AUTUMN FRANKS - 3 yo(2008) - Lakewood WA

Woman Faces 2nd-Degree Murder Charge In Death Of Lakewood 3-Year-Old

Posted: 5:06 pm PDT March 22, 2011Updated: 5:43 pm PDT March 22, 2011
TACOMA, Washington --
Leanne Bechtel walked into court weeping and shaking Tuesday as she was
formally charged with second-degree murder in the 2008 death of Autumn
Franks, 3, her former boyfriend's daughter.Bechtel, 27, claimed the girl had been knocked off a couch by an overly aggressive pit bull,
according to court documents. But Lakewood police and the Pierce County
Prosecutor's Office pursued expert scientific testimony that they said
proves Franks' injuries could not have been accidental.Amanda Nichols, Franks' mother, said she believes Bechtel's tears were an act."I honestly think that's just a show, because I think that she does know she's guilty," Nichols said.Asked
what it was like to see Bechtel in the wake of the recent charges,
Nichols said, "It's hard to say it, it's really hard. I'd just rather
not see her."Franks' father left the courthouse without comment.

"She realizes now that she's been caught, and now she realizes
she has to face what she's done," said Deborah Buttz, Franks'
grandmother, of Bechtel.U.S. marshals arrested Bechtel last week
and took her from her home in Lake Oswego, Oregon, to the Pierce County
Jail, where she remains.The judge ruled Tuesday that Bechtel
cannot be released unless she can make bail and establish a residence in
Washington, because she lives in Oregon, while she awaits trial.She is being held on $100,000 bail.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/27286549/detail.html

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/03/23/1931610/womans-bail-set-at-100000-in-toddlers.html

Woman's bail set at $100,000 in toddler's death


Woman's bail set at $100,000 in toddler's death

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/03/23/1931610/womans-bail-set-at-100000-in-toddlers.html#storylink=cpy


A Pierce County court commissioner Tuesday ordered a 27-yearold woman charged with killing a Lakewood toddler nearly three years ago to be jailed on $100,000 bail.

Commissioner Patrick Oishi entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Leanne Michelle Bechtel at her arraignment in Superior Court. Bechtel is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 3-year-old Autumn Franks.

Prosecutors allege in court papers that Bechtel caused a fatal injury to the girl when they were home alone in April 2008. Bechtel was the live-in girlfriend of the girl’s father at the time.


The defendant told detectives the girl suffered her fatal injury after a hyperactive pit bull named Dozer knocked the toddler off a couch.

Prosecutors originally declined to file charges but changed their minds recently after an expert on pediatric head injuries examined the case.

Federal marshals arrested Bechtel in Oregon last week after a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Nearly two dozen of Autumn’s relatives and friends attended Tuesday’s arraignment. Some carried poster boards displaying photographs of the girl.

Bechtel’s mother and stepfather also attended the hearing.

Deputy prosecutor Lori Kooiman argued for $300,000 bail, saying the charge against Bechtel was extremely serious. Autumn was a particularly vulnerable victim because of her age, and Bechtel abused a position of trust, Kooiman said.

Defense attorney Bret Purtzer asked that his client, who sobbed throughout the arraignment, be released on her own recognizance.

Prosecutors reached a charging decision only after they “shopped the case around,” Purtzer said. Bechtel, who has lived near her family in Oregon since Autumn’s death, is not a risk to abscond, he added.

“This has been devastating for her,” Purtzer said.

Oishi declined to let Bechtel out of jail without bail and also ordered that she find somewhere to live in Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap or King counties should she be released.

She’s to return to court next month for a pre trial hearing.


Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/03/23/1931610/womans-bail-set-at-100000-in-toddlers.html#storylink=cpy

Woman convicted of killing Lakewood toddler sentenced to nearly 20 years
Post by Adam Lynn / The News Tribune on Nov. 16, 2012 at 4:40 pm

A Pierce County jury earlier this month convicted Leanne Bechtel of killing 3-year-old Autumn Franks of Lakewood, rejecting Bechtel’s contention that the family dog caused the girl’s fatal injuries.

Bechtel maintained her innocence this afternoon when she appeared before Superior Court Judge John McCarthy, calling prosecutors’ contentions that she snapped one morning and violently struck the girl ”ludicrous.”

Autumn and Bechtel were not related by blood, but the defendant told McCarthy she treated the girl as her own child.

“She wasn’t just my daughter; she was my best friend,” a tearful Bechtel said.

McCarthy, who presided over Bechtel’s second-degree murder trial, said the jury had spoken and sentenced her to 19 years, six months in prison.

“The scientific evidence was substantial,” the judge said.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/crime/2012/11/16/woman-convicted-of-killing-lakewood-toddler-sentenced-to-nearly-20-years/#storylink=cpy