KAIDEN LIGHT - 2 Months -(2010) Springfield MO

Tatianna Light's Facebook profile picture and her Greene County mug shot show dramatically different versions of the same woman.


The Facebook profile picture shows a seemingly happy mother with her husband and infant son.The Greene County mug shot, taken Wednesday after she allegedly admitted to killing the 2-month-old, shows Light with dramatically shorter hair and a much different expression.Police say she told them she smothered the baby with a pillow Tuesday.She's been charged with second-degree murder."She described suffocating him for approximately one hour," the probable cause statement said. "During that time period she stopped and saw he was still alive, then continued until he was no longer breathing or moving."On Sunday, Light had posted additional pictures to a Facebook album bearing her son's name. The album contains 44 pictures of the infant, who would have been 2 months old Friday.Although the biography on her Facebook profile begins with a description of her family, it ends with, "I am also a drug addict well recovering drug addict."Under favorite quotes, she lists, "Today I choose to live, I'm not going to use no matter what happens."Police were called to the home at 2203 N. Travis Ave. for a child not breathing Tuesday afternoon.According to court documents, Light told responding officers that she had laid her son down on her bed while she was doing laundry. When she returned she said she found her son not breathing and rolled him over on his stomach.But her story changed when she got to police headquarters, authorities said.After being confronted about discrepancies in her story, she allegedly admitted to using pillows to suffocate the baby.Police became suspicious after Light told officers at the scene that she undressed him, cleaned him, performed CPR for more than 30 minutes and then called a family member for advice before authorities were called.

Woman Confesses To Smothering Her Infant Son With Pillows
October 7, 2010 by Jaded
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ShareSpringfield, MO - Police and paramedics were called to Tatianna Light’s home Tuesday afternoon after receiving a 911 call in which she reported her 2-month-old son, Kaiden, was not breathing. Tatianna told officers she had placed the baby on his back on her bed and went to do laundry. When she returned about ten minutes later, Kaiden had rolled onto his stomach and had blood in his nose, so she called 911. EMT’s were unable to resuscitate the baby and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Tatianna was questioned again. This time, her story was a little different. She told officers she undressed the child, cleaned him, and tried to perform CPR for about 30-45 minutes. And after calling a family member for advice, she finally got around to calling 911. Those slight discrepancies led to further questioning down at the station, where Tatianna eventually admitted to smothering the infant with pillows. She told police she held the pillows over Kaiden’s face for about an hour. Within that time span, she lifted the pillow and discovered Kaiden was still breathing, so she continued to hold the pillows over his face until he stopped. According to Tatianna’s mother, Children’s Services removed Kaiden from the home last week after receiving an abuse call concerning the boy. After an investigation, he was returned to Tatianna and had been back in her care for less than a day when he died. Tatianna, 23, has been charged with second-degree murder. .

Police: Mother changes story of baby's death
Criminal court case documents say Light once admitted to smothering the child.

11:00 PM, Apr. 2, 2011
Police say Tatianna Light has told various stories about how her baby died -- one of which is admitting to smothering him.

From jail, her recollection appears to be changing again.

Her initial story was that she left her baby, Kaiden, alone on the bed.

He must have rolled over, she said, but she couldn't explain why she would do CPR for half an hour, clean the 8-week-old up, wash his clothes and her bedsheets before calling 911.

When police questioned inconsistencies in her story, it changed, authorities said.

Criminal court case documents say Light admitted to holding the pillow over Kaiden's face for 10 minutes, at first.

When that attempt to suffocate her baby wasn't successful, she tried again, according to the documents.

"She described suffocating him for approximately one hour," the probable cause statement in the case said. "During that time period she stopped and saw he was still alive, then continued until he was no According to a Children's Division report, Light told police she was tired of people saying she couldn't be a good parent.

A Children's Division investigator was allowed to watch a police interview from another room. The investigator reports Light quickly changed from emotional and crying to calm and collected.

After admitting to Kaiden's death, Light was left alone in the room.

"During this time, Tatianna was very calm. She cleaned out her pockets, took off her jewelry and organized her wallet," the report said.

But when officers returned to arrest her, she started making suicidal threats.

"It takes more than one officer to subdue her and get her in handcuffs," the report said. "She is now yelling that she does not want to go to jail and wants to go to the psych ward. She states more than once that she will kill herself if taken to jail and that she wants to kill herself and go be with her son."

She told another officer she knew what to say to make them take her to the "psych ward," according to the report.

She was charged with second-degree murder the next day.

But even after that, the story again changed. A letter signed by Light in the court file is addressed to the judge in the case.

