SPENCER CORSON - 3 yo (2008)/ Convicted: Father's fiance; Amanda Porter - Story City IA

Police have arrested a Story City woman and
charged her with first-degree murder in the 2008 death of a
3-year-old boy.

Officers from Story City and Nevada arrested 25-year-old Amanda
Kaye Porter on Friday at a Story City home. She was charged with
first-degree murder and felony child endangerment in the death of
Spencer Corson. The boy died June 24, 2008, a day after being found
unresponsive at a home in Nevada.

After an autopsy, his death was ruled a homicide.

The Des Moines Register reported Porter was the girlfriend of the
boy's father.

She was held in the Story County Jail pending an initial court
appearance.

Amanda Kay Porter beat her boyfriend’s 3-year-old son to death nearly 18 months ago, Story County authorities alleged Friday.
Nevada and Story County police arrested Porter, 25, on charges of
first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death in the June
2008 homicide of Spencer Corson.
In 2008, Spencer Corson died at a Des Moines hospital after
suffering head injuries consistent with child abuse. A medical examiner
ruled the death a homicide.
At the time, Porter was living with Spencer’s father, Stuart Corson, when the boy suffered the injuries that proved fatal.
Spencer was rushed to the hospital three times for head injuries and
malnutrition between 2007 and his death, state records show.
Authorities did not say what prompted Friday’s arrest and declined to comment beyond a prepared statement.
Porter, who has two other children, has been the subject of multiple
child abuse inquires by the Iowa Department of Human Services.
Bill and Ann Byers of Lampasas, Texas, are the legal guardians of
one of Porter’s daughters, Hailey. The Byers’ son, Casey, fathered
Hailey with Porter. He asked his parents to look after his daughter
before he was killed in action in Iraq.
They fought a complex legal battle with Iowa human services
authorities to retain custody of the 4-year-old girl as suspicions of
child abuse mounted against Porter.
In 2007, Hailey was taken to the hospital three times for abscesses
caused by wet diapers. One visit required in IV. During another visit,
the Byers discovered Hailey with a black eye.
The grandparents eventually won custody of their granddaughter and
saidthey hope her stepbrother finds justice after Friday’s arrest.
“We’re elated,” said Bill Byers, a former Iowa corrections officer. “We’re glad that Spence is going to get some justice.”
Efforts to reach Stuart Corson were unsuccessful Friday. Porter remained in the Story County Jail on $525,000 bond.

Woman seeks bond review in child killing

By Luke Jennett
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, December 17, 2010 12:08 PM CST
A woman accused of murder in the killing of her boyfriend’s 3-year-old child has asked for a review of her bond in hopes she will be released from jail pending trial.

Amanda Kaye Porter, 25, of 120 First St., Story City, is being held at the Story County Jail on a combined bond of $525,000. She is charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in the death of Spencer Corson.

She has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

At a hearing Thursday, Porter’s attorney, Greta Anne Truman, asked District Court Judge Timothy Finn to reduce Porter’s bond to $10,000 plus the deed to a trailer she co-owns with the victim’s father, Stuart Corson, against her appearance at trial.

“This is an old case,” Truman said. “Ms. Porter has waived her right to a speedy trial, and, given the nature of this case and the number of expert witnesses that need to be called, it will not be resolved quickly.”

Truman called four witnesses in defense of her motion to reduce the bond, among them Porter’s mother, Deb Smith, of Nevada, at whose home Spencer Corson was staying when the alleged homicide occurred, and Stuart Corson, who testified Porter and the victim were “inseparable.”

However, Assistant Attorney General Douglas Hammerand took aim at both Truman’s witnesses. He noted Stuart Corson’s criminal history and questioned Porter’s ties to the community.

Hammerand finished by noting the bond in the case was not just to secure Porter’s appearance at trial, but for the safety of other persons. He told the court that, if released, Porter would have unrestricted access to the 1-year-old child she had with Stuart Corson, and cited a previous felony conviction on Porter’s record.

“It’s not just a felony conviction, your honor,” Hammerand said. “It’s a felony conviction for child stealing.”

He noted that in all three instances in which Spencer Corson was hospitalized, he was in Porter’s care. Deb Smith said Porter and Spencer Corson had been alone in her home just prior to his hospitalization June 23.

Spencer Corson died June 24, 2008, at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. An autopsy revealed the child died from abusive head trauma as a result of a nonaccidental injury stemming from an assault by another person.

At the time of his death, Spencer Corson lived with his father, Porter and a young child of Porter’s from a previous relationship in the trailer home Porter is now attempting to use to secure her freedom. Spencer Corson had been removed from the care of his mother, Jessica Rivera, following an investigation by the Iowa Department of Human Services for failure to provide adequate food in 2006.

