Mother charged with child neglect
BY LAURA SUMMERS World Correspondent
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
11/09/10 at 6:00 AM
BARTLESVILLE - A woman whose baby was found dead in a washing machine was charged Monday in Washington County District Court with child neglect.
Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler, 26, of Bartlesville, who appeared in court via video monitor from the jail to hear the charge, told the judge that she would not be able to make the $100,000 bail set in her case and would apply for a court-appointed attorney.
The judge set bail for Fiddler during a probable cause hearing Sunday on her arrest on a second-degree manslaughter complaint in the death of her 10-day-old daughter, Maggie May Trammel.
District Attorney Rick Esser said: "There appears to be a lot of information, a lot of police reports not given to our office. We anticipate there may be additional charges based on the information the state anticipates it will be receiving. We are certainly anxious to pursue as quickly as possible, but until we get information from the Police Department, we cannot make those decisions."
Fiddler was arrested Friday after an extensive police investigation into the death of her daughter, whose body was found Thursday night in a washing machine that had just completed a spin cycle.
Police, fire and ambulance crews all converged on the home after Fiddler called 911 and said her baby was dead.
Fiddler told police she wrapped the baby in a pink blanket and gave her a pacifier, then placed the infant in a bassinet to sleep, an affidavit by investigator Kevin Ickleberry states.
Fiddler, who tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamines, benzodiazepine and opiates, denied knowing how the baby came to be in the washing machine, the affidavit states.
Rhonda Coshatt, the baby's great-aunt, told police she had fed the infant and changed her diaper, then laid her on the couch next to her in the home she shared with Fiddler.
She said Fiddler picked up the baby, saying she was going to put her to bed, and returned a short time later without the child, the affidavit states.
Coshatt told police she went to check on the baby and could not find her. She said she tried to wake up Fiddler, who she said had "passed out" on a chair, and had trouble raising her.
Then she heard the washing machine making noises as if its cycle was out of balance, so she lifted the lid to correct the problem and found the baby mixed in with the laundry, the affidavit states.
Coshatt said she pulled the infant out of the washer and knew that she was dead, the affidavit states.
Fiddler was ordered to return to court Friday on the child-neglect charge. She remains in the Washington County Jail.
Original Print Headline: Mother charged in baby death
Associated Images:
NEGLECT
Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler: She is charged with child neglect, but a prosecutor says additional charges might be possible.
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