MAGGIE MAY TRAMMEL-FIDDLER - 10 Days (2010) - Bartlesville (N of Tulsa) OK

Bartlesville Police have arrested the mother of a ten-day-old infant girl who died after being found in a running washing machine.

Police arrested Lyndsey Fiddler on an unrelated case and after taking her in for questioning, arrested her on a complaint of second degree manslaughter. Police are now handing their case over to the district attorney's office.Bartlesville Police Chief Tim Holland informs that Thursday evening a frantic call came in to 911 with a lady saying "my baby is dead, you killed my baby. Officers were dispatched to the home where they found the infant dead inside a washing machine.Chief Holland says what they do know is the aunt came to the home to check on the family and that, when she arrived, she found the mother asleep and two smaller children in the home but no sign of the infant.

The aunt heard the washing machine out-of-balance and went to check it out. When she lifted the lid, she found the infant dead inside.Chief Holland says his entire department is struggling with this death and in his forty years in law enforcement he has never experienced something so horrible.

Fiddler's two other children are with other family members.

A 26-year-old mother is being held on drug charges while authorities investigate the Thursday death of her 10-day-old daughter, who was allegedly placed in a washing machine that was running.Police in Oklahoma call it one of the most difficult cases they've ever had.Lyndsey Fiddler was booked into the jail in Bartlesville on a failure to appear for a court review on an April arrest for possessing drugs. She was charged with second-degree manslaughter.A relative told investigators she went to the home and found the mother asleep and had a hard time waking her. The aunt said she found the baby inside the washer. When Fiddler placed a call to 911 all she said was, "My baby is dead."Fiddler originally claimed to 911 the infant had been killed by a family member.Two young boys in the home have been taken by the Department of Human Services.

In this story, she lived with a relative. How can doctors and nurses let these woman take home a precious baby after giving birth when they are drug addicts? She was arrested for drugs when she was 4 months pregnant and should never have been allowed to keep that poor baby. WTH is wrong with people and a system who let that happen? It was obviously acceptable to the relative she lived with as well that she had a 3 day bender while she had custody of children. Society and human behaviour is revolting these days.

Newborn found dead in washing machine



The ten-day-old baby who died.

The child's mother Lyndsey Fiddler.

Nov 08, 2010
A ten-day-old baby girl died in Oklahoma after being placed in a washing machine for an entire spin cycle. The child's mother Lyndsey Fiddler has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after she put her daughter into the machine along with a pile of laundry. The death left many of the emergency crews and police who responded to the incident in tears, with a veteran police chief admitting it was the most tragic crime scene he had ever seen, The Daily Mail reports. A family member, Rhonda Coshatt, who also lived with Ms Fiddler, told police she saw Fiddler leave the living room with the baby saying she was going to feed her, according to a police search warrant. A short time later, Ms Fiddler reportedly returned to the living room without the baby and passed out on a couch. Ms Coshatt went looking for the baby and could not find her, the warrant stated. Ms Coshatt then found the baby inside the washing machine after hearing loud, banging noises coming from the laundry. Ms Coshatt told police Fiddler had "been up for three days using meth" and that she thought she smelled methamphetamine burning in a bathroom earlier in the day, the warrant stated. Paramedics tried to revive the newborn baby after she was pulled out of the washing machine but she was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Her two older children, aged four and three, were taken into care by social workers. Ms Fiddler has previously been arrested for assault, driving without a license and not having her two older children in car seats. She was also arrested in April for taking drugs when she was four months pregnant.

