Alabama Mother Pleads Not Guilty To Murder Of Toddler Son: Chelsea Fike Claims She Did Not Kill Her Little Boy In 2014
An Alabama mother accused of killing her little boy in 2014, claims that she did not murder her toddler son. Chelsea Fike pleads not guilty to the murder of Ian Calhoun, Moulton Advertiser reports.
In August 2014, 2-year-old Ian Calhoun died of blunt force head trauma at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. Chelsea’s boyfriend, Evan Woodrow Berryman, 28, was charged last March with capital murder in the death of the child.
According to the autopsy report completed by Alabama Department of Forensics, Ian died of blunt force trauma to the head, torso, lower extremities, and upper extremities. The child was said to have multiple injuries to the scalp, face, left ear, abdomen, chest, back, and genitals, Times Daily revealed.
Chelsea Fike's attorney said Fike had no knowledge of the abuse that investigators said led to the death of her son. https://t.co/lv2hVz4vdb
— waaytv (@WAAYTV) January 5, 2017
While it took nearly a year and a half for Berryman to be arrested, Ian’s mother was soon thereafter arrested in connection to her son’s death.
On January 4, 2017, Chelsea plead not guilty to the murder and abuse charges and claims that she did not lay a hand on her son. Chelsea is also facing an additional abuse charge in connection to her 5-year-old daughter, who is now in the custody of her father, Todd Smith.
AL revealed that Chelsea Fike has been charged with one count of reckless murder, one count of felony murder, and one count of abuse. Currently, no court dates have been scheduled for the two defendants. Also, Fike is currently free after posting bail of $190,000.
DA Errek Jett explained the circumstances to officially charge Fike with two counts of murder. The first count of murder would have to be proved without a doubt that Chelsea recklessly engaged in conduct that put another person in grave risk. Prosecutors would then have to prove that she acted in conduct that is “clearly dangerous to human life.”
Todd Smith and his wife, Amanda Smith, is grateful that his daughter is with them and is no longer allowed contact with her mother as a result of the new charges. Although Todd is not Ian’s father, he and Amanda are saddened with his loss.
“It’s bittersweet because there are no winners. It’s just a sad, sad situation. Ian is gone and he won’t come back. But our little girl is safe, and that’s the only thing we can do from here.”
The Smith’s told reporters that Ian’s older sister still asks questions about her little brother, and cries often.
“My daughter talks about (Ian) and cries all of the time. I just tell her he’s in your heart, always looking down on you. I would have took that little baby (Ian) in as my own. The day before his death, I was getting my daughter for the weekend and all I can remember was just seeing him smiling. He was always smiling. The next thing I heard was that he was in the hospital lying there with brain trauma. I hate it’s took a year and a half to get justice.”
@aremkus1 has details on Town Creek man being charged in 2014 death of 2-year-old boy. https://t.co/tekof0wNeh pic.twitter.com/fk8jnY9x1m
— TimesDaily Newspaper (@TimesDaily) March 24, 2016
Josh Calhoun, although proved by a paternity test that Ian was not his child, has always considered Ian his son, Times Daily reports. Josh has been waiting for justice for little Ian and found some sort of happiness when Berryman was arrested.
Katie Yarbrough, Ian’s grandmother and Josh’s mother, was also glad that justice will be found for her grandson after many “sleepless nights.”
“It’s been a long time coming, and I was excited and relieved to hear justice will finally be served.”
Although Josh was proved to not share blood with Ian, it made no difference to Yarbrough.
“But, he still felt like he was his child, and his name was never removed from the birth certificate. So when Ian passed, technically Josh was still his father. Ian will forever be my grandchild.”
[Featured Image by Shutterstock]
