Mother of hurt girl pleads guilty to neglect
Daughter lost both feet; sentencing set for July
ST. MARIES – The 27-year-old mother of abuse victim Kyra Wine pleaded guilty Friday to a felony count of injuring her 3-year-old daughter by neglect.
Christina Haynes could spend five years in prison if a judge accepts her plea bargain.
Haynes and her boyfriend, Charles W. Smith, 29, both were charged with abusing Haynes’ daughter.
Smith was sentenced to a maximum 10 years in prison.
Kyra Wine had dead flesh on her head, arms and legs when police found her at the couple’s Hells Gulch home almost a year ago. She was hospitalized in critical condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center where she underwent several surgeries and had her feet and part of a finger amputated. She also lost a kidney and will likely be bald on part of her scalp.
Haynes’ arraignment was postponed several times as she underwent psychological evaluations.
According to the test results, the woman has difficulty tolerating stress and concentrating under adversity, said Dave Rogers, her attorney.
The plea agreement with the Benewah County Prosecutor’s Office calls for Haynes to plead guilty to felony child abuse in exchange for a fixed five-year prison sentence and an additional five years if a prison board determines it is necessary.
The plea bargain also allows Rogers to argue for less prison time during Haynes’ July 17 sentencing.
When 1st District Judge Fred Gibler asked if Haynes understood and could read English – a standard question before hearing a plea – Haynes responded that she had difficulty.
“I need to understand if you can or you can’t,” the judge asked again.
Haynes kept her hands near her face, sobbing and shaking quietly.
“Yes,” she said, and sobbed loudly after entering her plea.
Rogers said the defendant didn’t maliciously injure her daughter, but that she failed to protect the toddler from injury.
The girl has been fitted with prosthetics and is living with her grandparents.
Smith, who pleaded guilty to one count of injuring a child, was sentenced by Gibler in March to 10 years in prison without the chance of parole.
At that hearing, the judge said he regretted that the felony charge against Smith had a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
“The physical injuries are extreme to say the least,” Gibler said. “The emotional injuries are extreme as well.”