Evansville parents charged in child's death have now had 11 trial dates

EVANSVILLE – An Evansville couple charged in the death of their infant son have now been scheduled to go to trial a combined 11 times as their case continues to stall in Vanderburgh County court.

Taylor Smith and Timothy Wilson were originally supposed to stand before juries in separate trials in December 2022. They were charged with neglect of a dependent causing death – as well as reckless homicide and multiple other charges – after police arrived at their Oregon Street home that June and found their 13-day-old son, Wade Wilson, unresponsive after Smith reportedly rolled on top of him while sleeping.

Syringes and what police believed to be narcotics were scattered around the house “in plain view,” according to the probable cause affidavit, and Child Protective Services had already told Smith to stay away from the baby after Wade was born with meth in his system.

But their initial trial dates were canceled. So were the next ones, and several after that.

In all, Smith has now been set to go before a jury six times. Her most recent cancelation came earlier this month, when her Nov. 13 trial was pushed to Feb. 20, 2024. Wilson’s latest cancelation arrived Monday, when his trial was delayed until April 8, 2024 − nearly two years after Wade Wilson’s death.

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers said recent delays came for multiple reasons.

In Wilson’s case, she said an expert witness for the defense had been subpoenaed to testify in another county at the same time. And “before that, they were attempting to locate an expert witness."

The hunt for an expert witness also stalled the Smith case in a recent continuance, she said. For the cancelation before that, no reason was given.

Smith’s attorney, Dawnya Taylor, declined to speak to the Courier & Press. Chris Lenn, who’s representing Wilson, didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Delays not uncommon

It’s not uncommon for high-level felony cases to take their time winding through court.

Arthur Lee Jones IV was found guilty of two counts of felony murder earlier this month. But his victims – 27-year-old Samantha Robbins and 28-year-old Derek Johnson – had been shot and killed almost two years earlier, in December 2021.

Jones had even requested an early trial the day after his arrest, but the trial wasn’t put on the books until Oct. 24, 2022. That date, however, was eventually canceled and moved to June – and then to September. And then to November.

But that’s only about half of the cancelations seen in Smith’s case alone.

Moers said because of “congested” courts, as many as 10 cases can be set for trial at once, leading to a slew of continuances.

“It’s unfortunate,” she said.

Very few of those cases actually end with a jury’s verdict, though. According to trial court statistics compiled by Indiana’s judicial branch, 35,775 cases – including juvenile matters and misdemeanors – streamed through Vanderburgh Courts in 2022. Of those, only 38 – or 0.1% – were settled in a jury trial.

The death of Wade Wilson

Evansville Vanderburgh Dispatch fielded a 911 call on June 8, 2022, reporting that an infant inside a home on West Oregon Street wasn’t breathing.

When members of the Evansville Fire Department arrived, they found Timothy Wilson performing CPR on the infant while Smith “was seated on the couch crying,” the affidavit states.

An EPD officer arrived soon after. Smith reportedly told him that she had gone to bed with Wade around 2 a.m. and that “when she woke this morning, the infant was underneath her and unresponsive.”

“Smith told (the officer) that the infant had been born with methamphetamine in his system," the affidavit states.

According to police, Wade didn’t have a crib or any kind of bedding. Trash and evidence of narcotics use littered the home, which didn’t have running water, despite Smith’s claim that she used formula to feed the baby.

After the parents were taken to EPD headquarters, Wilson confirmed Smith’s account of how she found Wade. He then admitted that CPS had ordered him to keep Smith away from the baby after both the mother and child were found with meth in their systems.

“The defendant told me he wanted the three of them to be a family, so he had been allowing Taylor Smith to be with the infant,” police wrote.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville parents charged in child's death have had 11 trial dates