In it, she asks to be released so she can get drug abuse treatment and can help her husband pay for Kaiden's funeral costs.

She also insists she's been lying to authorities, and now wants to tell the real story. In the letter, dated Nov. 18, Light said she was carrying Kaiden and some laundry when she tripped over a dog. She said she must have hit her head and blacked out.

When she came to, she realized she was laying on top of the child and must have accidentally smothered him, the letter said.

Children's Division investigators have dismissed that theory, citing the autopsy report that discusses injuries not consistent with the falling story.

Since that first letter, Light has again written the judge.

"I want to change my plea to guilty. I am thinking 100 percent clearly. I understand my charge. I think you're my sentencing judge. Please let me know somehow what's going on about this. I'd really like to change this," she wrote in a note dated Jan. 4.

Her public defender, Shara Martin, said a person can only change his or her plea in a felony case in front of the judge.

Martin said she's still waiting on some of the police reports and other documents from the prosecutors in the case. Martin said there "won't be a change of plea until I get all of the reports."

Assistant Prosecutor Casey Clark said the next hearing in the case is May 13. He said a trial date may be set at that hearing.

In a separate legal action, Kaiden's father, Ron Light, has filed for divorce from Tatianna Light. Online court records show it has not yet been finalized.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110403/NEWS12/104030325/0/news12/Police-Mother-changes-story-baby-s-death?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

(Springfield, MO) -- An Ozarks family is preparing to mark the birthday of an child
who was killed at two months old.
Investigators think the boy died from an all too common cause of death for kids -- child abuse.
The National Children's Alliance says every day about five children die from child abuse.
Springfield infant Kaiden Light is one of those children.
Kaiden was just two months old when investigators believe he was smothered to
death. Now, those who were closest to him are trying to prevent other
children from falling into that same abuse.
"There's nothing I can do to bring him back, but there has to be something I can do so this
doesn't happen to another one," Deborah Conklin, who took care of the child.
Conklin wasn't related by blood to Kaiden, but her care earned her the title of "grammy."
"This one was taken the Sunday before he passed," she said, displaying a picture, "with that big old smile."
Kaiden was removed by children's services the week before his death in October
2010. In less than 24 hours of being in his mother Tatianna Light's
care, he was dead. Police say he was smothered to death.
"It still feels like yesterday," Conklin said.
In hopes of preventing another death like Kaiden's, family and friends are
planning to teach the community about the warning signs of child abuse
Sunday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Nathaniel Greene Park.
"They have bruises. They are very withdrawn," said Andrea Burns, a family
friend. "They are jumpy, if someone raises a hand around a child they'll
jump and back away because they are being hit."
Her daughter, Vivian, is almost a year old, the same age Kaiden would have been if he was still alive.
"If you know a child is being put in a position that, you know, they are in
danger and someone is not listening to you, go to another door, keep up
knocking," said Conklin. "Keep on asking for help until someone listens
to you to get that child help."
"She's just getting ready to walk," Burns said. "I think to myself: he'd be walking. He'd be right there with her."
But instead, they're vowing to never forget him and let his death be in vain.
"He's not just another number," said Conklin. "He has a face. He has a name."
Kaiden's mother, Tatianna Light, is being charged with second degree murder of smothering her son with a pillow.
Light is being held in Greene County Jail awaiting the next pre-trial on September 9.

