Elethea Dampier said her adopted daughter, Chekayla Dampier, was not ready to have a baby.

“She was involved in a relationship with a married man, and she probably thought by getting pregnant, that would keep them together,” said Ms. Dampier.

Ms. Dampier said she thinks it was the rejection by her boyfriend that caused Chekayla to take her frustrations out on her infant son, Emilio Bautista.

Chekayla is in jail for holding 7-week-old Emilio under a faucet of hot water, and leaving him with severe burns covering his body. Emilio died Sunday from his injuries at Tampa General Hospital’s Burn Unit.

Ms. Dampier gave some insight on why this incident happened, and some history on Chekayla and Emilio.

“We knew she didn’t have transportation, and the baby might be neglected. She was abused by her mother when she was small, so we adopted her and her older sister, who died of Lupus last year at the age of 20.

“Chekayla would run away a lot and enjoyed hanging out. She told us she didn’t like school and wasn’t going. We tried so hard to help her and urged her to take care of the baby. She just wasn’t ready to be a mom.”

Ms. Dampier said she wishes Chekayla would have called them and asked for help before hurting the baby.

“I just found out that the baby had been abused for a long time before this happened. I tried to get the Department of Children and Families involved, but they kept coming up with excuses for not doing their job. DCF had a week to get that baby away from Chekayla, and dropped the ball. I called them and told them what was going on before this incident happened, and they still did nothing.”

Ms. Dampier said she will be looking getting help to investigate DCF’s actions, because she’s not going to be satisfied until she knows for a fact they did try to help Emilio.

Pasco County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, Kevin Doll, said because the case involving Chekayla Dampier is ongoing, they cannot comment at this time on any issue regarding an abuse investigation by the Pasco County Department of Children and Families, or the finds by their Child Protection Investigator.

At the time of Emilio’s death, the family had no funds for a funeral service, and are asking for help with expenses. Ms. Dampier said all they want is a closed viewing and a small service.

Anyone who wants to make a donation for Emilio Bautista should call Doby Funeral Home in Tarpon Springs at (727) 942-0515.

Mother Charged With Murder
On Wednesday, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office announced that Chekayla Dampier, 18, was officially charged with second degree murder in the death of her 7-week-old son, Emilio Bautista.