ASHLAND – The Hayesville mother of an 8-year-old boy who shot his 4-year-old sister while the pair were home alone Saturday pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two charges of child endangering.
Alyssa Mae Edwards, 27, appeared before Ashland County Common Pleas Magistrate Paul Lange for an arraignment via Skype video conference. Through her attorney, Donald Wick, Edwards entered not guilty pleas to one third-degree felony charge of child endangering and one misdemeanor charge of child endangering.
Authorities say Edwards left two kids home alone while she went to work around 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Sometime in the next two hours, the 8-year-old shot the 4-year-old two to three times with a 22 caliber rifle, according to Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell.
The weapon was stored unloaded in a gun cabinet with other firearms and kept separately from the ammunition, according to Tunnell. It was unclear from the investigation whether the cabinet was locked.
Around 10 a.m., Tunnell said, Edwards was contacted at work, came home, inspected the girl’s wounds, cleaned up a bedcover with blood on it, and then left the kids alone again while she went back to work until around noon.
Sometime between noon and 2 p.m., Tunnell said, after the 4-year-old began to urinate through a bullet hole in her abdomen, Edwards took the girl to the hospital.
The child is being treated at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. She is in stable condition and is expected to recover fully, Ashland County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Carl Richert said.
Edwards had sole custody of the two children, and the pair are now in the care of Ashland County Children Services, according to Richert.
Tunnell announced in a news release Wednesday he will not be requesting that the Ashland County Juvenile Court find the 8-year-old to be a delinquent child.
“An eight-year-old child lacks the capacity to understand the nature of a court proceeding,” Tunnell said in the release. “It is doubtful that an eight-year-old acts with the necessary mental state to hold him legally culpable.”
Tunnell went on to say that under state law, eight-year-olds are not eligible to be sent to a juvenile correctional facility.
The prosecutor said there is action pending in Ashland County Juvenile Court and that Ashland County Department of Job and Family Services will develop and implement appropriate interventions to address the needs of the child.
Edwards’ next court appearance is a preliminary hearing set for 3 p.m. March 13 in Ashland County Common Pleas Courtroom No. 2.
