DA seeks 1st-degree murder conviction against Corry mom in toddler son's starvation death

More than extreme negligence caused the starvation death of 2-year-old Corry boy, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

The office is alleging the mother, the boy's sole caretaker, acted with intent in the death of her son, in January 2021.

District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz is pursuing a conviction for first-degree murder — a premeditated homicide — against the mother, Kayle R. Mealy.

Hirz, who is prosecuting the case, made her office's position clear on Tuesday, at Mealy's formal arraignment in Erie County Common Pleas Court.

Hirz told Judge John J. Mead that she is seeking a conviction for first-degree murder against Mealy, who would face a mandatory sentence of life with no parole if found guilty of that count.

Mealy is also accused of one count each of the first-degree felonies of endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault and a count of the second-degree misdemeanor of recklessly endangering another person.

Mealy is accused of first-degree murder because she "did allow the child to die from nutritional deprivation and/or dehydration," according to the formal charging document that Hirz presented to Mealy and her lawyer at the brief arraignment.

Mead set a tentative trial date for Sept. 20. Mealy has pleaded not guilty.

Commenting after the hearing, Hirz said she is seeking a conviction for first-degree murder "based on the nature of the allegations" against Mealy in the death of her son, Bryson Mealy.

The allegations, according to the formal charging document, are that Mealy let Bryson die by failing to give him food and water, rather than causing his death by failing to get medical care for him, for instance.

Hirz declined to comment further following the arraignment, but the formal charges against Kayle Mealy echoed Hirz's position at Mealy's preliminary hearing on June 2. Hirz at the hearing presented text messages in which she said Mealy was frustrated with having to care for her son, who was born in October 2018, and would rather spend time playing video games.

Preliminary hearing:'I literally have no space': DA cites texts in case against Corry mom in son's starvation

"I literally have no space, no time to myself for anything," Mealy texted her mother on Jan. 3, 2021, 17 days before her son was found deceased and naked in their apartment on Chord Road in Corry.

When he died, investigators said in the criminal complaint, Bryson had been in his crib without food or water for more than 19 hours. The boy weighed 21.61 pounds on the date of his death, a loss of over 8 pounds in 34 days, according to the complaint.

"This child was starved to death by his mother," Hirz said at the preliminary hearing. "She was in the home, by herself, neglecting him at the most egregious level. It would be the commonwealth's theory that that child ... was just left, restrained, alone in that bed with no way to get any food because he was (an) interference in her life and she did not want to be a mom."

3rd-degree murder charged in similar case

The case against Mealy is one of two pending Erie County homicide cases in which the victim was a child.

The degree of the homicide charge against Mealy is more severe than the degree of the homicide charges against two other Erie County parents charged in the death of a child.

In that case, Logan Miller and Lindsay Orton-McIntyre, both 27 and both of North East, are charged with third-degree murder and accused of neglecting their 4-week-old daughter, Kaylee Miller, so severely that she died in July 2020.

Third-degree murder is an unpremeditated killing with malice punishable by up to 40 years in state prison. In accusing Orton-McIntire and Miller of third-degree murder, the District Attorney's Office is not alleging that the two intended to kill their daughter but that they caused her death by failing to get prompt medical care for her after she was injured, according to arrest records.

Third-degree murder alleged:North East baby death: Neglect rather than intent at core of charges as parents arraigned

Hirz is also prosecuting the case against Orton-McIntire and Miller. Their trial is scheduled for Aug. 12, and Judge John J. Trucilla is holding a status conference on the case on July 6.

Defense starts gathering evidence

At Mealy's arraignment on Tuesday, she gave only "yes" and "no" answers, which is typically the case at arraignments. Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs, Mealy said she understood the charges against her and had consulted with her lawyer, Bruce Sandmeyer, who is court-appointed and who was at the hearing.

Mealy afterward was escorted back to the Erie County Prison, where she is being held without bond because of the first-degree murder charge.

Sandmeyer declined to comment after the arraignment, saying he had to obtain and review all the evidence in the case.

At the preliminary hearing, he had unsuccessfully argued that the prosecution did not have substantial evidence to prove that Mealy was responsible for the death of her son.

How probe unfolded

With assistance from the Corry police and the Erie County Coroner's Office, detectives with the District Attorney's Office charged Mealy in March after reviewing the autopsy report and other findings in the case.

Charges filed:Corry mom, 22, charged with homicide after authorities say 2-year-old son died of starvation

The investigation started when Corry police initially responded to Mealy's residence on Jan. 20, 2021, on a report of a cardiac arrest involving a 2-year-old boy, according to the criminal complaint.

At the preliminary hearing, Corry police Cpl. Brett Sproveri testified that, before entering Mealy's apartment, Sproveri noticed Mealy outside smoking a cigarette and showing "not too much emotion." Inside the apartment, Sproveri testified, he found used cigarette butts piled in an ashtray and empty cans of Dr Pepper in the living room.

"It was, quite honestly, filthy," Sproveri said.

Upstairs, Sproveri said, he and other police officers identified dried feces on the baby's crib headboard and noticed markings on the spindles on the side of the crib where paint had been chipped off.

Another case:'She starved this baby': North East mom sentenced to state prison for neglect of son

Sproveri testified that he asked Mealy about the feces on the crib, which Mealy said had been there for a couple of days. Mealy, he testified, said she "just didn't have time to get something that would actually remove" it.

Staff writer Baylee DeMuth contributed to this report.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mom charged with starving son in Corry faces 1st-degree murder charge