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A LaGrange County grand jury has indicted 31-year-old Topeka resident Christy Shaffer on two charges of neglect of a dependent.
In March, 15-month-old Alissa Guernsey died. At the time, she was in Shaffer’s custody having been removed from her home by the state, officials with the Indiana Department of Child Services said.
LaGrange County Prosecutor Jeffrey Wible will not say whether the toddler’s death and Shaffer’s indictments are related.
He would not provide any details related to the grand jury indictment.
Others involved in the investigation did provide a few details.
Indiana State Police Detective Jeff Boyd confirmed he conducted an investigation into Christy Shaffer in connection with the death of Alissa.
He declined to comment on whether he testified before a grand jury.
According to Boyd, the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department was initially called to the hospital about the toddler. Boyd was contacted by a sheriff’s deputy who was in attendance at the child’s autopsy and learned that the death was not believed to have been from natural causes.
Boyd then opened a death investigation, developed a suspect and submitted the case to the prosecutor’s office for review, he said.
And state officials confirmed that the state’s child fatality review team is looking into the March death of the same toddler.
Ann Houseworth, spokeswoman for the Department of Children’s Services, said while Shaffer was not a foster parent, she had passed a background check before the child was placed in her care. She was related to the child.
According to Wible, Shaffer was indicted Thursday, arrested and had her initial hearing Friday. But officials with LaGrange Circuit Court declined to release court documents, saying Wible ordered them sealed.
The charges, which are Class B and C felonies, carry a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years and eight years, respectively.
Wible said he convened a grand jury to look into the case because he wanted to avoid any controversy but declined to say what possible controversy might exist.
