A woman who was arrested after the May 2016 death of her stepson, appeared before Rutherford County Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell on Monday (Jan. 10, 2022).
Emily M. Hart plead guilty to the charge of Attempted Aggravated Child Abuse / Neglect / Endangerment.
Authorities first began investigating the case six years ago, after Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue responded to a call about an unresponsive 13-year-old boy. Reports from 2016 show that the child died shortly after being transported to Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro and from there to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
Murfreesboro Detectives reported the child was the oldest of four children who lived in a home shared by his father Christopher and his step-mother Emily. The home sits at 1730 Haynes Drive at the Cabot Court intersection. The house is in the Riverview Subdivision.
Scroll down to continue reading...
Continued...
After a lengthy investigation, the case turned cold as it was determined the child died of Sepsis from an untreated urinary tract infection. However, new evidence was admitted to the case in 2018, which reopened the investigation.
Almost 2-years after the childs death, more information on child abuse allegations was received by former MPD Detective Tannas Knox along with retired Detective Tommy Roberts. The new evidence led to a 2018 Grand Jury Indictment against the childs’ step mother Emily.
Monday (01/10/2022) was the first day of trial for Hart and reports indicate she plead guilty to Attempted Aggravated Child Abuse / Neglect / Endangerment. Hart will be sentenced later this year in May (2022).
As for the father of the child, he was also arrested on child abuse charges. However, those charges reportedly stemmed from another child and not Jonathon.
WGNS will have more news on the case later this week.
Original Source:
MPD Arrest 16-10661
Rutherford Co. Courts
