Holli Baty finally goes to trial

Posted by Tammy on Sep 23, 2008 in abused children, crimes against children, News, SW Florida news, Terri Schiavo, Uncategorized | 5 comments

The murder charges against Holli Baty in the death of Cheyenne Eairheart, age 4, are finally being heard in a court of law. I had hoped that the media would cover it more extensively, in other high-profile cases, they have live-blogged the trial. This doesn’t seem to be the case this time, and the Eairhearts, for obvious reasons, are not able to update me until after the trial. I’d like to be able to attend the trial, but can’t due to my job. So I’ll just have to do the best I can with the little that the paper prints.

For those who do not know the story, Cheyenne was four years old when she was found in her bedroom, not breathing, back in December of 2006. She died before rescue workers were able to get her to the hospital. While investigating her death, allegations came out about her primary caregiver, Holli Baty. Holli was, at the time, the live-in girlfriend of Cheyenne’s father. The allegations were not pretty, and actually make me sick to even think about. They include things such as rubbing feces in Cheyenne’s face when she would not toilet train easily, and duct-taping her eyes closed when she would not take a nap.

Holli Baty has been out on bail for a quite a while now. She’s been out, enjoying her life, going on with things. I’ve heard a rumor that she’s had another baby, although I don’t know if this is true. The fact remains, she’s been out on the street, living her life. Cheyenne, on the other hand, was not given this opportunity. She’s missed two Christmases, she’s missed turning 5, and then 6. She’s missed starting school. Please pray with me that Holli finally faces the music, and that Cheyenne receives the justice she so richly deserves.

News story below. Much more information, along with some very interesting comments, can be found in my archives.

Tears flow as murder trial begins
By PAMELA STAIK STAFF WRITER

PUNTA GORDA — A stream of tears flowed down Leslie Justice’s face in the Charlotte County Justice Center Monday as she listened to Assistant State Attorney Ronald Smith describe her 4-year-old daughter’s life and death.

“This is the story of the sad life and violent death of daddy’s little girl … a little girl named Cheyenne,” Smith said while addressing the freshly-picked jury, consisting of six jurors and one alternate. “In the course of the trial you will see photographs of this little girl. She was 3-and-a-half-feet tall, she weighed 37 pounds — still flashing her baby teeth.”

The 4-year-old girl was found not breathing in her bedroom on Dec. 20, 2006, where Smith said it was evident not all was well.

“Daddy’s little girl was in the fight of her own survival, a fight against her primary care provider, her unofficial stepmother,” he said.

The unofficial stepmother Smith was referring to is Holli Lyn Baty, a 26-year-old woman on trial for second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse against Cheyenne Eairheart, the daughter of her former boyfriend, Wesley.

Baty was arrested in January 2007 after reports from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office stated the woman had allegedly abused Cheyenne by smearing feces on her face as punishment for soiling herself and taping the child’s eyes shut when she refused to sleep.

Authorities also reported that Cheyenne sustained a fractured skull that could not have been self-inflicted.

And while jurors did not hear from Justice, they did hear from Justice’s mother, Laura Justice.

The elder Justice said her daughter and Eairheart conceived Cheyenne while the father was in between relationships with Baty. After their breakup, the younger Justice signed temporary custody to Laura Justice, who moved with her husband from Venice to Ohio in 2005.

While Eairheart earned custody of his daughter after taking then live-in girlfriend Baty with him to Ohio, Cheyenne’s maternal grandparents were invited to come to Florida to visit the little girl.

However, the Justices only visited one time — a visit that was proof enough for the family that something was wrong.

“When you visited in October 2006, was she the same little girl?” asked Smith.

“No,” said Justice, as he choked back tears. “She always has a little sparkle in her eye and it just wasn’t there.”

Jurors also heard testimony from other family members of the child, including Lori Eairheart, Wesley’s stepmother, as well as a neighbor, family friend and child-care provider.

And while many spoke of the various bruises, rug burns, cuts and swelled body parts the child endured, as well as the punishment tactics of both parents, it was the goal of defense attorney Mark De Sisto to show that, based on medical knowledge that will come out on day two of the trial, there is reasonable doubt that Cheyenne’s fatal injury was caused by Baty.

“We can all be sympathetic for this child,” he said. “The evidence will show that she was a vibrant child, a beautiful girl, a loved girl, but … this was an accident — a terrible accident.”

The trial, which is set for Circuit Court Judge Jack Schoonover’s docket, will continue today at 8:30 a.m.