Babysitter Lindsay Partin, 36, stands trial in Butler County, Ohio for the death of three-year-old Hannah Wesche, and prosecutors say it was all over ketchup. The defendant faces charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and endangering children.
Deputies said last year that on March 8, 2018, emergency crews and detectives showed up regarding a call about an unresponsive child. That was Wesche. Her breathing was labored and she had bruises on her head and face. She was sent to the hospital facing life-threatening injuries. Officials said they found even more bruises on her body.
Her babysitter Partin admitted to hitting the girl. She allegedly said that Wesche fell and struck her head on the concrete floor in the garage the previous day, deputies said.
“This little girl is hanging on by a thread,” said Sheriff Richard K. Jones. “Cases like this rip your heart out. I don’t understand why or how anyone harms a child.”
Wesche passed away 10 days later. What started as an abuse case became a murder investigation.
The 911 call reveals that Partin claimed that Wesche fell the day before, but prosecutors said that’s a lie, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Authorities claimed the bruising was inconsistent with a fall. In fact, she shook the victim, they claim. Assisting Prosecuting Attorney Kelly Heile wrote in a court filing that the defendant claimed it happened because Wesche dumped ketchup in the toilet.
Trial was set for last November until the defense convinced the judge to delay. Attorney Chris Pagan described this as a “medical opinion case,” according to The Journal-News. He said they got new analysis from prosecutors about the time in which Wesche may have been injured, so the defense had to discuss this with experts.
[Mugshot via Butler County Sheriff’s Office]
