Mother and uncle plead in 22-month-old Columbus girl’s death from heat, neglect
A mother and uncle have pleaded guilty in a 22-month-old girl’s death that Columbus police described as an egregious case of neglect.
Maryanne Smith was found dead Feb. 25, 2021, in the bedroom of a St. Marys Road mobile home where police said the heat inside reached 100 degrees, though the temperature outside was 78.
“Very hot, very dirty, a lot of roaches ... smelled very bad, and the heat of course, accentuated that,” a detective testified during a May 2021 preliminary hearing for the mother, Aundrea Colleen Nelson, and her brother Jonathan Edward Nelson.
After an autopsy found the child died from dehydration, malnutrition and hyperthermia, the pair were charged with felony murder and first-degree child cruelty.
Jailed since their arrests, they were back in court Wednesday to plead guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.
What happened?
Before Superior Court Judge Gil McBride sentenced the siblings, District Attorney Stacey Jackson detailed the scene first responders found when Johnathan Nelson called 911 about 4:30 p.m. that day.
“The living conditions were unsanitary. There were insects about. Miss Smith lay deceased in the nude, only wrapped in a soiled diaper in a crib with suspected animal feces on the wall behind the crib,” he said.
Her 3-year-old brother also was in a dirty diaper, Jackson added: “But he was alive and alert. He was in the same room with the deceased.”
Jackson said the mother had gone to Newnan, Georgia for several days “with a new male acquaintance,” leaving the children in her brother’s care.
As the adult left in charge, Johnathan Nelson faced an additional count of second-degree child cruelty, because of the condition in which police found the 3-year-old, Jackson said. The boy had been left in the bedroom with his little sister’s body, which was “in full rigor,” the DA said.
Despite his additional charge, the uncle faced a lighter sentence than the mother. McBride wanted to know why.
Jackson said the mother bore the primary responsibility for her children’s care, and the girl already had suffered from long-term malnutrition that the heat only exacerbated.
“She already was in poor health,” he said, later adding, “Mr. Nelson had only been around the children a short period of time.” The uncle was “basically left holding the bag babysitting two minor children,” he said.
Representing Johnathan Nelson, defense attorney Anthony Johnson told McBride his client has a “borderline” intellectual disability, and was overwhelmed with the responsibility.
Johnson said neither adult had any “malice or intent” to harm the kids. “This was basically an awful case of neglect,” he said.
The judge accepted that, sentencing each according to the pleas negotiated: Aundrea Nelson, 22, got 20 years in prison with 12 to serve and the rest on probation. Johnathan Nelson, 25, also got 20 years, but with seven to serve and the rest on probation.
‘We hold no grudges’
Speaking on behalf of the victim’s family, the little girl’s paternal grandfather told McBride he held no ill will toward the defendants.
“We hold no grudges,” said James Q. Smith. “We’re just trying to get through a difficult moment.... At this moment, all of us are hurting.”
He told Aundrea Nelson that her son, now 4 years old, is doing well, and they talk to him about his mother.
“We want him to know who his mother is,” he said.
Still they can’t forget the little girl they so loved, he said: “That little girl was the apple of my eye. She became the apple in all of our eyes, and we can’t change that moment. That moment is gone.”
The family is starting to heal now, he added: “Now, all of us have not healed the way we need to be, but we are on the road to recovery.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2022 at 3:00 PM.