The story of a Bartlesville baby killed in a washing machine brought a mother to Tulsa all the way from North Carolina.Barbara Harris and her oldest son are far from home, spreading a message that's close to their hearts. Their goal is to break the cycle of drug and alcohol addiction, starting with mothers."Every time we write a check I feel like we've spared innocent children from suffering," Barbara Harris, with Project Prevention, said.Harris came to Green Country because she heard about little Maggie May, the ten-day-old Bartlesville baby who was found dead in a washing machine on November 4, 2010.The baby's mother, Lyndsey Fiddler, is behind bars accused of the crime. Both Fiddler and little Maggie May tested positive for drugs."It bothered me because I knew it was preventable," Harris said.Harris' organization, Project Prevention, pays addicts to get on long-term or permanent birth control. She started it, after raising four children who were born to the same drug addicted mother."I was actually very frustrated because I had to watch my babies withdraw from drugs," she said. "I had to watch how they suffered. And I just don't think its ok for anybody to infringe their drug habit on an innocent human being."Harris spoke at Maggie May's memorial and joined the candlelight vigil afterwards. But she wants the baby girl's memory burned into the hearts of Green Country long after the candles go out."That's nice that they came. And then they'll go home, they go to bed and it's forgotten. There's thousands, hundreds of thousands of children like Maggie May who survived who are in the foster care system or waiting to be adopted. They need someone to care about them too," she said.That's why Harris is beating the streets, sharing her story with law enforcement and taping up flyers, so no child will have to suffer like Maggie May.Barbara Harris practices what she preaches.She's already adopted and raised four drug-exposed babies. Now she's planning on adopting eight Michigan siblings who were also drug-exposed, because she can't bear to break up the family.

A report released Tuesday shows that Department of Human Services workers investigated the mother of a 10-day-old infant found dead in a washing machine six times before the baby’s death on Nov. 4.

Among the complaints was a report that a relative had died in the home from a drug overdose and that other relatives failed to report the death for seven hours because they were “shooting up speed” when the relative died.

The report, issued by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth Office of Juvenile System Oversight on the death of 10-day-old Maggie Trammel, indicates there had been several reports regarding the care of Trammel and two other children, ages 5 and 8, in the home. The reports dated as far back as March 2009.

Trammel’s mother, 26-year-old Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler, is currently being held on $100,000 bond on charges of child neglect.

Fiddler’s case has garnered national attention since the baby’s death was reported.

According to the OCCY report, the first complaint, which was made on March 27, 2009, stated that Fiddler’s children were reported to have been absent from day care. Fiddler stated the children had been sick.

“The reporter stated that Lyndsey Fiddler and the children lived with a relative until about two or three weeks earlier when they were thrown out. The reporter was concerned about the children’s safety,” the report states.

DHS reportedly accepted the report and screened it out on April 4 as “Not Child Abuse/Neglect,” and documented that “no information was given that stated the children’s welfare was at substantial risk of serious neglect or physical danger.”

The second report, on Oct. 12, 2009, said that Fiddler and two other adults living in the home “all used drugs in front of the children” and that “the adults passed out from drug use” and that “one of the adults was so high that they fell asleep in their food.”

The report stated that a 5-year-old “walked down to the end of the road and the adults did not know where the child had gone.” DHS reportedly concluded at that time that there were “high red flags” regarding Fiddler’s drug use — and that she reportedly tested positive in a drug screen — but found that the children were not in danger, appearing “clean, appropriately dressed and developmentally on target.”

In the third report, it was stated on April 8, Fiddler had been arrested on charges of drug possession and had tried to smuggle drugs into the jail before bonding out. The reporting party indicated that they were concerned that Fiddler had “left the children with an inappropriate caretaker in the past.” Nine days later, DHS concluded that the report was “Not Child Abuse/Neglect.”

The fourth report, which was made on June 21, alleged that a relative of Fiddler had “died in her home of a drug overdose” while Fiddler was pregnant with Trammel. The report states that the children were taken from the home by another relative but that “an additional relative wanted the children to stay there but kept passing out from drugs while trying to argue the point.”

Fiddler reportedly told the relative to take the children because she did not have food in the home. The report states there was no refrigerator in the home and the children were hungry and dirty.

DHS concluded at that time that there was a “red flag” due to drug use but that DHS was “unable to prove neglect or abuse of the children.”

