KADENCE PRINCE - 3 yo (2007) - Zanesville OH

When EMS personnel walked into the Prince home on Forest Avenue almost
two years ago, they found 3-year-old Kadence Prince lying on a rug
inside the front door. She wasn't breathing.
The incident led to Kadence's mother, Kristen, being indicted on a
murder charge after the girl was pronounced dead at a hospital later
that day.Now Kristen Prince faces 10 years in prison after
pleading guilty Tuesday to one count of involuntary manslaughter and
two counts of child endangering, one of those counts being a
misdemeanor.Prince originally was charged with one count of
murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of child
endangering, a second-degree felony, and three counts of child
endangering, first-degree misdemeanors. She faced life in prison if she
had been found guilty of murder.In accordance with the plea
agreement, the murder charge and two of the child endangering charges
are to be dismissed when Prince is sentenced.Muskingum County
Prosecutor Michael Haddox said since a trial is scheduled for Oct. 6
involving Prince's co-defendant, Lionel Smith, he could not comment on
why the other charges were dismissed or the plea agreement reached.Prince's
defense attorney, Ben Whitacre, also did not want to comment until
after Prince is sentenced, which could be in about 30 days.Prince
also agreed to withdraw a motion argued last week in front of Common
Pleas Judge Mark Fleegle to suppress her polygraph test.Assistant
Prosecutor Ron Welch said Prince failed the polygraph in March, and
then gave a statement to the prosecution's investigator, Larry
Brocklehurst, that she had killed her daughter.Fleegle had not ruled yet on the suppression motion when Prince pleaded guilty.Welch stated during the plea hearing that Prince called 911 on Oct. 31, 2007, saying Kadence wasn't breathing.When
EMS arrived, they found Kadence lying on a rug just inside the front
door, immediately started CPR and rushed her to the hospital.Medical
personnel also observed Kadence had bruising around her lips, face,
back and abdomen, all consistent with child abuse, Welch said.Zanesville
police discovered similar bruising on a younger sister, Welch said.
Various bed linens were also foundat the home, some with vomit and some
with vomit and blood on them, Welch told Fleegle.Investigators determined Kadence had died as a result of blunt trauma to the stomach, Welch said.Prince
denied any involvement at first, but after being indicted, started
requesting the opportunity to take a polygraph. After numerous
requests, a polygraph was scheduled for March 3. Prince failed that
polygraph, and then made a statement to Brocklehurst.Prince admitted she had lost her temper with her child, striking her in the stomach, Welch said."She said Kadence had been fussy and complaining," Welch told Fleegle.Prince also told Brocklehurst she had gone to bed after punching her daughter, leaving the child in the care of someone else.She was awakened by that person, who told her Kadence wasn't breathing, and 911 was then called, Welch said.Fleegle ordered a presentence investigation and informed Prince that after the sentencing, she has 30 days to appeal.

A mother charged in the death of her 3-year-old daughter asked for
mercy from the court before she was sentenced to 10 years in prison
Monday.
Kristen Prince was sentenced to the recommended maximum of 10 years
in connection to the death of her daughter, Kadence Prince.Muskingum
County Prosecutor Michael Haddox said any time the death of a child is
involved, it's a tragedy and in this case, no sentence would adequately
compensate for a family's loss of a child."However, we believe
our evidence would have shown Kristen Prince did not purposely cause
the death of her child, but that she did knowingly cause serious
physical harm to the child by striking the child in her abdomen, which
unfortunately resulted in the rupture of her bowel, which was the
proximate cause of her death," Haddox said.Ben Whitacre,
Prince's attorney, told Muskingum County Common Pleas Judge Mark
Fleegle, Prince was remorseful, and will have to live with this the
rest of her life, a very significant penalty itself, he said."The
worst aspect of this case is the loss of a child. This child will never
get to enjoy a full life like she deserved," Whitacre said. "My client
has accepted responsibility for her actions and is remorseful. This
case was a struggle for all of those involved and I am glad to see it
finally concluded."EMS personnel found Kadence, not breathing,
lying on the floor of Prince's home in early February 2008. Kadence was
pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.Bruising was
found around Kadence's lips, face, back and abdomen --all consistent
with child abuse, the prosecution previously said.Prince's voice cracked as
she addressed Fleegle and asked for the court's mercy."I apologize for what
happened to my child," she said. "I lost my child to a senseless act."She
was sentenced to 10 years for one count of involuntary manslaughter and
six months, to be served concurrently, for one count of child
endangering.Prince admitted she had lost her temper with Kadence
because she had become fussy and she went to bed after hitting the
3-year-old in the stomach.Lionel Smith, Prince's then boyfriend,
pleaded guilty to several charges, including one count of felony
attempted endangering children, one count of misdemeanor endangering
children and one count of failure to report a crime or death, earlier
this year in connection with Kadence's death.He could be sentenced to
up to 18 years.Prince's sister, Morgan Prince, 17, wiped away tears of
mixed emotions as she walked out of the courtroom."She's
still my sister, even though she did what she did. I know she regrets
it, but she still did what she did. You have to move on at some point
and forgive," Morgan said.Morgan said Kadence was always happy, always smiling.
Kayla Whyde, 19, who used to be a cousin of the Princes through marriage,
said Kadence always brought a smile to everyone."A
song our family goes by and has since Kadence passed away is "Concrete
Angel," by Martina McBride. We listen to it every year, especially on
Oct. 31 when Katie passed away. It's just a song we really feel hits
close to home and describes Kadence's story," Kayla said.