Honk News – The Wyoming Supreme Court has rejected a request for a new trial from a woman found guilty of killing her boyfriend’s 2-year-old daughter, stating that it did not support her claim that not taking the critically ill toddler to the hospital for almost a day did not constitute child abuse.
Carolyn Aune, 31, faced a conviction for first-degree murder last year in connection with the tragic death of her boyfriend’s 2-year-old daughter in 2021. A tragic incident has been reported involving a young girl who suffered severe injuries, resulting in the loss of her leg and poisoning of her organs, according to court documents.
A unanimous ruling was issued by the Wyoming Supreme Court on Friday, affirming that the prosecutor acted within the law in the 2023 conviction of Aune. The court determined that Aune’s decision not to take the dying toddler to the hospital constituted child abuse in this instance.
Aune’s murder conviction was a serious offense intertwined with another serious offense.
The jury determined that she carelessly caused a physical injury to the girl by failing to take her to the hospital when her body was clearly failing, which they classified as child abuse. The jury found her guilty of first-degree murder due to the girl’s death stemming from Aune’s child abuse.
Aune testified in her trial in April 2023 that she witnessed her boyfriend, Moshe Williams, brutally stomp on the young girl’s abdomen. However, four months following Aune’s conviction, a different jury acquitted Williams of the charges related to the girl’s death.
Aune received a life sentence in September 2023.
Aune made an appeal in March, contending that the evidence presented was insufficient for her conviction on the lesser charge of child abuse, which the jury referenced in reaching their final guilty verdict for first-degree murder.
According to Wyoming law, an individual can be deemed guilty of child abuse if they intentionally or recklessly cause physical harm to a minor that exceeds what is considered reasonable corporal punishment.
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The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office responded on appeal, asserting that the state’s child abuse statute not only defines the act but also enumerates specific acts of child abuse, encompassing both acts of commission and omission, such as neglecting to provide food for a child.
The Wyoming Supreme Court sided with the prosecutors, referencing two prior child abuse cases that centered on acts of omission: one concerning an 8-month-old baby who was starved, and another involving a man who caused mental harm to his children through neglect.