Evansville mother charged after baby's death sentenced to probation
EVANSVILLE — An Evansville mother who pleaded guilty to neglect charges after her baby's death will serve probation rather than a stint in prison, a Vanderburgh County judge ruled Thursday.
Loreena Nance, 22, was arrested on Jan. 24, the same day sheriff's deputies found her six-month-old son, Kaysyn Hedrick, dead at her home in the 6100 block of Dana Drive.
Prosecutors charged Nance with two counts of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony, and have charged her son's father, Shane Christopher Hedrick, 25, with murder and felony neglect charges.
The Indiana Department of Child Services temporarily removed Kaysyn Hedrick from the couple's care last year, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office said.
According to court records, Nance pleaded guilty on April 22 to both neglect charges. During a hearing on Thursday, Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge David Kiely sentenced Nance to serve two years in prison with four months credit for time served, but Nance will be able to serve the remainder of her sentence on probation.
"If (Nance) successfully completes probation, the court shall convert counts one and two to a Class A Misdemeanor," the sentencing order states.
A jury trial in Shane Hedrick's case is scheduled to begin Sept. 23 at 8 a.m.
According to Shane Hedrick's arrest affidavit, Hedrick dialed 911 on Jan. 24 to report that his son was unresponsive. Dispatchers instructed him to perform CPR while he waited for paramedics to arrive.
But life-saving measures proved unsuccessful, and the Vanderburgh County Coroner's Office pronounced Kaysyn Hedrick dead at the scene.
A sheriff's deputy said the infant's hands and feet were "blue in color," according to the affidavit, and they observed "blood around the child's nostril."
Staff at a local hospital performed post-mortem tests and reportedly observed serious injuries to the child's torso and chest.
Shane Hedrick was transported to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office for questioning.
"As the interview progressed, Shane made the statement that he 'blacks out' when he is stressed or angry," Hedrick's arrest affidavit states. "Shane then advised he became angry last evening/this morning due to Nance leaving to be with another man. As we spoke longer, Shane advised he then became angry because (his son) began crying and would not stop. We spoke more, and Shane then advised he struck (his son) while he was 'blacked out.'"
Court records state that investigators obtained a search warrant to examine Shane Hedrick's "black iPhone," but the findings of that examination were not immediately clear.
According to the sheriff's office, conditions inside Shane Hedrick and Nance's Dana Drive residence were dire: Deputies reported finding animal feces and insects throughout the home.
"There were multiple holes in the floor and ceiling, boarded-up windows with plywood, and a missing outlet cover near the children's bed," Nance's arrest affidavit states. "Visible on the baby's mattress was mold, with the crib only having three sides, leaving a two-inch gap between the mattress and the wall."
Nance was not present at the time of her son's death, according to detectives, but her arrest for neglect charges stemmed from the state of the home.
"(Nance) stated she did not understand why she would be arrested for neglect of a child since her house was clean," her arrest affidavit states.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville mother charged after baby's death sentenced to probation
