Stepmother gets life on charges connected to girl’s death

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A Brazos County Jury sentenced a woman to life in prison after she was found guilty of physically abusing her 6-year-old stepdaughters, resulting in a child’s death.

Jessica Bundren, 40, was found guilty for her role in the abuse that led to the child’s death in 2020. Court details say she was physically abusing both girls for not eating fast enough and bed-wetting. Arianna Rose Battelle died as a result of her injuries, but her twin sister survived the injuries.

During the sentencing hearing for Bundren Friday morning, multiple witnesses from the State and Defense spoke to the jury. The beginning of the day spent some time focusing on Arianna’s surviving twin. This included a Forensic Nurse assigned to the twin when she arrived at a hospital the night Arianna was found dead.

The nurse detailed her experience with around 400 abuse patients in her career, saying this was the worst case she had seen.

“I’ve never quite seen this much bruising on any of my patients, it was quite concerning… It was difficult for her to move,” the Forensic Nurse told the group.

The nurse detailed the child’s reaction to being in pain saying that the child “didn’t endorse pain but her body was telling me she’s in pain.”

The twin’s counselor also took the witness stand, saying since the incident happened three years ago, the twin continues to struggle with disassociating whenever Arianna is mentioned.

Multiple witnesses then took the stand from the defense’s side, including Bundren’s father.

He spent time telling the jury about Bundren’s history, including a car accident 20 years prior that may have caused a brain injury, and emphasized her prior clean criminal history.

Bundren’s father bonded her out of jail after her initial arrest in the case. She spent one year in jail and her father told the state he wanted to give her the chance to become part of society and work.

A Brazos County Grand Jury indicted Bundren and the girls’ father, Justin Hopper, 29, on two counts of Injury to a Child with intent to cause bodily injuries in December 2020.

Hopper is scheduled to have his day in court later in November.