The fifth report, dated Sept. 14, stated “concern for the unborn child of Lyndsey Fiddler and said that she was “taking prescription drugs to the point of not being able to walk down stairs, having slurred speech” and was due to deliver her baby in late October. The report was screened out nine days later, recommending that the care of Fiddler’s two other children be assessed.

The final report, prior the baby’s death, was made on Oct. 25, two days after the baby’s birth, saying that “Fiddler had given birth and had reportedly used drugs throughout her pregnancy.” DHS had reportedly contacted nine collateral witnesses regarding the report and the investigation was still open at the time of Trammel’s death. The report noted that “Fiddler was willing to work on parenting services.”

Three more reports were made to DHS following the infant’s death, including one the day after the baby’s death saying that there was concern that “the surviving siblings had not been removed from the home.” DHS at that time documented that “the children were placed voluntarily with relatives who were seeking legal guardianship.”

According to an affidavit filed in the case by Bartlesville police, when questioned, Fiddler reportedly denied “knowing how her baby got placed into the washing machine,” and she reportedly denied that she used methamphetamine ‘anymore.’”

A drug screen administered by police following her arrest, however, reportedly returned positive results for “methamphetamine, amphetamines, benzodiazepine and opiates.”

When contacted today, DHS officials said they are unable to comment on specific cases, but did offer some insight into DHS policy.

According to Dixie Clayborn, local DHS intake supervisor, child welfare workers investigate each complaint in compliance with the agency’s policies and state law.

“Our office receives referrals and they are assigned when they meet the criteria that is laid out for us as state statutes (require),” Clayborn said.

“When we arrive in the home, we look over everything that was mentioned in the referral. Sometimes it is all true, and other times we find that nothing in the referral was represented accurately.

“All concerning factors are researched to the extent the law allows DHS to do so.”

Clayborn said the agency’s policy does not allow drug testing to be done during an investigation or assessment.

She said the agency considers all available information when deciding what actions to take regarding a referral.

“We take current information that we receive as well as historical information,” she said. “Basically, we’re putting together a big picture puzzle as to what is happening. Any information that people want to give us concerning the welfare of children is taken very seriously.”

TRAGIC-HEARTBREAKING-PREVENTABLE!
RIP sweet little baby

A preliminary hearing for a woman accused in the death of her infant daughter has been delayed a second time. Twenty-six-year-old
Lyndsey Fiddler is charged with felony child neglect after her
10-day-old daughter Maggie Mae was found dead in a washing machine in
November. A judge granted a request for a continuance on the preliminary hearing which was supposed to begin Tuesday. They're waiting on a report from the state Bureau of Investigation and from the medical examiner's office.

Fiddler is due back in court March 10th.http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/preliminary-hearing-delayed-for-mom-suspected-in-baby%27s-death-in-bartlesville

Mom charged with washing machine death




Published: April 27, 2011 at 7:27 PM

BARTLESVILLE, Okla., April 27 (UPI) -- An Oklahoma woman accused of
drowning her baby daughter in a washing machine pleaded not guilty
Wednesday morning.
Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler, 26, of Bartlesville is charged with
first-degree murder and child neglect, the Bartlesville
Examiner-Enterprise reported. Fiddler, who is being held in lieu of
$100,000 bail, made a brief court appearance for arraignment.
District Judge Curtis DeLapp scheduled trial for July 27.
Police reports said an aunt found 10-day-old Maggie May Trammel mixed
in with laundry in the machine in November. An autopsy determined the
baby died by drowning.
Fiddler allegedly told police she did not know what happened or how the baby got into the machine.

Hearing passed in washing machine death

By Tim Hudson thudson@examiner-enterprise.com
Friday, July 15, 2011 2:35 PM CDT

A hearing in the case of a Bartlesville woman implicated in the death of her 10-day-old infant last year has been passed.

Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler, 26, had been scheduled for a hearing yesterday on a
pre-trial ruling on proposed jury instructions but the matter was passed to July 25.

Fiddler has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and child neglect.

Fiddler is now scheduled to appear in court July 27 on the trial docket, which is in anticipation of a jury trial.

Fiddler’s case has garnered national attention since it was reported that her
10-day-old baby, Maggie May Trammel, was found dead in a washing machine on Nov. 4, 2010.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed
in the case, police received a report that a baby had been found in a
washing machine by her great-aunt at a residence in the 500 block of
Southeast Shawnee Avenue.
After trying unsuccessfully to wake Fiddler, the
baby’s aunt said she heard the washing machine come on and when she
went to check it, she found the “10-day-old infant, mixed in with the
laundry” inside, the report states. She reportedly said that she
immediately knew the child was dead.

Witness reportedly told
police that Fiddler had been using drugs. She reportedly denied knowing
how the baby got placed in the washing machine.

Autopsy reports showed the baby died by drowning.

Unofficial reports indicate two other children were removed from Fiddler’s home by
the Department of Human Services following the incident.

Fiddler was bound over for trial on the charges on March 10 following a
preliminary hearing. She remains in the Washington County Jail on
$100,000 bond.

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - A Bartlesville woman accused of drowning her
infant daughter in a washing machine last November appeared in court
Monday where the court heard arguments by her defense on his motion to
quash her charge of first-degree murder.
26-year-old Lyndsey
Fiddler is accused of first-degree murder and child neglect for the
death of her 10-day-old infant, Maggie May Trammel.
During the
hearing, Fiddler's defense attorney, Mark Kane, argued that according to
Oklahoma state law the charge of murder in the first degree is not
applicable in cases of child neglect but rather in cases of child abuse
by the defendant or when the defendant was enabling child abuse.
He
said to cause a child's death by neglect is called manslaughter in the
second degree. Saying this, he asked the court to quash the charge of
first degree murder due to insufficient evidence.
The judge after
taking countering statements by state prosecution said the court would
be taking the statements under advisement and set the next court date
for August 3.
Fiddler is being held at the Washington County jail on a $500,000 bond.
Police
and emergency medical workers on Nov. 4 last year arrived to the 500
block of Shawnee Avenue to investigate a 911 call where the mother
reported a dead baby.
A relative reportedly told police on scene
she had found the baby dead in the washing machine. She said she found
the mother asleep and difficult to wake, said the police report.
Court documents showed Fiddler later tested positive for methamphetamine, opiates and prescription drugs.


http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/bartlesvillelive/woman-accused-in-infant-washing-machine-death-appears-in-court

Judge rules in Fiddler case

By Tim Hudson thudson@examiner-enterprise.com
Thursday, August 4, 2011 3:52 PM CDT

A Washington County judge
ruled for the state in the matter of proposed jury instructions for a
Bartlesville woman implicated in the death of her 10-day-old infant.

District
Judge Curtis DeLapp on Thursday ruled that the defendant, Lyndsey Dawn
Fiddler, 26, will face charges of first-degree murder and child neglect
in a trial set for Aug. 29.

The ruling came after a pre-trial
hearing on July 25 on the matter. By definition, jury instructions are
the set of rules that jurors follow when the jury is deciding a case.
The instructions are given to the jury by the presiding judge, who
usually reads them aloud. They are often clarification on the actual
charges, along with instructions on the process of deliberation.

For more on this story see Friday’s edition of the Examiner-Enterprise.


http://www.examiner-enterprise.com/articles/2011/08/04/news/news211.txt

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - The Bartlesville mother accused of killing her
newborn baby in a washing machine last November has waived her right to a
jury trial.
Lyndsey Fiddler's trial for first degree murder would have begun August 29.
Fiddler's
attorney tried to get rid of the charge, arguing that Oklahoma state
law says first degree murder is not applicable in cases of child
neglect, but rather in cases of child abuse.
She will now appear in court for sentencing August 23

Read more: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/mother-accused-of-killing-child-waives-right-to-jury-trial#ixzz1UmKxQQjO

Woman lodges guilty plea in infant neglect death

BARTLESVILLE - A woman whose 10-day-old baby was found dead in a washing machine in November pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges of second-degree manslaughter and child neglect.

Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler, 27, who was charged with first-degree murder and felony child neglect, entered the plea in Washington County District Court.

The Washington County District Attorney's Office amended her charge this week from first-degree murder to manslaughter.

"The Washington County District Attorney's Office is acutely aware of the outrage felt by our community following Maggie Mae Trammel's death," District Attorney Kevin Buchanan said in a prepared statement.

"Given the challenges facing my office in prosecuting this case to a successful and desirable verdict, I believe that an appropriate and just outcome has been reached for Ms. Fiddler's surviving children and all others personally involved and affected by the case."

The manslaughter charge carries a maximum prison sentence of four years. The child-neglect charge carries a maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and up to life in prison.

Prosecutors are recommending a four-year prison sentence on the manslaughter charge and a split 30-year sentence - with 15 years to be served in prison and 15 on probation - on the child-neglect charge. They are recommending that the sentences be served concurrently.

A child-neglect conviction requires that the defendant serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

In explaining the change from a first-degree murder charge to a second-degree manslaughter charge, Buchanan noted that Fiddler's case posed "unique factual and legal circumstances."

"These unusual circumstances created difficult evidentiary issues, including limited samples of Ms. Fiddler's blood to prove the quantity of drugs in her system," Buchanan said. "After extensive review and discussion of the events that led to the death of Maggie Mae Trammel, the evidence does not indicate the defendant intentionally killed her child."

The deceased infant's body was found Nov. 4 in a washing machine that had just completed its spin cycle. Fiddler and her great-aunt, Rhonda Coshatt, were the two adults in the home at the time.

During a preliminary hearing in Fiddler's case, several police officers testified that they could not say for sure which woman had put the baby in the washing machine.

Fiddler had told police she had fed the baby and put her down to sleep and then took a nap herself. When she awoke, her family was searching for the baby, whose body eventually was found in the washing machine.

Maggie drowned in the washing machine, the state Medical Examiner's Office ruled. The agency ruled that the death was a homicide.

The autopsy report noted that the baby had numerous cuts and bruises consistent with the conditions that would be endured "while in the washing machine during a wash cycle."

No drugs or alcohol were in the baby's system, according to toxicology tests.

In documents presented to the court and read aloud by District Judge Curtis DeLapp on Tuesday, the question of who placed the baby in the washer remains unanswered.

Coshatt told authorities that Fiddler had been using methamphetamine for three days before the baby's death. Tests showed that Fiddler had methamphetamine, amphetamine, opiates and benzodiazepine in her system at the time of her arrest.

Fiddler admitted in a court document that her use of methamphetamine and other drugs resulted in the baby's death.

"(My aunt) was high on morphine, and I was high on methamphetamine," Fiddler stated in the document. "I do not know which of us put her in the machine, but I do not think either of us did it on purpose."

Formal sentencing in the case is set for Oct. 5.

DeLapp ordered a presentencing investigation for Fiddler, who acknowledged that she has been treated in the past for bipolar disorder and depression.

DeLapp repeatedly questioned Fiddler, asking whether she understood that she would be required to serve at least 85 percent of the 15 years in prison recommended by prosecutors.

Buchanan indicated that the timing of the sentence recommended was intentional.

"Consideration was given that the recommended sentence will ensure that the defendant's surviving minor children will reach the age of majority before Ms. Fiddler is released and therefore they will not be placed back into her custody," Buchanan said.
Statement from the Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan:

Today, Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler entered pleas of guilty to the charges of Manslaughter 2nd Degree and Child Neglect, ending a nine-month long investigation and prosecution that has been the focus of the Washington County District Attorney’s Office and the Bartlesville Police Department since these crimes occurred in November 2010.

