Stacie Brown, and her attorney Timothy Lemon, were in Starke Circuit Court yesterday afternoon to accept a plea agreement that has been worked out with the Prosecutor’s office. Brown pleaded guilty to Battery Causing Death, a Class A Felony, and the State dropped the second count of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death.
In a sometimes quivering voice, Brown answered in the affirmative when Judge Kim Hall asked her if she understood all of the ramifications of pleading guilty, and if she was freely making the plea.
A jury trial was to have begun next week in the case where Brown was charged with killing her three-year-old stepson, Ethan Brown, in June after pushing him to the ground causing his head to fracture.
Brown will be back in court on February 14th for a sentencing hearing, in which attorneys for the defense and prosecution will present their cases for length of term on the sentence. The minimum sentence is 30 years and the maximum is 50 years.
Both sides said they would call witnesses. At the end of the testimony, Judge Hall will either accept or reject the plea agreement. If he accepts the agreement, he will then announce his sentencing decision.
