The father of three-year-old Brook Stagles has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, and his girlfriend, Erica Bell, has been charged with both second degree murder and manslaughter for causing the little girl’s death.
Both have been in jail since Friday, but a sealed indictment against them wasn’t opened in court until today. Both have pleaded “not guilty” and will be back in court on December 21st. Assistant District Attorney Sara VanStrydonck did not give any specifics about what happened to Brook Stagles at a news conference, but says she will get justice for Brook and her family.
VanStrydonck says it took a month to investigate the case and bring charged because it was a complex case of child abuse which required substantial expertise and time. She says the investigation leading to these charges was begun on November 13th when the little girl was brought to the hospital.
Brook Stagles died on November 14th of injuries so severe doctors asked if she’d been hit by a car. Her grandfather believes she was beaten to death, and has started an online petition demanding an investigation of Child Protective Services for failing to prevent it.