logo

Pregnant Cop Sentenced to 20 Years after Child Died in a Hot Car; Will Put Baby up for Adoption

Odette Odendaal
Apr 04, 2019
12:31 P.M.

The former police officer and now-pregnant Cassie Barker pled guilty to culpable negligent manslaughter of her 3-year-old daughter Cheyenne on Monday.

Advertisement

She got sentenced to 20 years in prison and consequently plans on giving her unborn baby up for adoption.

Cheyenne died on September 30, 2016, while strapped into her car seat in the back of her mother, Cassie’s patrol car in Mississippi. As a police officer for the Long Beach Police Department, Cassie finished her shift and paid a visit to Sgt. Clark Ladner at his home, her superior at the time.

Cassie Barker and Cheyenne. | Source: Facebook/Cassie Barker

Cassie Barker and Cheyenne. | Source: Facebook/Cassie Barker

Advertisement

She left Cheyenne strapped into her car seat and spent 4 hours in his home to “talk about a personal matter.” But she later

admitted

that she and Clark had sex during that time, according to CBS News reports.

In her defense, Cassie said she had left the air conditioner in her patrol car running, but according to authorities, it wasn’t blowing cold air.

Advertisement

By the time she returned to her car, Cheyenne was unresponsive with a body temperature of 107 degrees by the time she got to the hospital where medics pronounced her dead.

“She hasn’t been the same since this happened. It’s a very sad case. Her life will never be the same again,” Cassie’s attorney, Damian Holcomb said after her sentencing on April 1. He added that she “has accepted responsibility” for the death of her daughter and will give her baby up for adoption after birth.

Advertisement

Her guilty plea comes after an agreement made with prosecutors on a lesser charge after she originally got indicted on a charge of second-degree murder.

“I don’t know what I could ever do to you that could be worse than what you’ve already experienced. You will forever be entombed in a prison of your own mind.” Harrison County Circuit Judge, Larry Bourgeois said during Cassie’s sentencing.

Advertisement

Clark Ladner avoided any charges as The Associated Press reported that he had no knowledge of Cheyenne being in the patrol car. However, both got fired from the Police Department within days following the toddler’s death.

“Every time I close my eyes, I picture her suffering, and then I picture her laying in this coffin,” Cheyenne’s father, Ryan Hyer said during proceedings on Monday and added, “I still see her smiling and laughing in my head, and I would assume that smile and laughter turned to pain and suffering in that instance.”

Advertisement

After Cheyenne’s death, Cassie got hospitalized from shock and underwent a psychological exam. The results showed an onset of post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by her daughter’s death and childhood trauma.

In a similar case in Kerrville last year, a judge showed no mercy on a mother who left her one and two-year-old daughters overnight in a hot car while she went out partying on June 6, 2017.

Amanda Hawkins, 19-years old at the time, pled guilty to two felony counts of child abandonment or endangerment that resulted in imminent danger or death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.

Judge Keith Williams listened to the respective father’s victim impact testimonials before she imposed a sentence no one expected.

Advertisement
info
Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories!
By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy
Advertisement
Related posts

Man Is Told He Was in a Coma for 12 Years, Later Finds Out It Was a Ruse His Wife Planned — Story of the Day

February 01, 2022

Man Mourns Death of Pregnant Wife, Says She 'Left behind the Most Beautiful Gift' of Their Baby's Life

May 03, 2022

20 Years after Newborn Daughter’s Death, Man Hears, ‘Dad, I Finally Found You’ – Story of the Day

March 05, 2022

Dad-Of-2 Says He's Going to Hospital and Never Returns, Is Found Safe and Sound 23 Years Later

March 08, 2022

Little Boy Asks Parents to Adopt Abandoned Girl, His Mom Learns She Is Her Biological Daughter – Story of the Day

March 08, 2022

Jerry Lewis Treated Adopted Daughter as His 'Real Child' & Called His Other Kids 'Inauthentic'

February 28, 2022

Woman Adopts Orphan Boy, Few Years Later Millionaire Knocks on Door Claiming to Be His Father — Story of the Day

April 03, 2022

Woman Takes Bullet for Stranger’s Son, His Dad Attends Funeral and Meets 9 Crying Kids There — Story of the Day

March 23, 2022

Pregnant Mom Predicts in Detail Her Own Death during Childbirth and It Helps Save Her Life

May 01, 2022

Years after Parents’ Death, Little Girl Discovers Her Adoptive Mom Is Actually Her Birth Parent – Story of the Day

March 30, 2022

Girl Asks Parents to Adopt Abandoned Kid She Found on Bus, Dad Learns Boy Is His Biological Son – Story of the Day

January 29, 2022

Alex Guarnaschelli & Decade Younger Fiancé Split ⁠— He Proposed after Her Kid from Her First Marriage Approved

May 20, 2022

6-Year-Old Arrested by Police Officer Tearfully Asks for Second Chance in Body Camera Footage

May 21, 2022

After Old Man’s Death, Granddaughter Who Never Visited Him Inherits Envelope with Several Notes – Story of the Day

March 03, 2022