Pair avoid trial in baby meth case

RICHLAND HILLS -- A month ago, 21-year-old Whitney Walker and her mother, Janna Beau, faced the possibility of a trial on charges that they endangered Walker's baby by exposing him to amphetamine and methamphetamine.
But a Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Beau and Walker on charges of endangering Walker's son, who was 8 months old when doctors found the two drugs in his body in April. Walker had taken him to a hospital because she was concerned about his unusual behavior.

Grand jurors heard the case last week in Fort Worth.

"I'm ecstatic," Beau, 49, said Thursday. "We knew where it [the drugs] came from, and we didn't have anything to do with it."

Richland Hills Police Chief Barbara Childress said Thursday that she is disappointed in the decision.

"We felt there was sufficient evidence," Childress said. "It's just puzzling as to their decision."

The baby and two of his siblings remain in foster care, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said Thursday.

Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Kim D'Avignon said, "While I can't comment on the proceedings before the grand jury in this case, I will say that cases such as this have historically been a difficult fit under old endangering laws."

Under the old law, a prosecutor had to prove how a controlled substance got into the child's body and show that a defendant knew the child could ingest the drugs and ignored an imminent threat.

As of Sept. 1, the law includes a presumption that a child who has methamphetamine in his or her body is in danger, D'Avignon said.

"Unfortunately, that presumption is not retroactive and does not apply in this case. But hopefully, in the future, more of these cases can be prosecuted successfully," she said.

Beau said her daughter wants to get her children back. "She's cooperating with CPS," Beau said. A hearing on the case is scheduled this month, Gonzales said.

Walker, who lives in Arlington, could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Slow to respond

At the time of the April incident, Walker's baby son and her 1-year-old daughter were at Beau's home in Richland Hills. Walker told police that the boy was fine when she left him with Beau on April 5.

But when Walker returned that day, the baby was acting odd and was slow in responding to her, she told police. Walker took him to North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills. He was transferred to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

Beau has said that cold medications may have caused some of the reactions.

Hospital lab tests found amphetamine and methamphetamine in the boy's body. Also present were caffeine, nicotine, the cough suppressant dextromethorphan and prescription antihistamine, police said.

The boy and his sister were removed from Beau's home shortly afterward, authorities said.

Walker had another baby during the summer, and that infant was also put in foster care, police said.


http://www.star-telegram.com/crime_courts/...ory/390077.html

[//.The_Unforgiven]

What the fuck. Some people are just too weird for my eyes.