SIERRA CARPENTER - 18 Months (2006) - Hamilton/Chattanooga TN

Child neglect trial set for Nov. 15

A woman charged in connection with the death of her young daughter will face trial in November, court officials said Monday.

Traci Carpenter is charged with aggravated child neglect stemming
from the death of her 18-month-old daughter Sierra. Her trial date is
Nov. 15, and attorneys on both sides will meet Oct. 3 to debate pretrial
motions.

Prosecutors first went after Carpenter and her ex-boyfriend, Brian
Rutherford, in connection with Sierra’s 2006 death. But a jury acquitted
Rutherford, and the focus turned to Carpenter.

At Rutherford’s 2008 trial, a medical examiner testified that
Carpenter’s repeated poking of her finger to Sierra’s head could have
led to the child’s death.

Several witnesses said they had seen Carpenter poke the child, but
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole ruled that information
about Carpenter’s parenting that came out at Rutherford’s trial cannot
be presented to jurors at her trial.

Carpenter’s attorney, Lee Davis, recently filed court documents
claiming that police promised not to charge Carpenter if she passed a
polygraph test, which she did.

posted October 3, 2011

Both sides said Monday they are ready for a Nov. 15 trial of Traci Carpenter in connection with the child abuse death of her 18-month-old daughter, Sierra Carpenter.

Ms. Carpenter had been a state's witness in the trial in November 2008 of her former boyfriend, Brian Rutherford. The jury found him not guilty of killing the child. He was charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse.

Ms. Carpenter is charged with aggravated child abuse.

At the Rutherford trial, prosecutors put the blame on Rutherford, who denied his guilt.

Attorney Lee Davis, who represents Ms. Carpenter, said earlier, "She has cooperated from the very time she was approached by authorities and she gave a full and complete statement.

"She testified at the Brian Rutherford trial.

"I can understand the state being disappointed in the verdict, but I don't think the cause of justice will be advanced by putting Ms. Carpenter on trial.

"But the state has that perogative, and we will plead not guilty and be ready to go to trial. I believe that the jury will acquit her after hearing all of the evidence."

Ms. Carpenter testified that Sierra did not like Rutherford and cried every time he tried to hold her or play with her.

She told the jury she bathed Sierra the night before she was taken by LifeForce helicopter to Erlanger Hospital and did not see the numerous bruises on her body that physicians found at the hospital.

Ms. Carpenter said there had been a knot on Sierra's head the previous Saturday, and she said Rutherford told her his daughter, Alyssa, may have hit her in the head with a toy.

She said she had also seen a bruise and scratch around her eye and believed she may have gotten it by pressing her face against her playpen.

Doctors said the child had been severely shaken and struck numerous times, including in her ears.

Rutherford maintained he never hurt Sierra.

Ms. Carpenter said on the way to the hospital that Rutherford "said he was sorry. He said he felt it was his fault because of some of the comments he had made."

Ms. Carpenter, who had just turned 19 when her daughter died, also said, "I never hit my daughter."

She said she has not been promised anything in return for testifying for the state. She denied she had told anyone she felt she would not go to jail if she testified against Rutherford.

Ms. Carpenter, who was 21 at the time of the trial, said she had Sierra when she was 17. She said her husband, Josh Carpenter, died in a car wreck on Jan. 9, 2006.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_210470.asp

By Todd South

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Traci Carpenter listens during her pretrial hearing in Criminal Court Judge Don Poole's court on Tuesday. Carpenter, who is charged with agggravated child neglect, is pregnant.
Photo by Alex Washburn /Chattanooga Times Free Press.
enlarge photo
A Criminal Court judge will rule whether photographs of an 18-month-old girl who died of blunt force head trauma will be allowed as evidence in the upcoming trial of the child's mother.

Traci Carpenter, 24, faces a Dec. 6 trial on an aggravated child neglect charge in connection with the April 27, 2006, death of her daughter Sierra Carpenter.

In a hearing Wednesday, Hamilton County Executive Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston called Traci Carpenter's mother, Sue Petty, to the witness stand. Petty testified that she took care of Sierra for most of the two days before the alleged abuse that caused the child's death.

Petty's voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes as she testified that the only bruise on Sierra's body was on her forehead before the girl went back to Carpenter and her boyfriend Brian Rutherford.

Hospital and autopsy photos taken in the days after Petty saw Sierra show bruises all over the child's body and abuse consistent with whiplash-like trauma to the child, the county medical examiner testified.

