BEDFORD – Department of Child Service assessment workers and co-workers testified Tuesday afternoon in the Lawrence County Superior Court I in the trial of Cheyenne Hill to determine if she had a hand in causing the death of her 20-month-old daughter.
Hill, 33, is facing a Level 1 felony charge of child neglect causing death. She has pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Judge John Plummer III is presiding. Robert Hamilton of Salem is representing Hill. Deputy Prosecutors Sarah Cummings and Joshua Scherschel present the case for the state.
Brett Lawrence, a case assessment worker for DCS, testified the department’s hotline received a call on Monday, November 21, reporting Elli had been injured and Hill was the perpetrator.
Lawrence called Hill to schedule a time and place to meet with her and see Elli. Hill refused to allow the caseworker to come to her home at Maple Leaf Apartments, so they met in the parking lot of PriceLess IGA, where Hill worked.
Lawrence, who had seen Elli seven months prior, testified that almost all of Elli’s long hair had fallen out.
“She had dark circles under her eyes, small bruising on her cheek, and a mark under her nose,” he added. She appeared tired. I had Cheyenne take her out of the car seat, and Elli seemed unbothered by being picked up.”
During the testimony, Judge Plummer admonished a female member of Hill’s family for making gestures and facial expressions in the courtroom.
Lawrence asked Hill about the hair loss, and Hill said it was because Elli had Lupus. However, according to medical records, Elli was never diagnosed with the disease. She said the bruise on her cheek was from an older man who lived in the apartment complex and liked to pinch Elli’s cheeks. Hill told Lawrence she was in the shower and heard a loud thump, and Elli had fallen off the bed.
Lawrence contacted his supervisor because he was concerned.
“With the preponderance of evidence, we didn’t have enough to remove the child,’ he added.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on November 23, 2022, at 12:16 p.m., officers were requested to IU Health Bedford Hospital by the Department of Child Services caseworker who reported that Elli had been flown by a medical helicopter to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
The baby had suffered a brain bleed, a broken collar bone, and had head and facial bruising. She also had a swollen and deformed head with bruising to her forehead and the left and right sides of her face.
Emily Warner, an assessment worker for DCS, testified she responded to IU Health Hospital after receiving a call that Elli had suffered significant injuries and may not recover.
The jury saw photos of Elli taken while she was at the hospital.
“She had a dent on the top of her head and was very malnourished, ” Warner testified. “She had significant bruising, and her hair had fallen out and was very patchy. It looked like it had been shaved but hadn’t just fallen out.”
Warner said Hill was questioned at the hospital and was “aggravated and annoyed with the questions.”
Hill said Elli was posturing, which investigators thought was unusual.
Posturing involves a reflex movement of muscle groups throughout your body, causing your limbs to extend and hold rigidly. These movements can happen automatically when there’s severe damage to your brain or major disruptions in brain function.
Warner testified that Hill stated, “She is a baby; they get hurt. Elli bruises easily because she may have Lupus.”
When asked how Elli got the bruises, Hill said Elli had fallen off the bed. She then stated that the bruising happened while Elli was with the babysitter.
On November 26, 2022, Elli was pronounced dead at 4:35 p.m.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Pathologist Doctor Amanda Paul concluded the manner of death was a homicide and that the injuries would have occurred after November 21, 2022, and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Hill’s co-workers at PriceLess IGA testified Hill had only worked at the store a few weeks before Elli’s death.
Sherry Davidson, a manager, testified Hill told her Elli suffered a brain tumor that would bleed. Hill also claimed Elli had fallen off the futon and hit her head.
Davidson testified she told Hill repeatedly to take her child to the hospital or doctors.
Davidson said she saw Hill after the child’s death, and Hill did not seem too upset.
“It was just strange,” she testified.
Evelyn Nuñez, an office manager, testified Hill told her Elli had a brain tumor.
“One day she told me her baby had a broken collarbone, and the man she was living with had abused her baby,” Nuñez stated.
When asked why Nuñez didn’t report the incident.
“I didn’t think it was my place to get involved,” she said.
On November 23, Hill had approached Nuñez and said she could not get her baby to wake up.
“I told her I wouldn’t be at work if my baby wouldn’t wake up,” she added. “She didn’t seem concerned.”
After Elli passed, Hill returned to the store and asked Nuñez if she had heard the news.
“I told her I had and I was so sorry,” Nuñez said. “She acted like she didn’t care. She had no remorse nor fears; nothing.”
The defense did not conduct a cross-examination of the witnesses.
Testimony will continue on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
