the severity of her injuries.
As the officers began to investigate how the child was injured they spoke to the parents of the child. The parents provided a story that was not consistent with the child’s injuries. The mother, identified as Jamie Nelson, told police she began to communicate with a family member about the child’s welfare during the night. That family member became concerned about the child and contacted police. The concerned family member requested that Police go out to the motel and check the welfare of the child. Due to the child’s injuries the mother, Jamie Nelson 24 of Winona, was arrested for Abandoning/Endangering a Child by Omission or Criminal Negligence State Jail Felony (SJF). Aaron Castile Bowling 26 of Longview, was arrested for Abandoning/Endangering a Child by Omission or Criminal Negligence State Jail Felony and two Class C misdemeanor warrants. Both suspects were transported to the Gregg County Jail without incident. Aaron Bowling’s charges have been upgraded to Injury to a Child with Intent to Commit Serious Bodily Injury.
On January 2, 2016 the child died at a Dallas hospital. The cause of the child’s death remains under investigation by the Longview Police Department.