Starved Infant Trial Begins
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| Retha Colclasure |
| 10/20/2009 |
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| A delayed start to a manslaughter trial didn`t slow things down in Burleigh County today. Stevie Buckley, 18, is accused of starving her six month old daughter, leading to her death. Buckley`s trial had originally been scheduled to start yesterday, but was delayed when she didn`t show up for court. Now, she`s being held without bond, and her trial is moving along quickly. Prosecutors called more than a dozen witnesses on the first day of testimony in their case against Stevie Buckley. Buckley took her six-month-old daughter Kyra to the emergency room after Kyra was having trouble breathing. The baby died a few days later. But prosecutors say the signs of neglect started weeks before. "She came in the same clothes, had food in her hair, fingernails were dirty," says Amy Sicble, a UTTC daycare provider. The baby was enrolled in daycare for two weeks at United Tribes Technical College, where Buckley was a student. But when Buckley wasn`t able to provide a birth certificate after several requests, Kyra wasn`t allowed back. That`s when prosecutors say Stevie dropped out of classes to take care of the infant. "She aid she needed help, and that didn`t know how to care for her child," says Deputy Bryan Sleeper, of the BCSD. Sleeper was one of the deputies who investigated the case. He testified that Buckley told him several times that she didn`t know how to care for the baby. Another deputy who searched Buckley`s apartment said he found several unopened cans of formula and a barely used box of rice cereal, but also noticed what wasn`t there. "The lack of items," says Tracy Nelson, of BCSD. "No crib, high chair, infant seat." A social worker for Burleigh County said she was ready to take custody of the baby when it was released from the hospital, but was never able to. Kyra died on February 4. Buckley`s neighbor said she would often wake up because of loud parties that Buckley had at her apartment. She called security about it once. The security officer who showed up said he saw open containers of alcohol in the room, and could smell marijuana. Buckley`s trial is scheduled to last all week. |
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