http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=500887

Springfield, MO — An alleged victim of child abuse would have turned
one-year-old Monday, but little Kaiden Light won't make it to his party.
His
mother, 24-year-old Tatianna Light, is in the Greene County Jail. She
is charged with his murder after she admitted to smothering the little
boy with a pillow, according to court documents.
Kaiden was just two months old when he died.
Sunday,
bubbles and prayers were offered in memorial to Kaiden. The event
wasn't just to honor the young child, it also served to spread awareness
of a deadly problem in Greene County.
"He was a perfect little boy, a happy little boy. Loved to smile,
loved to laugh. Loved to watch the ceiling fans. One of those sweet
innocent lives that loved the little things," said his grandmother.
Family, friends of the family, and strangers gathered to celebrate a life lost too soon at Nathanael Greene Park.
Deborah
Conkiln was the two-month-old's caretaker. She called him her "little
prince" and helped to organize his birthday party. Instead of a happy
one-year-old eating cake, there was an empty highchair.
"I held
him the night he was born and I was there holding his hand when the
doctors were trying to save him. And then I held him after they called
his time of death. That is when I promised him, with every part of me,
I'm sorry that my voice wasn't loud enough for you, but I would make
sure it would be for any other child," said Conkiln. "I don't want to
see another family go through this, nobody should have to, nobody should
have to put a little bitty casket in the ground."
Pamphlets and
fliers explaining the dangers of child abuse lined covered tables, while
streamers hung from the ceiling of the pavilion. Kids ran around the
park, getting their face painted and knocking down pinatas, while
members of Bikers Against Child Abuse looked on.
"Missouri is the
fifth worst state in the nation for child abuse and in 2009, there were
113 children in the state of Missouri who died due to abuse and neglect
and they died at the hands of their caregivers. This is an unacceptable
statistic," explained Richard "Mopar" Gold, spokesperson for Bikers
Against Child Abuse. "Greene county is the worst county in the state.
Government estimates are that as many as 70% of the children in Greene
County will suffer some form of abuse before the age of 18."
The
mission of Bikers Against Child Abuse, or B.A.C.A is to empower abused
children to not be afraid of their world or abuser. They typically
provide comfort to children and help ready them to stand trial.
Click here for a link to the B.A.C.A. international website.
Missouri
State Representative Sara Lampe knows all too well the problem of child
abuse. As a former principle and current legislator, she's noticed a
disturbing trend in the Ozarks.
"Sometimes when we grow up in the
Ozarks, we think we have this attitude. You do your thing, I'll do mine.
I don't want to be in your business. But the reality is, if we care
about kids, we may need to look out for the children around us. That
means being a good neighbor, that means being a good community person as
well," said Lampe.
Andrea Burns helped to organize Kaiden's event. She is a mother of two and close friend of Conkiln.
"We
need to come together as a community; we need to protect those
children. It's our job, because they can't take care of themselves. We
have to do it," Burns said. "We want to make people aware that it
happens a lot more than you know. And for all you know, it could be your
neighbor, you just never know and you just need to keep your eyes open
to it. These children don't have to die, they don't have to suffer, it
can be prevented."
Gold had a strong message, for anyone who may be tempted to stay silent.
"Report
these crimes, these crimes are a tragedy. They are a crime against our
society and a crime against our children. And our children are our hope
for a better future. Help us break these chains of abuse. Help us
intervene, help us put an end to child abuse," he said.
For Conkiln, the fight for Kaiden will be a fight for all children.
"I
won't ever give up the fight for him, he won't die in vain," she said,
her eyes brimming with tears. "I won't ever let him become just another
number. He's Kaiden James."
Many family members plan to attend Kaiden's grave on his birthday Monday.
Meanwhile
Kaiden's mother, Light, is scheduled for a pretrial conference at 9
a.m. on September 9. She is charged with felony second degree murder.
"I
lost two people that day. And a lot of people don't realize that. I
lost my grandson that day and I lost my daughter that day," said Light's
mother.
If you suspect someone is being abused, call 911 and
contact the child abuse hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD. The hotline is open
24 hours a day and tipsters can remain anonymous.


http://articles.kspr.com/2011-08-07/bikers-against-child-abuse_29862612

Attorney for mother charged with son's death wants confessions dismissed
Mother's statements about child's death changed over time

The attorney for a woman accused of killing her infant son has indicated a desire to get the defendant's alleged confession thrown out.

In a hearing Friday morning, Public Defender Shara Martin told the judge she plans to file a motion to suppress in coming weeks. Martin represents Tatianna Light, 24, of Springfield.

Light is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her son, Kaiden.

"She described suffocating him for approximately one hour," the probable cause statement in the case said. "During that time period she stopped and saw he was still alive, then continued until he was no longer breathing or moving."

That was her second story to police, court documents show.

When police first arrived at the home at 2003 N. Travis Ave. in October, Light told authorities she had lain her son down on her bed while she was doing laundry. When she returned, she said, she found her son not breathing and on his stomach, according to the probable cause statement to police.

Police became suspicious after Light told officers at the scene that she undressed him, cleaned him, performed CPR for more than 30 minutes and then called a family member for advice before authorities were called.

The story changed when she got to police headquarters, authorities said.

After being confronted about the discrepancies in her story, she allegedly admitted to using pillows to suffocate the baby.

But the story changed a third time after Light was in jail for about a month.

In a letter to a judge, Light describes accidentally falling on her son after tripping.

"I didn't want to tell the detectives all of this (what I wrote in here) because I didn't want to sound dumb, or clumsy. It also doesn't sound real. But it's the truth," Light wrote.

But in yet another letter months later, Light told a different judge she wanted to plead guilty. Light has never formally pleaded guilty in court.

The hearing on the request to throw out the alleged confession is scheduled for November.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011109100352

Life In Prison For Springfield Mother Who Smothered Her 2-Month-Old Son

By Nancy Simpson. CREATED Feb 24, 2014

A woman from Springfield who pleaded guilty to murdering her two-month-old son has been sentenced to life in prison.