This case has reached a positive resolution in large part due to the hard work and professionalism of the Bartlesville Police Department.

This case involved unique factual and legal circumstances that resulted in the tragic death of Maggie Mae Trammel, the defendant’s ten-day old infant. These unusual circumstances created difficult evidentiary issues, including limited samples of Ms. Fiddler’s blood to prove the quantity of drugs in her system. After extensive review and discussion of the events that lead to the death of Maggie Mae Trammel, the evidence does not indicate that the Defendant intentionally killed her child.

Ms. Fiddler’s conscious decision to ingest Methamphetamine, along with other prescription medication, directly led to the death of Maggie Mae. The Defendant’s intoxication rendered her incapable of caring for her child and exposed her infant to the consequences of illegal drug use.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office has made this case a priority and has dedicated many long hours and resources to this successful prosecution. The culmination of this work has led this office to recommend that the Defendant be sentenced to 30 years with 15 years to be served in the Department of Corrections.

The crime of Child Neglect is categorized as a violent crime and requires the Defendant to serve eight-five percent of her incarceration before becoming eligible for parole.

Parole is not mandated upon reaching eighty-five percent of the Defendant’s sentence. Consideration was given that the recommended sentence will ensure that the Defendant’s surviving minor children will reach the age of majority before Ms. Fiddler is released and therefore they will not be placed back into her custody.

After release from incarceration, the Defendant will be closely supervised for an additional fifteen years. In the event of future violations of the law or rules of probation the Defendant will be subject to serving the remainder of the sentence in jail.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office is acutely aware of the outrage felt by our community following Maggie Mae Trammel’s death. Given the challenges facing my office in prosecuting this case to a successful and desirable verdict, I believe that an appropriate and just outcome has been reached for Ms. Fiddler’s surviving children and all others personally involved and affected by this case.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20110824_12_A1_CUTLIN760988

B'ville woman whose baby died in washing machine speaks in report

Last Modified: 10/4/2011  10:40 PM

BARTLESVILLE — Lyndsey Fiddler said she has been “waking up every day to the same bad dream” since Nov. 4, when her 10-day-old daughter was found dead in a washing machine.
In a presentencing investigation report filed in her case, Fiddler insists that she did not kill her daughter, Maggie May Trammel.

“It sucks being me,” Fiddler states in the report. “Everybody has made it out like I’m a monster. I want the truth to come out, but I know it never will.”

Fiddler said she lives daily with the impact of Maggie May’s death.

“I am guilty of child neglect, and I lost my daughter,” she states. “I know I am not the victim in this case, but I wish I would have died (and) not her. There’s nobody that can hurt me any worse than I’ve been hurt now.”

Washington County District Judge Curtis DeLapp will sentence Fiddler, 27, on Wednesday on charges of child neglect and second-degree manslaughter. She pleaded guilty to the counts in August.

District Attorney Kevin Buchanan has recommended a four-year prison sentence on the manslaughter charge and a split 30-year sentence — with 15 years in prison followed by 15 years of probation — on the neglect charge with the sentences to be served concurrently.

Despite testing positive for numerous drugs, Fiddler said she knows everything that happened on the day and night of her daughter’s death and remembers putting the baby to sleep in a bassinet before lying down to take a nap.

Fiddler said that when she awoke, her other children were screaming and her aunt Rhonda Coshatt was pulling the baby out of the washing machine.

“I know I’m not the one who put my baby in that washing machine, but I can’t prove that I did or didn’t,” Fiddler states in the report. “I know in my heart I did not kill my baby.”

William Alexander, a Bartlesville probation and parole officer who prepared the presentencing investigation report, recommended incarceration for Fiddler.

