Women plead guilty in baby's death, get probation

CELINA - Two women avoided incarceration on Wednesday after pleading guilty to reduced charges stemming from the death of a St. Henry infant in 2019.

Tianna M. Thobe, 28, St. Henry, and Jennifer L. Fusselman, 46, Portland, Indiana, will not serve time in jail on the condition they follow all court orders, including that neither owns, operates or is employed in a day care facility in the future.

Both women originally faced third-degree felony charges of reckless homicide and endangering children and a first-degree misdemeanor charge of endangering children in Mercer County Commons Pleas Court. However, Thobe and Fusselman entered into plea-deal negotiations in September.

Thobe pleaded guilty to an amended indictment, in which the third-degree felony endangering children charge was amended to a fourth-degree felony charge of attempted endangering children. The reckless homicide charge and misdemeanor endangering children charge were dropped as part of the plea deal.

Thobe was sentenced to up to five years of probation, during which time she is to abstain from alcohol and drug use, shall not be employed by a day care facility and will be subject to a curfew and random testing. If she is found to violate the terms of her probation, she could be imprisoned for 12 months and be subject to three years of post-release control.

Fusselman pleaded guilty to the first-degree misdemeanor charge of endangering children. The original felony charges were dropped. She was sentenced to 180 days in the Mercer County jail suspended on the condition she not be employed by a day care facility, commits no crimes for one year and pays all court costs within the next year.

Their charges stem from an incident that occurred June 3, 2019. The St. Henry Police Department reportedly received a call about an infant who was not breathing. The infant's baby sitter had begun CPR with help from a 911 dispatcher by the time officers arrived, St. Henry Police Chief Mike Link said at the time. After arriving in the 300 block of Kremer-Hoying Road, police officers took over performing CPR on the infant, according to a police news release at the time.

St. Henry EMS squad members reportedly arrived a short time later and transported the infant to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater.

Police officers along with representatives of the Mercer County Department of Job and Family Services and the Mercer County Sheriff's Office later investigated the incident further, police officer Bob Garman had said.