The baby sitter accused of killing the infant daughter of a member of the polygamous Kingston clan cut a deal with prosecutors Wednesday, pleading guilty to child-abuse homicide but maintaining her innocence.
Rhoda Wright died Jan. 19, 2001, three days after allegedly suffering head injuries from a fall at the home of her baby sitter, Michelle Afton Michaels. Michaels was charged with the second-degree felony homicide in February 2001.
Michaels entered an "Alford" plea, which essentially gives both sides what they want: The prosecution gets a conviction, and the defendant can continue to assert her innocence.
"I'm not guilty, but I'm pleading guilty," Michaels told Judge Dennis M. Fuchs in 3rd District Court Wednesday.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend Michaels be sentenced to probation with a stringent set of conditions.
Among those conditions, Michaels cannot seek to retain her state certification as a child-care provider, and counseling sessions for Michaels must be supervised in part by the Division of Child and Family Services, which has custody of Michaels' six children.
Under the agreement, if Michaels successfully completes probation, the charges against her will be reduced to a class A misdemeanor and could eventually be expunged.
Sentencing in the case is set for Dec. 19. Despite the state's recommendation for probation, Fuchs could still sentence Michaels to prison if he sees fit. A second-degree felony carries a minimum of one year and a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Attorneys Carl Kingston and Richard Uday, who represent Michaels, declined to comment following the hearing but said they will make a statement at the time of sentencing.
Prosecutor Kent Morgan said the state agreed to accept the plea in part because Rhoda Wright's parents believe that their child's death was accidental. They did not want Michaels to go to jail.
Rhoda Wright underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage at Primary Children's Medical Center in the hours after her alleged fall. Doctors there and, later, state medical examiners said the one-year-old child had a 3- to 4 -inch skull fracture that appeared to be the result of blunt-force trauma.
Police and doctors say Rhoda Wright's injury was not consistent with the explanation proffered by Michaels. She said the child had fallen from a high chair and landed face first on the kitchen floor, suffering cuts to her mouth and tongue.
Michaels said she found Rhoda Wright face down the kitchen floor, with the chair on top of her. The child had suffered cuts to her mouth and tongue and later started bleeding from the nose. Michaels dialed 911 about an hour after the child fell, according to police reports.
But Morgan also acknowledged Wednesday that police found no object in Michaels' home that could have been used to inflict the skull injuries. Michaels was the only adult in the house at the time Rhoda Wright was injured; the others in the house were young children.
Morgan said the state will carefully monitor Michaels' performance if Fuchs agrees to a sentence of probation.
"We will be asking for prison time if there is any violation of probation," he said.
E-MAIL: jdobner@desnews.com