Merillan Woman Charged with Child Abuse has Plea Agreement Rejected
Tuesday, April 7th, 2015 -- 10:14 AM
-A Merrillan woman charged with child neglect had her plea agreement rejected in Jackson County Court on Monday.Back in December of 2014, a baby girl was found alone in her home by her grandmother. When she was found, her clothes were soaked with urine, she had bruises and scratches on her body, she had cigarette butts in her moth and, when doctors examined her, she appeared to be suffering from 24 hours of dehydration.
When police went to the home, the girl's mother, Starlene Grant, was sitting at a table with a friend drinking. She was also intoxicated. She had claimed that she left the girl with a sitter while she went drinking, but police could not confirm there was a sitter. During the interview by police, she was laughing and texting people and she never asked about her daughter.
She was scheduled for a plea hearing on Monday and her attorney said the agreement was to amend her felony child abuse charge to a misdemeanor and give her 1 year of probation. The court questioned this and, in the end, did not accept the misdemeanor plea. It was suggested that a preliminary hearing be scheduled, but no future court date has been set at this time.
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