“The community is justifiably outraged by the loss of an innocent life in such a manner,” he states in the report. “The impact of the crime affects not only the immediate parties related to the victim, but the entire community.”

Buchanan originally charged Fiddler with first-degree murder but amended the charge to manslaughter in August, noting that there were “unique factual and legal circumstances” in the case.

He said the evidence does not point to Fiddler intentionally killing her child; however, her “conscious decision to ingest methamphetamine, along with other prescription medication, directly led to the death” of the baby.

During the 11 months since her daughter’s death, Fiddler has been in the Washington County Jail with bail set at $100,000 while her two sons — ages 6 and 9 — have been in the custody of a relative.

Coshatt, the only other adult present on the night the baby died, could not be located by authorities to be interviewed in connection with the presentencing report. Investigators determined that she had left Bartlesville for Coffeyville, Kan., but then left that residence without a forwarding address.

During Fiddler’s preliminary hearing in March, Coshatt testified that Fiddler had been doing methamphetamine the day before the baby died.

Coshatt also testified that she had taken morphine that night for back pain.

In a previous court document, Fiddler states that Coshatt “was high on morphine and I was high on methamphetamine. I do not know which of us put her (the baby) in the machine, but I do not think either of us did it on purpose.”

The District Attorney’s Office has said it wants Fiddler to remain in prison long enough to avoid ever having custody of her children again, Fiddler says in the report that she hopes she will “get out to at least see my other kids before they are grown.”

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20111004_12_0_BARTLE94237

B'ville woman gets 15-year prison term in 10-day-old baby's death


Lyndsey Fiddler leaves a courtroom in the Washington County Courthouse, after being sentenced in the washing machine death of her daughter Maggie May Trammel, Wednesday in Bartlesville. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Last Modified: 10/5/2011  11:06 AM

BARTLESVILLE – A 27-year-old Bartlesville woman was sentenced to prison Wednesday in the death of her 10-day-old daughter whose body was found in a washing machine.

Washington County District Judge Curtis DeLapp, following the District Attorney’s Office recommendation, sentenced Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler to 30 years in prison with 15 years to serve on a child neglect charge and to four years in prison on a second degree manslaughter charge.

Fiddler plead guilty in August to the charges in the Nov. 4 death of Maggie May Trammel.

“Good luck, Ms. Fiddler,” DeLapp said at the conclusion of the sentencing, which included $1,500 in fines, substance abuse counseling and a requirement to register as a violent offender.

A few supporters gathered in the courtroom and followed Fiddler down the hall to the elevator as she made the trip back to the jail where she has been held since November. Fiddler requested that she be sent to prison as soon as possible.

Since her arrest, Fiddler has repeatedly said that she does not know how her baby got into the washing machine where her body was found just after the spin cycle had been completed.

Fiddler tested positive for several drugs, including methamphetamine, when she was arrested.

In a presentencing investigation, Fiddler said she is guilty of child neglect because of her drug use, but she does not believe she put the infant in the washing machine.

“I know everybody has slammed me, and I deserve some slamming for taking care of my children while on drugs, but I know I would not hurt my children. I never have,” Fiddler stated. “It’s all so bad and everyone has spent so much time putting me down. I feel like it’s them against me.”

Assistant District Attorney Will Drake represented the prosecution in the sentencing, while court-appointed attorney Mark Kane stood by Fiddler. No witnesses were called during the hearing, which took place in a courtroom crowded with other defendants awaiting their turn before the judge.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan initially charged Fiddler with first-degree murder but amended the charge in August, saying the “evidence does not indicate the defendant intentionally killed her child.”

Child neglect is defined in the state of Oklahoma as a violent crime that requires the defendant to serve 85 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole. When Fiddler is released from prison, she will be under supervised probation.

Fiddler’s two surviving children, ages 6 and 9, now live with a relative. Buchanan indicated that the length of her sentence was intended to ensure that they would be adults when she is released from the Corrections Department.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20111005_12_0_BARTLE281278