Spencer Corson suffered from several illnesses from birth, including a cleft pallet, a heart murmur, a horseshoe-shaped kidney and other issues. He was developmentally slower than other children his age and took feeding primarily through a G-tube, but family members told DHS agents he had been making progress.

Spencer Corson arrived at the hospital prior to his death unresponsive and with bruises around his head, neck, arms and leg. Stuart Corson and Porter told investigators the child had been suffering seizures and he had had five that day. Stuart Corson was not on any medication for seizures at the time.

The DHS report notes neither of the two showed much emotion or reaction.

“It is not likely that the child will survive,” the report noted.

Luke Jennett can be reached at (515) 663-6919 or ljennett@amestrib.com.

http://www.amestrib.com/articles/2010/03/26/ames_tribune/news/doc4bacd4c01c571151382649.txt

May 7, 2011
AMES, Iowa—

A trial set for next week in the killing of a 3-year-old Iowa boy has been put off until November.

Twenty-five-year-old Amanda Porter, of Story City, faces charges
of first-degree murder and child endangerment in the 2008 death of
Spencer Corson. The Ames Tribune reports a district judge granted the
delay in her case Friday to ensure expert witnesses could testify at
trial.

The Nevada boy was pronounced dead June 24, 2008, a day after he was found
unresponsive. The boy's death certificate indicated he died as a result
of abusive head trauma inflicted by another person.

Porter was the girlfriend of the boy's father and was caring for him when police say he suffered the fatal injuries.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-childkilling,0,7411440.story

Porter sentenced to life for child murder

January 13, 2012 - 6:57pm
By Luke Jennett, Staff Writer

NEVADA — At the beginning of the hearing, Amanda Porter’s attorney, Michael Adams, grabbed a stack of tissues and put them on the defendant’s table in anticipation of the emotion of the event.

When it was over, the pile was untouched, and Adams swept them up and threw them away.

Porter said little and showed no emotion as she was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

The 26-year-old former Story City resident was convicted in November of killing 3-year-old Spencer Corson, the son of her fiancé, Stuart Corson, and Jessica Rivera.

Neither parent was present at the hearing, although Rivera, who lives out of state, sent a letter that was read by prosecutor Denise Timmins.

“For the past 3 1/2 years, I’ve had a lot of hurt and anger in my life because of what Amanda did to my son,” the letter read. “It was hard for me to sleep, and it felt like a piece of my heart was torn out, and I’ll never get that back.”

Stuart Corson’s family was represented by his mother, Tina Meldrem, who read a letter written by her own mother, Stuart’s grandmother, about the impact the case has had on the family.

“In my heart, I never thought anyone could have done something so terrible,” Meldrem read. “I keep asking myself, why did she, how could she, do something so terrible. She took away one of God’s greatest gifts to this family, Spencer. He was a very special little boy. He will never be replaced. We’ll never see him grow. He will always be forever three.”

The letter ended, “I will never forgive her. I should say may God have mercy on her, but I don’t want God to have mercy on her.”

The defense called no witnesses on Porter’s behalf, and Porter herself spoke only once, saying “No,” when asked by Judge Timothy Finn if she wanted to make a statement.

A Story County jury found that on June 23, 2007, Porter killed Spencer Corson, who had been left in her care. The child was found to have bleeding on the brain at his autopsy, injuries that experts said could only have come from inflicted abusive head trauma.

Prosecutors recommended to Finn that Porter be sentenced to the mandatory life term, plus 50 years on the second count of child endangerment resulting in death, and that the two sentences run concurrently. Adams made no recommendation.

Finn ruled that Porter would serve both sentences at the same time, saying that he believed Spencer’s death was the result of one act, and not two separate ones.

“I’m not sure how much of a difference that’s going to make because you’re going to be in prison for the rest of your life,” Finn said.

As he delivered his ruling, Finn noted the case illustrated the danger of what he said was an emerging trend of children being left in the care of paramours.

“I can’t change what happened, and I can’t change what the values of our society are, but anyone out there who has a relationship like this should be aware of this case,” he said.

Following the hearing, prosecutor Doug Hammerand said he was pleased with the verdict.

“These are tough cases because there are really no winners here,” he said.

Dianna Rivera, Spencer Corson’s grandmother, crusaded for Porter’s arrest in the months following the boy’s death, and was present to see the case of her grandson’s murder settled. But she declined to take the stand to make a statement.

