The father of a 19-month-old girl who drowned last year in a koi pond in Sand Springs wants a grand jury to investigate the death.
Gary Schooley filed a petition Friday to impanel a grand jury in Tulsa County District Court. The court filing is independent of the petition to impanel a grand jury filed in July by Owasso’s J.B. Alexander, said Carlene Voss, who heads the civil division in the court clerk’s office.
Schooley is seeking a grand jury probe into the drowning of Gracie Schooley on March 27, 2012.
On that day, Gracie was staying at house of Nita Teague in the 1300 block of North Northridge Court when Teague “failed to provide proper supervision of Gracie by not monitoring her properly,” the petition claims.
Teague found the unresponsive toddler in a small pond in the front yard, and the toddler was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Gracie’s cause of death is listed as drowning and the manner of death is labeled an accident, a spokeswoman with the state Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Tulsa County prosecutors declined to file a charge in the case.
Gary Schooley asks that a grand jury look into charges and return a true bill of indictment not limited to child neglect, second-degree murder or second-degree manslaughter against Teague, listed in petition as his aunt.
The petitioner also is requesting that the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office be disqualified in acting as a legal adviser to the grand jury because of a “conflict of interest.”
The grand jury’s inquiry into Gracie’s death will include testimony from some witnesses who may be former or current employees of the DA’s office, and the investigation “may necessarily involve” a probe into that office, the petition claims.
This marks the second attempt to convene a grand jury in Tulsa County this year. Because of that, the number of registered voter signatures required to convene the panel will be doubled, Voss said.
A total of 5,000 signatures were required for Alexander’s petition, which asks for a probe into the Owasso city government. Those signatures -- more than 9,600 were submitted -- are scheduled to be verified this week.
Legal
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