Tatianna Light smothered baby Kaiden with a pillow for an hour nearly four years ago, even as a case worker was knocking on the door.

Light had just gotten the baby back from a family member the day before.  Letting someone else care for the infant was an effort by the state to try and keep the baby safe.

At her sentencing, Light says she's sorry and was addicted to drugs at the time.

Edited from a press release from the Greene County Prosecutor's office:

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson announces that on Friday, February 21, 2014, Tatianna N. Light, 27, of Springfield, Missouri was sentenced to life in prison for smothering her two month old son, Kaiden Light, to death in October 2010. Light previously pled guilty to murder in the second degree on the day her trial was set to begin in December 2013. Prior to his death, Kaiden had been voluntarily placed with a family member as part of a safety plan instituted by Children’s Division.

The defendant complied with all the requests of Children’s Division and Kaiden was returned to the defendant on October 4, 2010. On October 5, 2010, the defendant smothered two-month old Kaiden to death with a pillow over the course of an hour. After she killed him, the defendant did laundry, cleaned, and re-dressed the child before calling 911. Initially, the defendant told police that the baby had rolled over and suffocated while she was out of the room. When detectives confronted her with the inconsistencies in her story, the defendant admitted that she had smothered her child to death with the pillows in her bedroom.

She admitted that she had been having thoughts of killing Kaiden for about a month and that she killed him because she was tired of everyone telling her that she wasn’t ready to have a child and she couldn’t take care of him. She further confessed that, during the time she was smothering Kaiden, she heard knocking on the door.

The knock on the door was a Children’s Division worker scheduled to do a home visit on that day.

Though Light heard the knocking she continued to smother Kaiden. After she confessed, the defendant began asking police to take her to the “psych unit” and insisted that, if she went to jail, she would kill herself.

She further told the officers that she knew “two things to say to be taken to the psych unit without going to jail.

” When she did not get assurances from the detectives that she would be taken to the “psych unit”, the defendant made several threats to kill herself and the only way the police could stop her from killing herself was if they took her to the “psych unit.”

After the defendant was charged in connection with Kaiden’s death, the defendant wrote a letter to the judge who was presiding over her case at the time and claimed that she tripped over her dog, fell on Kaiden and accidentally suffocated Kaiden.

At the sentencing, First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Wan requested life in prison, the maximum sentence, for the murder. In support of that request, the Prosecution noted that this was not an individual who snapped as evidenced by the fact that Light admitted to thinking about killing Kaiden for about a month, that it took an hour to kill Kaiden, that Kaiden had likely suffered, and that any remorse the defendant now showed was insincere as demonstrated by how long it took for her to plead guilty and the many inconsistent stories she told others.

The Prosecution also noted that the defendant had many resources and alternatives to killing Kaiden, including the Children’s Division worker who was standing on her porch as she was killing her child. The Children’s Division worker testified at the sentencing that she was always encouraging to the defendant and that her goal was to help the Light be a good mother to her son. Several other witnesses presented victim impact statements and spoke about how Kaiden touched their lives and how Kaiden’s death affected them. The defendant’s attorney requested mercy from the judge, citing the defendant’s turbulent and abusive childhood, as well as her history of mental health issues.

The defense argued that the defendant had been overwhelmed by the demands placed on her by Children’s Division, her feelings that a family friend might be trying to steal her son from her, and that she simply snapped and killed her son. At sentencing, the defendant claimed that she was very sorry for Kaiden’s death.

She stated that she was a drug addict and took more medication than she should have in an effort to get high. She claimed she heard voices through all the medication that told her to kill Kaiden and she went through with it. Judge Cordonnier firmly rejected the defense’s argument.

During the sentencing, the Judge noted that the defendant had not shown any responsibility in the three years since she killed her son. He noted the defendant had told many inconsistent stories regarding the death of her son and her most recent story given at sentencing was inconsistent with her confession. Judge Cordonnier noted that the defendant’s behavior throughout the investigation was “manipulative”, especially her demands to be taken to the “psych unit” after her confession. Judge Cordonnier Subject: Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Press Release, State v. Light, 1031-CR06691-01 declined to speculate on why the defendant killed her son, but noted that everything indicated to him that there was something “sinister” going on. Judge Cordonnier then sentenced Tatianna Light to life in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Murder in the second degree is a dangerous felony, so the defendant will have to serve twenty- five and one half years in prison before she is eligible to be considered for parole.



http://www.jrn.com/ktts/news/Life-In-Prison-For-Springfield-Mother-Who-Smothered-Her-2-Month-Old-Son-246924851.html
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