History of abuse

A 4-year-old Spokane girl stopped breathing in the bathtub Saturday night as her resentful stepmother left her alone to cook an anniversary meal for the girl’s father, according to court records.

Summer Lytle’s death ended a pattern of abuse that included a dog’s shock collar, burns to her face, a bite mark and extensive bruising, according to court records.

Charged with Summer’s death are her father, 28-year-old Jonathan D. Lytle and her stepmother, 32-year-old Adriana L. Lytle. Both remain in the Spokane County Jail on a $500,000 bond each for the charge of homicide by abuse.

Neither parent has a felony record, but spokeswoman Kathy Spears with Washington Department of Social and Health Services said child abuse investigators closed a case involving the Lytle family in October.

“Usually, we close a case when the threat of abuse or neglect is diminished,” Spears said.

She said the agency investigated a report that Summer was being neglected in January 2006, but that social workers had received no specific reports of physical abuse involving the preschooler.

“Nobody called in saying they had seen this child covered with bruises,” Spears said, adding: “I’m not going to second-guess what happened with this investigation.”

An autopsy was under way Monday to determine what killed Summer, Spokane police Sgt. Joe Peterson said.

“There are extensive injuries, so the autopsy is going to take a long time,” Peterson said Monday.

Investigators still have not found the girl’s biological mother, who lives somewhere in Western Washington and apparently doesn’t know that her child is dead, Peterson said.

Meanwhile, Summer’s father and stepmother appeared at 1:30 p.m. Monday before Spokane County District Court Commissioner Charles Rohr, who read the police report detailing her injuries.

During police interviews, both Jonathan and Adriana Lytle admitted that they subjected Summer to various punishments.

“This included the use of a dog’s training shock collar, beatings with leather belts, beatings with spoons and making Summer tear pizza boxes into tiny pieces,” according to court records.

Jonathan Lytle kept his head down as Rohr read the report, including the passage that details how he left to go smoke a cigarette Saturday night as Adriana Lytle attempted to resuscitate Summer.

The Lytles lived at the Dresden Apartments at 707 N. Monroe, where the smell of stale cigarettes hung in the air of the dim hallway leading to No. 25.

Manager Merle Coldwell said Monday that he was shocked by the allegations against Jonathan and Adriana Lytle, who had lived at the Dresden for about two years.

“I’m incredulous,” Coldwell said. “This is not behavior that I’m aware of.”

He said Adriana Lytle would bring her eight-month-old son and Summer to the top of the stairs each day to wait for Jonathan Lytle to return from work.

“She was a pretty little girl,” he said. “This was too bad.”

Other neighbors said they’d heard loud sounds from the Lytle’s apartment. Lance Emigh, who lives in No. 19, said that Adriana Lytle would answer the door holding her baby, but that the 4-year-old was never seen.

“If I’d have known, I’d have kicked the door down,” Emigh said. “Any time a child has to endure a monster act like that, everybody feels terrible.”

The case began just after midnight Saturday when Jonathan Lytle, a welder who moved to Spokane about 18 months ago from the Everett area, took Summer to Deaconess Medical Center. Medical personnel were unable to revive her, but they found extensive injuries.

Three officers went to the Lytles’ apartment and knocked on their door. They got no response.

However, the officers thought they heard someone, so they obtained a key from the apartment manager, according to court records.

“Officers made entry and found Adriana Lytle and her eight-month-old son in the apartment. Adriana Lytle commented, ‘The reason I didn’t answer the door is because Jon told me not to when the police came,’ ” court records state.

The boy was later placed in foster care by CPS.

At Deaconess, Detectives Brian Hamond, Mark Burbridge and Sgt. Brad Arleth, looked over Summer’s body. They noted bruises from her thighs to the top of her head.

In some of the bruises the detectives could make out palm prints and finger impressions. On her upper arm, Summer had what appeared to be a bite mark that showed both upper and lower teeth.

On Summer’s forehead, they found a vertical burn or abrasion. Summer’s eyes were swollen and a large amount of her red hair was gone, most notably around the sides of both ears and along the back, according to court records.

Hamond and Burbridge then interviewed Jonathan Lytle. He said Summer was the biological daughter of another woman who had custody of her.

However, Summer’s mother called last August and asked if the girl could stay in Spokane for a month with the Lytles. The mother never came back to get the girl, according to state records.

“Jon said Summer is a difficult child and can be abusive to herself and had damaged the apartment on occasion,” Hamond wrote. “Jon said he was aware that Adriana had recently bitten Summer after Summer had kicked Adriana in the chin.”

He then gave details about the day prior to going to the hospital. Lytle told the detectives that Summer “received discipline” for urinating on the floor and being defiant. The adults made Summer stand in the bathtub and wash items she had soiled.

“Later in the evening, while Summer was again washing items out in the tub, Adriana found her unresponsive in the water,” Hamond wrote. Both tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her, and Jonathan Lytle said he took Summer to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Detective Terry Ferguson interviewed Adriana Lytle inside the Public Safety Building.

“Adriana said she is miserable about Summer living with them,” according to court records. “Adriana described Summer as defiant, a ‘handful’ and destructive and she wished Summer had never come to live with them.”

Adriana Lytle told Ferguson that Summer had urinated on towels and clothes, so she placed the girl in the bathtub to clean those items. Lytle later saw Summer underwater with only her nose sticking out, blowing water into the air.

“Summer was left alone while Adriana cooked an anniversary dinner for her and her husband,” records state. The woman returned later to find her with a wet T-shirt over her face.

Not long after, Adriana Lytle checked on Summer again and found her lying in the tub with her head underwater. The girl was making “gulping motions and water was spraying from her nostrils,” court records state.

The stepmother then drained the tub but left the girl to continue her forced washing.

After finding Summer unresponsive, Hamond wrote, “Adriana said she pulled Summer from the tub and began CPR using her hands and feet.”

The stepmother called for Jonathan, who assisted.

“At one time during the procedure, Jon left the room to have a cigarette,” Hamond wrote. “Adriana told Jon that ‘We might have killed her.’ Prior to leaving, he told Adriana not to answer the door for anyone.”

Both Lytles declined a request by The Spokesman-Review on Monday night for an interview.