Stacie Brown, 35, of Knox, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for causing the death of her stepson, three-year-old Ethan Brown on June 9th, 2011.
Knox Police Department Detective David Combs was on the witness stand almost two hours describing the case in detail. Brown had been charged with one felony count of battery resulting in death. Another count of Neglect of a Dependent was dropped in a plea bargain arrangement.
Combs told how Brown had pushed the child down, causing him to suffer life-ending fractures. The child remained in the family home for hours before being taken to the emergency room of the hospital. An IU Health Starke Hospital ER Nurse notified the authorities that she suspected child abuse.
The child was flown to Memorial Hospital in South Bend where the suspicions were confirmed. Ethan eventually died of the injuries.
Also taking the stand yesterday were the child’s mother, father, step-father, aunt, grandmother, and grandfather. A 15 minute video of the child was shown that portrayed happy moments with his mother and others.
Following the announcement of the sentence, Ethan Brown’s mother, Kristin Siebolt, said that she felt that “justice had been served.” On the stand she said, “Even though I’m haunted by how he may have died, I forgive you, Stacie Brown, and hope that through the grace of God you find salvation.” Other family members expressed similar thoughts, saying, “without our deep faith in Jesus we could have never made it through this ordeal.
On the stand, the father Trampes Brown, “I ask for forgiveness of you, Stacie, and as crazy as it sounds a part of me still loves you.”
Before sentencing, Stacie Brown said that she was extremely sorry to have taken the life of Ethan. She said, “I let my emotion get the best of me.” In questioning by Judge Kim Hall about bruises found on the child’s face, Brown said she did not put them there. She said that he had the bruises when he came for the weekend. That was contradicted by the boy’s biological mother.
Stacie Brown is the mother of four other children, including a girl she had with Trampes Brown.
