Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Monday, February 6, 2017
(OWEN CO.) - The man accused of kidnapping and murdering 14-month-old Shaylynn Ammerman in March 2016 has pleaded guilty to the crime.
On Friday afternoon, Owen County Circuit Court Judge Lori Thatcher Quillen accepted a guilty plea from 22-year-old Kyle Parker.
According to Owen County Prosecutor Donald VanDerMoere, Parker provided a factual basis to the kidnapping and murder of the toddler.
A medical examiner said in court documents it was "the worst case of sexual trauma she had seen in her career."
The guilty plea comes after a negotiated plea agreement between Prosecutor VanDerMoere and Parker's attorney Jacob Fish.
In exchange for the guilty plea, Parker will be sentenced to 60 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. That agreement is now under the advisement by Judge Quillen, and a sentencing hearing has been set for February 27, 2017 at 9 a.m.
Under the plea agreement, Parker would agree to plead guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping. All additional charges against Parker would be dismissed, including rape, child molesting, strangulation, aggravated battery, obstruction of justice, and failure to report a dead body.
Parker was at the Ammerman home the night Shaylyn disappeared. Her family reported her missing Wednesday, March 23 at 9 a.m. Her father says his mother put Shaylyn to bed late Tuesday but when they woke up in the morning, she was gone.
Police arrested Parker the next day after they found the 14-month-old's body near the White River in Gosport. An autopsy showed the girl died from asphyxiation.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.