Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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Causing Grice to be hesitant to release information is that the case is still ongoing. Some media outlets, however, have published information that Grice says is “inaccurate.”
Kasera, 38, of National Highway, is charged with first degree child cruelty. She is under a $5 million bond and her court date is set for March 24 in Lexington District Court.
On Sunday night at 9:16 p.m. in Georgia, Troup County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the LaGrange Travel Center in reference to a call from the mother who stated one of her two children was in medical distress. Kasera told the 911 telecommunicator that her daughter wasn’t breathing, and she was giving CPR to 11-year-old Nicole.
Troup County Sheriff Donny Turner said in a phone interview Wednesday that deputies checked the girl’s pulse, which indicated she was not alive. Deputies then took off her gloves and saw “old and new injuries around her wrist on both arms.” Troup County authorities believe the young girl might have been dead for 12 to 24 hours from the time they received a call.
After finding the body, Troup County authorities contacted the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office to do a search of the National Highway home.
The Winston-Salem Journal printed that “Davidson County deputies searched her Thomasville home and found evidence indicating that the daughter had been killed at the home.” Grice dismissed those facts Friday in a phone interview saying it was inaccurate. The Davidson County sheriff said he hasn’t made any revealing comments about the search at home.
“There are reports being made that should be attributed to officials in other jurisdictions,” he said.
When asked why Davidson County authorities have charged Kasera with first degree child cruelty Grice said, “We can’t comment on that.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of the young girl to be a homicide Tuesday evening, but Davidson County authorities have yet to make the same ruling.
“[A homicide ruling on Davidson County’s behalf has] not been made until we allege that in any type of warrant,” Grice said. “All we have is a preliminary autopsy report.”
A search warrant, including photos of the autopsy, has been sealed from public view, Clerk of Davidson County Superior Court Brian Shipwash said Wednesday. Superior Court Judge Mark Klass signed an order to seal the documents.
Reached by phone Friday afternoon, District Attorney Garry Frank said a sentence involving a first degree child cruelty charge depends on a person’s criminal background.
In Kasera’s case, she does in fact have a criminal background.
According to Davidson County records, Kasera was charged on April 15, 2006, with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse for leaving her two daughters home alone. At that time, her daughters where age 9 and 6. Shipwash confirmed the children were found naked and wandering the neighborhood as the court record reads.
Thomasville attorney Michael D. Lea was Kasera’s attorney in the case where Judge Jimmy Myers gave Kasera a prayer for judgment, requiring that she pay court fines and stay out of trouble with the law for six months, Shipwash said. An attempt to reach Lea was unsuccessful Wednesday afternoon.
In November 2006, Kasera had to go back to court because she did not pay her court fine on time. She did, however, pay the fine and stayed out of trouble for six months. In March 2007, Lea requested the charges of misdemeanor child abuse be dismissed against his client. His argument was that she had paid the court cost and not committed a criminal violation. Shipwash said Judge Wayne Michael signed for the dismissal to be approved.
Staff Writer Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 231, or ignasiak@tvilletimes.com.