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Video from Holli Baty’s trial
Listening to this just makes me mad all over again. How can you listen to the stuff that Holli did to Cheyenne and think that her death was accidental? She didn’t even call 911 when she first found Cheyenne not breathing, she called her boyfriend (Cheyenne’s dad) first. And these are the actions of an innocent woman?
I also just found an article on the Charlotte Sun detailing some of the testimony from the medical examiner. Once again, it just makes you want to cry. Cheyenne had multiple bruises on her body, each in a different state of healing. I know that kids occasionally get bruised up on their own….but multiple bruises? That poor baby.
Article below. Draw your own conclusions. I don’t see how anyone can find Holli innocent, given all the things that she ADMITTED to doing to Cheyenne. Because it was “hard to love a child who was not her own”. Grrrrr. She should have thought of that before getting into a relationship with a man who already had a child. Cheyenne deserved to live. Just because she was someone else’s child is no reason to abuse her, or to take her from the people who DID love her.
PUNTA GORDA — Cheyenne Eairheart’s death wasn’t an accident, according to the medical examiner who performed her autopsy.
Dr. Riazul Imami testified Tuesday about the skull fracture the 4-year-old sustained prior to losing consciousness Dec. 20, 2006. The impact was so great, Imami said, Cheyenne’s brain swelled and her eyes hemorrhaged.
Holli Lyn Baty averted her gaze as the prosecution displayed autopsy photos of the little girl she is accused of abusing and murdering.
The prosecution finished its witness list Tuesday, which included expert testimony from several doctors regarding Cheyenne’s fatal contusion.
Imami, the district medical examiner, told the court that Cheyenne’s 3 1/2-inch skull fracture wasn’t the result of a sudden fall, but rather significant trauma to her head.
“My opinion is (the fracture) was inflicted,” he said.
Family members sobbed as the jury was shown photographs of the girl.
Baty, 26, remained stern-faced throughout the proceedings at the Charlotte Justice Center, only turning to her lawyer to whisper. She has denied the allegations since her January 2007 arrest on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated abuse.
Despite the denials, the prosecution attempted to show Baty’s strained relationship with Cheyenne, a girl who wasn’t her own child.
Cheyenne, Wesley Eairheart’s daughter from a previous relationship, was found not breathing at the home Baty shared with her then-boyfriend.
Micah Carpenter, a former Department of Children and Families investigator, testified that Baty was argumentative when asked about the child’s death, and her account seemed rehearsed.
“It was almost as if she was reading a book out loud,” he said.
A Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office detective said Baty admitted to clashing with Cheyenne, and even admitted it was hard to love a child who wasn’t her own.
The state contends Baty abused the child on several occasions, including an incident in which she smeared feces on Cheyenne’s nose as punishment for soiling herself.
However Baty’s mother, Tonda Kremble, said Cheyenne had disciplinary issues at school and home, and was known to wet her pants as a defiant act when she was upset.
The DCF investigated abuse claims several months before Cheyenne’s death, but the case was closed and labeled unfounded.
Dr. Myriam Alea, a pediatrician and a member of the Child Protection Team in Fort Myers, said Cheyenne had multiple bruises on her body, with each in a different stage of healing.
The trial, presided over by 20th Circuit Judge Jack Schoonover, is expected to conclude today.
The defense will rely on testimony from a forensic pathologist, who will offer a different theory about the contusion Cheyenne sustained on her head, and how the injury is characteristic of someone falling backward.
E-mail: jwitz@sun-herald.com
Just to let you all know, the medical examiners initial autopsy findings were that Cheyenne’s death was accidental and he did NOT believe this was child abuse. This is a fact. It is in the complete autopsy report that is public record. The ME didnt change Cheyenne’s cause of death from accidental to homocide until after the detectives in charge of the investigation found out what the cause of death was and went and had a talk with the ME. Days later the ME completely changed his report along with Cheyenne’s manor of death. Again this is all documented in the ME’s notes and origianal report.