INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (June 2, 2015) — The Greenfield parents accused of killing their 1-year-old baby are trying to pin the murder on each other.
“I didn’t do it,” said mother Jessica Wagoner as she was escorted through the Hancock County Courthouse.
Both Jessica and her husband Matthew Wagoner are charged in the murder of their daughter, Zoey, and both parents made their initial appearance in court Tuesday.
An investigator wrote in court documents that baby Zoey quote, “lived in hell for a year,” because of all the injuries she suffered. Those documents say first responders found the baby Thursday morning foaming at the mouth with bruises all over her body.
“The hard work from the police department, consistently from 9 a.m. Thursday through now, that’s the reason we were able to bring charges,” said Hancock County prosecutor Brent Eaton.
“They worked diligently, nearly around the clock throughout the weekend which allowed us to have the resources we needed to bring the charges that we did,” he said.
The parents originally said the baby fell off a bed, but officials say Zoey died from blunt force trauma. Documents show the baby had a broken arm and a lacerated liver —the pathologist says, that means the baby could’ve been stomped on.
“This case in particular has been very taxing on our detectives,” said Greenfield Chief of Police John Jester.
“Anytime there’s a baby death involved, it’s extremely hard,” Jester said.
The baby’s father has since told police that he saw Jessica smack and punch the baby. The mother says Matthew is to blame, bringing up his pending child exploitation case in Henry County.
“Matt does have pending charges in Henry County and there’s an ongoing investigation,” said Eaton.
Investigators say the father walked to a nearby convenience store to get a drink before first responders got to the baby on Thursday. According to court documents, he told them he didn’t think his daughter was dead but he knew something was wrong with her. In order to get to the store, Wagoner passed by Hancock Regional Hospital and did not stop for help.
Police say Jessica Wagoner has other children, but could only say that those two kids are being cared for right now.
“Those children are going to be looked at as well to ensure their safety,” Jester said.
The pretrial for both parents is set for Aug. 19, while the trail date is Oct. 19. Jessica is being held on $250,000 bond and Matthew is being held on $500,000 bond. Prosecutors say the higher number is because of his pending child molestation case in Henry County.