“I just feel like it’s over, and I don’t really have anything to say to Amanda Porter,” Rivera said. “She’s a cold-blooded killer, and I just don’t know what I would be able to say to her.”

- See more at: http://amestrib.com/sections/news/ames-and-story-county/porter-sentenced-life-child-murder.html#sthash.0TrJ8Mrj.dpuf

Porter’s lawyer seeks new trial in abuse death case

January 31, 2012 - 8:48am
By Luke Jennett, Staff Writer

Chief Public Defender Michael Adams has filed a motion for a new trial in the case of Amanda Kaye Porter, a woman who was convicted in November of killing her fiance’s 3-year-old child.

Adams writes in his motion that new information has come to light showing the jury may have been guilty of misconduct.

The motion is backed by a report from Deb Smith, Porter’s mother and a witness at her trial. Smith reportedly told Adams following Porter’s sentencing in January that her neighbor, Mary Breer, told her about a conversation she’d had with one of the jurors in the case during the trial.

Breer allegedly told Smith that the juror, Janet Hulse, discussed the facts of the case with her and told Breer that the jury had “made up its mind” early in the trial.

Adams said he attempted to find out if there was any truth to these allegations, but said his investigator had been unable to get into contact with either Breer or Hulse.

If Smith’s claim is true, Adams said in his motion, it could be an indicator the jury received evidence or information not authorized by the court, and would therefore be guilty of misconduct.

Adams has asked that the matter be set for a hearing so Breer and Hulse could be examined. If the story is true, Adams wrote, he will ask the court to grant a motion in arrest of judgment for Porter and give her a new trial.

Adams has also filed a notice of an appeal in Porter’s case to the Iowa Supreme Court. The grounds for the appeal were not stated.

Porter is being held at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center near Coralville. She was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 3-year-old Spencer Corson, who died in 2008 of abusive head trauma. Corson was in Porter’s care at the time.

At trial, the state called a battery of medical witnesses who testified that Corson’s injuries could only have been the product of an assault. Adams argued that the child’s injuries may have been the result of fetal alcohol syndrome, an undiagnosed seizure disorder or possibly a fall from the back of a couch.

Adams could not be contacted for this story.

- See more at: http://amestrib.com/sections/news/ames-and-story-county/porter%E2%80%99s-lawyer-seeks-new-trial-abuse-death-case.html#sthash.VKsU0KwW.dpuf

February 7, 2012 - 9:03am

No new trial for Amanda Porter, judge says

By Luke Jennett, Staff Writer

Saying the request came too late, a district court judge issued an order Friday denying Amanda Porter’s motion in arrest of judgment and motion for a new trial.

Porter, 26, of Story City, was convicted of the murder of the 3-year-old child of her boyfriend and was sentenced to life in prison Jan. 13.

Porter’s attorney, Michael Adams of the State Public Defender’s Special Defense Unit, filed a motion for a new trial on Jan. 27, saying Porter’s mother, Deb Smith, had uncovered third-hand information indicating jury misconduct.

Adams was unable to confirm this information in his motion.

The state resisted the motion, saying the time-frame for a motion in arrest of judgment had passed. Under Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure, defendants can file motions for arrest of judgment or a new trial no later than five days before the sentencing date.

Adams’ motion came two weeks after Porter was sentenced.

District Court Judge Timothy Finn agreed with prosecutors and rejected Adams’ motion without a hearing.

Porter’s case is being sent to the Iowa Court of Appeals. A state appellate defender has been assigned to her to replace Adams, who has withdrawn as her attorney.

A jury convicted Porter in the 2007 killing of Spencer Corson in November. Witnesses for the state introduced medical evidence Corson was killed by inflicted head trauma that occurred while he was in Porter’s care.

Adams’ defense focused on other explanations for the injuries, including a fall from a couch, an undiagnosed seizure disorder or fetal alcohol syndrome.

In his Jan. 27 motion, Adams said Smith had reported speaking to a neighbor about the case. The neighbor, Mary Breer, said she’d discussed the case with one of the jurors, Janet Hulse, during the trial.

Hulse reportedly told Breer the jury had “made up its mind” about Porter’s guilt early in the trial and before hearing all the evidence.

Adams said he’d attempted to find out if Breer had been telling the truth, but hadn’t been able to get in touch with either Breer or Smith. He asked for a hearing so they could be questioned.

If Hulse and other jury members had actually made up their minds before hearing all the evidence, Adams argued, then they would be guilty of misconduct.

Porter is being held at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women.

- See more at: http://amestrib.com/sections/news/ames-and-story-county/no-new-trial-amanda-porter-judge-says.html#sthash.gGvnpTYU.dpuf