Dependent Neglect Trial Set For Tomorrow In Superior Court
Posted
Amanda Bridgman-abridgman@timesuniononline.com
A three-day jury trial for Jammy Stacy is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Kosciusko Superior Court I.
Stacy, 43, of Elkhart, is charged with a Level 3 felony for neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury. Stacy is one of the five people who were accused of severely abusing a Nappanee boy who, doctors said, would have died within 48 hours had he not sought medical attention.
Stacy’s co-defendants are Fayette Robinette, 60, of 9462 N. Ind. 19, Etna Green; and Annette Priestley, 60, of White Pigeon, Mich., who are also facing the same charges.
Robinette’s jury trial is set for Oct. 13 and 14 in Kosciusko Superior Court I; and a jury trial has yet to be set for Priestley.
The other two people involved in this case were the boy’s mother, Rune Springer, and stepfather, Travis Tillotson.
Springer, 26, of 9872 E. King Arthur Trail, Cromwell, was sentenced in February for a Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent conviction. She received 2-1/2 years in the Kosciusko County Jail. Springer had accrued 427 days of jail credit and was given time served by Superior Court I Judge David Cates, with the remainder suspended to formal probation. Part of Springer’s plea agreement came with the stipulation that she is mentally ill.
Tillotson was convicted of a Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent and received a sentence of 1-1/2 years in jail, all suspended to probation.
Part of Springer’s and Tillotson’s plea agreements also require them to testify against any co-defendants in the case.
According to court records, on March 2, 2018, Nappanee police responded to 1200 N. Main St., Apt. 103, Nappanee, and found a child in need of medical attention. Officers identified the mother as Springer. Springer and Tillotson were married and lived together in the Nappanee home.
Springer told officers she did not cause the injuries to the child and that the child had been in the care of another woman, Stacy, for about a year.
Springer said Stacy dropped the boy at Springer’s house on March 1, 2018, with visible injuries, according to court papers.
Springer and Tillotson did not call police for approximately 32 hours after the boy was dropped off, according to court statements, because Stacy and Priestley said they would all be arrested for child abuse. Priestley was with Stacy when the boy was dropped off, according to statements Tillotson made in court. Priestley is Stacy’s mother.
The boy was taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, where he stayed in the intensive care unit for 10 days, treated for being malnourished.
Parkview medical staff said the child had visible injuries in many stages of healing. He had multiple pieces of scalp missing, ranging from a half-inch to 2 inches. His septum on his nose had been cut deeply and was starting to heal. What appeared to be injuries from fingernails dug into his left cheek were scabbed over. Skin was missing from the bridge of his nose and scabbed over. His arms were broken in multiple places and in different stages of healing. The arm sockets also were broken. The child was unable to raise his hands over his shoulders. His teeth were broken from trauma; his lower lip had been cut deep and was almost healed, leaving scarring. He was extremely underweight and had hematomas to the head.
According to police reports, a doctor said that the child’s injuries were life-threatening and were not accidental. The doctor said injuries to the child appeared to range from several months old to a few days old, and that if the child had not gotten treatment, he would have died within 48 hours. The injuries appeared to be the result of prolonged child abuse.
The investigation revealed that Springer had taken the child to Stacy in October 2017 to live with her, and that Springer would only go visit him at Stacy’s residence occasionally, with the last visit in December 2017, according to court records.
Stacy told police during interviews that the boy lived with her from October to March 1 and that the child would occasionally stay the night at her aunt’s house, at Robinette’s. Stacy also told police the child had visited regularly with Priestley during that time, and that she knew the boy should have gotten medical attention and she would have if the child had been her own.
Level 3 felonies in Indiana are punishable by sentences of three to 16 years in jail.
