Court Docs: boyfriend accused of assisting in death of 2-year-old
Court Docs: Mother charged with murder; boyfriend accused of assisting in death of 2-year-old
Source: KiddNation / Kidd Nation
INDIANAPOLIS — A mother in Indianapolis neglect charges have escalated to murder following the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Skylar Gardner.
33-year-old Chantell Gardner, who previously faced neglect charges, now stands accused of murder. Her boyfriend is being charged with assisting a criminal.
As WRTV previously reported, a probable cause affidavit revealed on Jan. 25, officers responded to a call placed by Gardner, who reported finding her daughter unresponsive underneath a dresser in their apartment.
When officers arrived at the scene, Gardner claimed she had been preparing dinner and had called for her children—her 4-year-old son and her 2-year-old daughter—to eat. While the son came, the girl did not respond. After searching the home, Gardner told police she found her daughter cold to the touch and not breathing. In an attempt to save her daughter, she said she carried her daughter outside and called 911 while also contacting her boyfriend.
Minutes later, emergency medical personnel arrived and pronounced the child deceased.
Conditions of the Home
Upon evaluating the apartment, officers conducted a protective sweep. In newly obtained documents, police described the overwhelming clutter of the home and provided photos.
“The apartment floors were covered in human feces, garbage, chicken bones, fast food bags, opened BBQ sauce containers, clothing, toys, other debris, knocked-over furniture, and household items. The floors were littered with the above items, and more,” detectives wrote.
The affidavit says the floor was cluttered to the point detectives had no choice but to step on the items as they were walking through. Multiple areas of the walls were covered in feces, what appeared to be BBQ sauce, and other unknown substances, including a baby crib and mattress that had feces layered on them.
