BEDFORD – Cherry Blattert continued her testimony Monday morning in Lawrence Superior Court I in her husbands Scott Blattert’s trial.
She testified about her children’s defiant attitudes and how those attitudes were becoming violent and aggressive, especially toward her.
Scott Blattert, of Springville, is facing felony charges of aggravated battery when the assault possesses a substantial risk of death, strangulation, three counts of domestic battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, and five counts of domestic battery with bodily injury on a person under the age of 14.
Cherry Blattert is also charged in the case. She is facing charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury and domestic battery. Her court date is pending.
Cherry waived her Fifth Amendment rights before testifying – meaning anything she says could or will be used against her in her criminal case.
The couple have 11 children. The children are all currently living with two foster families. One family has the couple’s five older children and another family has the couple’s six younger children.
“I heard (the oldest female child) telling the younger children they did not have to listen to me,” Cherry said. “I had discussions with them, but I did not see any changes in their behavior or demeanor.”
She also talked about the older female children hiding a large carving knife in their bedroom closet. In Scott’s testimony Monday he said “divine intervention” lead him to find the knife in the girl’s bedroom closet.
Cherry talked about other incidents including one of the boys who had thrown rocks at a passing school bus. His punishment was to sit in a lawn chair with a cardboard sign saying he was sorry for throwing the rocks at the school bus that passed by the next day.
She testified about the older girls picking on the younger girls. When she confronted the next oldest female child about her actions Cherry said the child balled up her fists in a “threatening manner and backed me out of the room. I was afraid of (the child). I was the parent and didn’t know what she would do. I was trembling and called Scott.”
“The older children were becoming more and more defiant and influencing the younger children,” Cherry said. “I was very concerned and I expressed this to Scott. I was very concerned about the spiritual influences in our home and very confused and conflicted. I felt I was failing as a parent.”
Cherry testified she interjected the teachings of Jesus Christ into their children’s daily school lessons.
“The older children were showing physical displeasure by shying and rolling their eyes or not participating during prayer or religious teachings.”
This happened on September 23, 2019, before Scott came home from work and administered the discipline to not one but three of the older children.
Cherry said the two boys were disciplined first and then the second oldest daughter.
In the one-minute-and-22-second graphic video, recorded by the couple’s oldest daughter, Blattert is seen smacking his second oldest daughter with a belt 27 times, slamming her face down into the couch cushion, telling her “You are a rebellious, wicked animal” and then slamming his elbow into the back of the child’s neck and strangling her. Cherry is seen grabbing the two youngest children and removing them from the room.
“I got uncomfortable it was beyond what we normally do,” Cherry added.
Cherry testified the video did not capture the whole incident and that Scott had begun the “correction” by using an industrial-grade glue stick first before progressing to using a belt and his hands.
“After the glue stick, (the child) continued to be defiant and angry,” Cherry added.
Cherry added, “She was being proud and the Bible is very clear and opposes pride we are to give grace and be humble.”
During the video Cherry is heard saying “Oh my goodness”.
“It turned into something physical instead of just a punishment,” Cherry added.
When asked if she ever told Scott to stop she replied no.
She testified she never saw Scott strangle the child or that the child was at any risk of death during the beating.
Cherry said she left the discipline to Scott but she too would discipline the children with glue sticks.
“I would call the child to the couch, explain what the child did that was inappropriate, and then give them a Bible verse on why it was inappropriate and then give them a spanking on their bottoms a few times with the glue stick and sometimes afterward would give them a hug.”
She said the children were spanked with a glue stick a few times a week, but the spankings were becoming more frequent and more severe with more lashes as “a progressive discipline”.
Cherry testified she was overwhelmed and wrote a letter to Scott, but she never gave it to him. Police seized that letter when they served a search warrant at the home.
In the letter, Cherry talks about Scott swearing at her, bullying her, and berating her in front of the children.
She wrote she was “wary and in despair.”
She testified raising 9 children at that time was a daunting task. Two more children were born after the incident on September 23, 2019.
She also testified about keeping a list of the children’s “infractions”. The infractions on the list included such items as the boys being disrespectful, children not doing their homework, one of the younger children attempting to bite her when being disciplined, one of the younger children throwing food on the floor, children trashing their rooms, children not cleaning up after being told to do so and along with other items.
Scott would review the list, speak to Cherry about the infractions and then administer what they believed was an appropriate punishment.
