The camera was already rolling when Clint Mason brought the metal rod down on the 8-year-old girl. Jeremiah screamed and begged and told him to stop. He swung the rod over his head with both hands and brought it down on her backside again and again. In the footage, he told her exactly what he was doing.
“I don’t give a damn. This is what you wanted, and this is not going to end well for you. Trust me when I tell you that. ”
When the little girl cried harder and writhed in pain, he shouted, “Want me to put my leg in your neck?
”
Clint was the boyfriend of Jeremiah’s mother, Amber Fischer. He was also the father of Amber’s youngest son. The couple had been together for five years, and their relationship was tense and volatile, marked by police involvement, though neither ever filed charges. Jeremiah, called Maya by her family, had big brown eyes and dark hair styled in braids with colorful clips.
At eight years old, she wore purple glasses. She loved going to church and was a spiritual little girl full of life. She was a good big sister to her little brothers, and she was close with her cousin Allayia, who called the girl “my baby. ” At school, Jeremiah had won an outstanding achievement award.
Her teacher, Ms. Kennedy, said the child performed well in every subject, though she sometimes got in trouble for talking too much in class. For hours on the night of March 17, 2020, Clint beat her. He used the metal rod, and then his hands, and then a belt.
The cameras in the apartment captured it all. Amber had originally installed them to monitor one of her sons who had a skin condition, so she could see if he was itching himself when her back was turned. The cameras were motion-activated and mounted on swivels. At one point, Clint realized the camera was recording and pointed it away from himself.
The swivel simply moved it right back as soon as the beating resumed. After the beating, Jeremiah couldn’t get up or walk. Clint carried her upstairs to her bedroom. She said she felt sick and was having trouble breathing.
He didn’t get her medical help. Around five in the morning, he leaned in to check on her and found her unresponsive. He called Amber at work, crying. “You need to come home.
Something’s wrong with Maya. I don’t think she’s breathing. Something’s wrong with her. ”
Amber had just finished her overnight shift as a caregiver.
She arrived home at 5:54 a. m. and found her daughter unresponsive. She called 911.
When paramedics arrived at the apartment on Sand Dema Street in Bakersfield, they found Jeremiah covered from head to toe in bruises and other signs of trauma. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors tried to save her life. It was too late. Jeremiah was pronounced dead later that same day.
Her extended family wasn’t allowed to say goodbye to her in the hospital, likely because of pandemic restrictions. Clint fled the apartment on foot. Police issued a be-on-the-lookout order. They described him as a Black male, six-foot-two, 235 pounds, last seen wearing a black hoodie and walking with a slight limp.
They figured he might head south to Los Angeles, where he was originally from and where he had family. Their hunch was correct. The next day, Clint was found at a Motel 6 in Englewood and taken into custody without incident. At the autospy, the medical examiner found multiple issues.
Jeremiah died of hypoxic respiratory failure brought on by acute bronchopneumonia and sickle cell trait. She also died of multiple blunt force trauma. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. A clinical pharmacist explained that trauma to the chest can cause damage to the lungs, leading to an inflammatory response and pneumonia.
The pneumonia common in such cases can be indistinguishable on imaging from pneumonia caused by other factors. The trauma itself could explain the pneumonia. Clint later told police he beat the little girl to motivate her to do household chores and homework. He was charged with first-degree murder, torture, and willful cruelty to a child.
At his first hearing, by teleconference, he faced a possible life sentence. The case moved slowly through the court system, partly because of pandemic-related restrictions. On February 22, 2022, Clint Mason, now 39, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder. In exchange, the torture and willful cruelty to a child charges were dropped.
One month later, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he will be eligible for a parole suitability hearing in January of 2032. He is currently serving his sentence at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at Corcoran. Jeremiah’s cousin, Dean Coleman, started a GoFundMe campaign in her honor.
He wrote that the family was facing a difficult time and asked for support. He described Jeremiah as beautiful, smart, and sweet, with the brightest smile. He said she always made those around her smile, was supportive, hard-working, and understanding. She always helped her little brothers, and she always wanted peace.
She was a spiritual little girl who always wanted to pray. The family asked for prayers and expressed gratitude for all the support. The fundraiser collected a little over four thousand dollars. Because of pandemic restrictions, the family could only hold a small private gathering to honor their little girl.
For such a small ceremony, it was still meaningful. Jeremiah was laid to rest in a fluffy white casket with a flower pattern, transported in a motorcycle-drawn carriage. She was buried at Union Cemetery in Bakersfield, next to her first cousin once removed, Christy Allen, who had passed away just a month prior from an illness. Jeremiah’s grave is marked by a simple granite headstone decorated with a crown and a unicorn, and a picture of the smiling eight-year-old in happier times.
Beneath her birth and death dates are the words, “Your wings were ready, but our hearts were not. “
