Stacy Files Appeal In Neglect CaseThe Etna Green woman who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for her role in the neglect of a Nappanee boy has filed an appeal.
Jammy Stacy, 43, was convicted of Level 3 felony neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury by a jury Aug. 6. She appeared before Kosciusko Superior Court I Judge David Cates Aug. 31 and was sentenced to 16 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections – the maximum sentence punishable for a Level 3 felony.
Stacy was the third of the five people accused in the case to be sentenced at the time. Rune Springer, the boy’s mother, and Travis Tillotson, the boy’s stepfather, were both convicted of Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent earlier this year through plea agreements. They were sentenced to time served and probation, respectively.
Stacy’s aunt, Fayette Robinette, 60, of 9462 N. Ind. 19, lot 24, Etna Green, was convicted of a lesser charge of failure to report child abuse, a Class B misdemeanor. Robinette was initially charged with a Level 3 felony for neglect of a dependent. She was sentenced to non-reporting probation.
On Dec. 7, according to court records, Stacy’s mother, Annette Priestley, 60, of White Pigeon, Mich., was sentenced to 180 days in jail with all of it suspended for a lesser conviction of a Class A misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge. She had been facing the same Level 3 felony charge of which Stacy was convicted.
The case stems from a March 2, 2018, report of a 2-year-old boy named Vincent being severely abused and injured with broken bones literally from head to toe, bleeding on his brain and severe malnutrition that caused his body to grow facial hair in reaction. Stacy had been the sole caregiver of the boy since October 2017 to the date police discovered his condition in March.
Throughout the trial, Stacy contended she would have sought medical help for the child if the child would have been her own and told police she “didn’t know” if she could just take him to the hospital. Investigators seemed surprised Stacy was ignorant to the fact that she could seek medical help for a child and told her “that’s the way the world out there works.”
Mari Duerring, Stacy’s attorney at trial and representing her in her appeal, filed the appeal Friday in the Indiana Court of Appeals and is asking for the Level 3 felony neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury conviction be knocked down to a Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent.
“The evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stacy was subjectively aware that her failure to seek medical care for (Vincent) placed the child in a situation that caused serious bodily injury,” Duerring wrote in the appeal. “While the injuries to (Vincent) were numerous, there was no evidence that Stacy inflicted any of the injuries and as such the only way the state could prove she ‘caused’ serious bodily injury would be to prove with credible evidence that Stacy was subjectively aware of her actions, or lack thereof, somehow would cause further serious bodily injury. The nature of the injuries was not such that would have made a non-medical person aware of this condition. While evidence that if Stacy would have taken (Vincent) in sooner for treatment ‘would always be better’ may be reasonable, such evidence does not rise to proof beyond a reasonable doubt to sustain a conviction to neglect of a dependent as a Level 3 felony.”
Duerring goes on to write that Vincent’s injuries can generally be classified in four areas of neurological, skeletal, soft tissue injuries and nutritional.
Duerring argues that testimony from Dr. Jayesh Patel, director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Parkview Regional Medical Hospital, showed Vincent suffered from a subdural hematoma that was only discovered by using a CAT scan.
“Subjectively though, Dr. Patel testified that upon (Vincent) being presented in the emergency room on March 2, 2018, that (Vincent’s) neurological examination was normal. In other words, other than by the use of the CAT scan equipment the fact that (Vincent) was suffering from a subdural hematoma was not subjectively apparent to even trained medical personnel that administered the neurological examination in the emergency room,” the appeal states. “In addition, no medical intervention was needed to treat the subdural hematoma as the injury was resolving on its own.”
The second area of injuries to Vincent included broken bones.
“But, like the neurological injury ... no medical intervention was necessary to treat these fractures. The fractures did not require casting or setting, they were not displaced and most of them were healing on their own,” Duerring argues. “This evidence is insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Stacy was subjectively aware of the skeletal injuries as they were not apparent without X-rays, moreover, because no medical intervention was required to treat these fractures, Stacy’s failure to take (Vincent) to a medical provider did not place (Vincent) in a situation that endangered his life or health.”
The third area of injuries were the more significant ones that were soft tissue injuries, including Vincent’s nose septum being torn open and having a hole.
To this day, Vincent has undergone comestic surgeries to fix his nose injuries and suffers from permanent disfiguration and does not have the ability to raise his arms above his shoulders.
“These injuries, unlike the previously discussed injuries were obvious. Clearly, Stacy cannot argue that she was not ‘subjectively aware’ that her failure to seek medical attention for those injuries placed (Vincent) in a situation that endangered his health. There is no evidence that these injuries endangered his life,” the appeal states. “But there was a lack of evidence that would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stacy’s failure to seek medical attention for these injuries amounted to ‘causing serious bodily injury.’ Whoever inflicted these injuries on (Vincent) ‘caused’ these injuries and the pain and ‘loss of bodily function’ that was observed.”
As far as the malnourishment, Duerring argues that the only treatment Vincent required was “to give him iron supplements and to feed him well. No blood transfusion or I.V. treatment was necessary to treat this medical condition.”
“The evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stacy would have been subjectively aware that her failure to either provide medical care or proper food would have caused serious bodily injury to (Vincent),” the appeal states. “The evidence in this case supports a finding of guilt to the lesser included offense neglect of a dependent as a Level 6 felony; it does not support a finding of guilt to the Level 3 felony.”
The appeal is requesting a conviction of a Level 6 felony and for a resentencing. Stacy is incarcerated at the Rockville Correctional Facility with a projected release date of Aug. 4, 2032.
