An Indianapolis mother who allegedly told police she had smothered her 2-month-old daughter to death has been set free after her trial.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Mark Stoner released Dacia Lacey after ruling that charges of neglect resulting in the death of her baby were not proved. If convicted, she could have faced 20 to 40 years in prison.
Police found Lacey’s daughter, Alona, unresponsive when they were called to the house in August 2022, according to WXIN-TV. The infant died at the scene.
On Wednesday, Stoner said he believed Lacey was guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the case.
However, she was charged with neglect causing death, and he found Lacey not guilty on that charge.
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The case was a bench trial with no jury, only the judge.
“You’re not innocent, but you’re not guilty of what the state has charged you with,” Stoner said, according to WTHR-TV.
“This is a case that happens when you’re a bad parent,” the judge said. “There are some things you can never do. You can never have sole possession of your children and go out and use drugs.”
Stoner explained his ruling.
“Not everything that’s a mistake or everything that is wrong is criminal,” he said.
“Something has to be done with criminal intent, criminal responsibility, and that’s what the defendant is charged with. When the state chooses to charge an individual, they must prove they did something with criminal intent. Poor parenting, by definition, is not criminal,” Stoner said.
NEW: Indianapolis mother walks free after admitting to smothering her 2-month-old baby to death between two couch cushions while high on meth.
Judge Mark Stoner found Dacia Lacey not guilty of neglect resulting in death.
Lacey confessed that she wanted her daughter to stop… pic.twitter.com/YCe0Qcjagz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 18, 2024
Stoner said there was no physical evidence of neglect. The pathologist did not provide a specific cause of death.
However, multiple witnesses came forward, including Jamie Davis, a child abuse detective with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
“She was actually sitting in my lap and crying on my shoulder and had said that she did her baby wrong and said that she had smothered her baby,” Davis testified.
“Basically, she said that she was high, and she was tired, and Alona had been crying. Ultimately, she ended up picking up Alona and facing her towards the crease in the couch. So, if you have the back of the couch and then the seating area, she placed her face toward the crease,” Davis said.
Did the judge get this one right?
Lacey’s other child, who was 3 years old at the time of the incident, also testified, but Stoner said he discounted that.
“That doesn’t mean that [Dacia’s other daughter] is unreliable — it means that [Dacia’s other daughter] is innocent,” the judge said, adding that the child “is only capable of hearing emotions, repeating some things without understanding things.”
In court, the girl, who is now almost 5, said, “Mom was mad, hit the baby with a pillow and put the pillow on her face,” according to WTHR.
Jennifer Armstrong, the fiancée of Dacia Lacey’s father, David Lacey, said the older girl had told her the same story.
“She said, ‘My mommy got really mad at her because she wouldn’t stop crying,’” Armstrong said. “‘And she held a pillow on her face and hit her with it.’ And I’m like, ‘What? Like, what did you just say?’”
Armstrong eventually recorded the girl talking and gave that to the police, which started the criminal investigation.
Lacey had claimed she had no responsibility for the baby’s death.