Pinkston and Assistant District Attorney Cameron Williams argued to Judge Don Poole that photographs showing a possible pattern of abuse leading up to Sierra's death be shown to the jury in the upcoming trial.

Carpenter's lawyers, Lee Davis and Bryan Hoss, argued that, since their client is charged with neglecting to report abuse on specific dates that caused Sierra's death, any nonfatal, previous abuse evidence cannot be shown to the jury. The indictment against Carpenter, who now is visibly pregnant, refers to her lack of action on April 24 and 25, 2006.

Sierra died on April 27, 2006, of what Hamilton County Medical Examiner Dr. Frank King said was "blunt force trauma" to the head, which caused brain swelling and bleeding.

King testified Wednesday that he found it "disturbing" that no one had noticed the body bruising on Sierra and reported it. But, he said, the actual fatal blows to her head may not have shown any warning signs that an average person would recognize.

"I don't know any logical explanation that they would think the child would get sick and die of these contusions," King testified.

Davis repeatedly referred to the charge against Carpenter that she either "failed to render aid or failed to intervene" for Sierra when the girl was injured. Pointing to King's testimony, he insisted it would be difficult for a person without medical training to recognize brain swelling.

"It's not what she should have known," Davis said. "It is what she knew."

On April 25, 2006, two days after Petty took care of Sierra at her home, Rutherford brought the toddler to the Dallas Bay Fire Department when the child was having trouble breathing. Sierra was taken to Erlanger hospital, where police photographed multiple bruises on her head, neck, face and inner thighs while she was being treated.

King testified that the injuries that killed Sierra likely happened two to three days before she died.

Rutherford faced charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child neglect in a November 2008 trial. A jury found him not guilty on both counts.

Poole previously ruled that testimony from Rutherford's trial alleging that Carpenter abused Sierra will not be allowed in her trial.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/nov/17/carpenter-seeks-ban-on-photos/

By Todd South

Tuesday, December 6, 2011


Traci Carpenter leaves Criminal Court Judge Don Poole's court after her pre-trial on Nov. 15. Carpenter, who is suspected of child neglect, is currently pregnant.
Photo by Alex Washburn /Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The aggravated child neglect trial of a 24-year-old mother has been moved to June.

The trial against Traci Carpenter was expected to start today but has been moved to June 5, 2012.

Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole had not ruled on motions filed by Executive Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston and defense attorneys Lee Davis and Bryan Hoss as of Monday.

“We would have preferred to go to trial,” Davis said after the hearing. “Obviously, a case like this is very stressful on my client and her family.”

But Davis said the motions are important and that he understands the need for Poole to look at them closely.

The motions include an effort to limit evidence shown to the jury, including autopsy photos of the victim, 18-month-old Sierra Carpenter, and recorded conversations between Carpenter and her then-boyfriend Brian Rutherford.

Rutherford was tried and acquitted of aggravated child neglect and first-degree murder in the April 27, 2006, death of Sierra.

Rutherford has not been listed as a witness for either side in Carpenter’s case. Davis said the defense is not calling Rutherford because, despite his acquittal, they believe he is guilty. Carpenter is innocent, Davis said, because she could not have prevented Sierra’s death.

“The state can call him if they want to. I wish they would,” Davis said.

Pinkston said he could not comment on a pending case.

The June trial date was the first on the calendar that was clear for both the attorneys and Poole. Davis also said that, since Carpenter is pregnant and due in late January, he would prefer not to have her on trial in the month after her delivery.

On April 25, 2006, Rutherford brought Sierra to the Dallas Bay Fire Department when the child was having breathing problems. Sierra was taken to Erlanger hospital, where police photographed multiple bruises on her head, neck, face and inner thighs while she was being treated.

Hamilton County Medical Examiner Frank King testified that the injuries that killed Sierra likely happened two to three days before she died.

Poole previously ruled that testimony from Rutherford’s trial alleging that Carpenter abused Sierra will not be allowed in her trial.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/06/hamilton-county-child-neglect-case-trial-traci-car/?print

Defendant: CARPENTER, TRACI LEANN

DOB: 4/15/1987
Case Number: 262492
Charge: AGGRAVATED CHILD NEGLECT
Filing Date: 2/7/2007
Disposition:
Date:
Docket Type: Trial Docket
Next Court Date: 6/15/2012
Judge: POOLE, DON W.
Officer:
Agency:
Count: 1

http://cjuscriminal.hamiltontn.gov/AppFolder/CC_Web_Calendar.aspx