Father confesses that 8-year-old victim was compelled to jump on scorching trampoline

A father in Texas has admitted to killing his 8-year-old daughter with his wife by forcing the youngster to jump repeatedly on a scorching hot trampoline, which apparently had a surface temperature of approximately 110 degrees at the time.

Daniel Schwarz, 48, didn’t care about the blistering August heat when he forced his child, Jaylin Schwarz, to keep jumping on the trampoline that day in 2020 at their home in Odessa, according to prosecutors. Schwarz pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and was sentenced to serve 18 years in prison after accepting a plea agreement. The Ector County District Attorney’s Office announced the deal in a Facebook post, saying it came after Schwarz’s wife, Ashley Schwarz, was previously convicted of capital murder in May 2023.

“(Schwarz) has pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the tragic death of his adopted daughter,” the DA’s office said. “The case dates back to August 29, 2020, when law enforcement responded to a medical emergency involving an 8-year-old girl. Investigators later discovered that Daniel and his wife, Ashley, had forced their daughter to jump on a trampoline for an extended period without food or water as a form of punishment. The trampoline’s surface temperature was approximately 110 degrees at the time.”