Parents charged with involuntary manslaughter in baby's death

Sep. 6—The parents of an infant who was found dead following a Canton house fire in 2020 have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death.

Three-month-old Camden Ryder Clonts was inside the Canton home when it burned to the ground in the wee hours of the morning in November 2020. Austin Clonts and Ashley Grasty were both indicted by a Haywood County grand jury on charges of involuntary manslaughter in July, some 18 months after the fire.

Details and circumstances surrounding the house fire have not yet been made public in court files, so the parents' alleged role in Camden Clonts' death is not yet known — including whether he was already dead when the fire consumed the home.

The fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2020. However, the indictments state that Camden Clonts' death occurred sometime between Nov. 14 and 15.

If the fire was the presumed cause of death, the indictment would have pinpointed the time of death as Nov. 15 when the fire actually occurred. Instead, the indictment indicates the time of death could have been on Nov. 14.

At the time of the fire, Camden Clonts' great-grandfather and his three-year-old brother were asleep inside the home. The great-grandfather awoke and managed to get out, as did the three year old.

The great-grandfather was unable to reach the infant, however, due to flames already engulfing the home. He was also on oxygen.

Meanwhile, Grasty was allegedly not home, and Clonts was in a detached garage that wasn't affected by the fire. The home belonged to Grasty's grandfather, who they were living with at the time.

When the 911 call came in, the caller reported that an infant was still trapped inside. Firefighters arrived quickly and tried to get the baby out, but it was too late.

"Any time there's an entrapment in a house fire that raises the intensity level a lot, especially if you hear it's an infant," North Canton Fire Chief Steven Kelley said at the time. "People will go above and beyond, but if you know it's a child, it affects you differently. That increases the stress level quite a bit."

Fire fighters were saddened by the infant's death, which in the immediate aftermath was presumed to be a result of the fire.

"We haven't had that many deaths by fire in this county, so that dynamic was tough," Kelley said in an interview with The Mountaineer at the time. "The community prays for the family. We're here to help them and anybody any way we can."

Seven fire departments responded to the blaze: North Canton, Canton, Center Pigeon, Clyde, Junaluska, Enka/Candler and Leicester. A Go Fund Me campaign following the fire raised more than $5,000 for the family.

Pregnant inmate

Both Grasty and Austin Clonts appeared in court last week. Both have a history of drug use and trouble with the law, according to court records.

Grasty, 24, is pregnant with a due date of mid-October. She has been held in the Haywood County jail since early August, after being located in South Carolina and arrested on the involuntary manslaughter charges.

Prosecutors appealed the court to have her transferred to a state facility in Raleigh that is better equipped to handle the prenatal care and birth of her child while incarcerated. Her attorney, Nick Benjamin, objected.

"She does not want to have this baby in Raleigh," Benjamin told the court.

Benjamin also said that Grasty isn't to blame for Camden Clonts's death — foreshadowing what will likely be Grasty's defense as the case moves forward.

"While it was a terrible thing that happened, she wasn't home at the time. Mr. Clonts is who the state needs to be going after," Benjamin said. "She wishes to be cooperative in the prosecution against Mr. Clonts."

Prosecutors also sought to have her bond increased, which was initially set at $25,000. Given Grasty's drug history, if she managed to make bond, her unborn child could be put at risk — both in the womb and once it was born, said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Jones.

"While I do think she is a flight risk, I am also very concerned about the pregnancy she has right now," Jones said. "I am concerned about the potential safety of the child due to possible drug use."

Jones added that meth was found in the system of Grasty's three-year-old following the fire.

Immediately after the fire, Haywood County DSS took away her custody of the three-year-old, who has since been raised by relatives.

Grasty soon got pregnant again and went on to have a third child, bouncing between Tennessee and South Carolina, with ongoing custody disputes following her. She finally lost custody of that child upon her arrest for the involuntary manslaughter charges in early August.

All four of Grasty's children have different fathers.

Grasty's lawyer argued that her initial bond of $25,000 was sufficient.

"I've been trying to find somewhere she can stay or someone who could come up with the money, but everybody says they can't do it," Benjamin said. "I reached out to friends and family members. I've reached out to three shelters, and nobody can house Ms. Grasty right now."

Judge Brad Letts, who presided over the hearing, sided with the prosecution. He raised Grasty's bond to $25,000 and ordered her to be transferred to the state facility until after her baby was born.

In a filing seeking the transfer, prosecutors claimed that the Haywood jail is "not equipped to provide prenatal care."

"She has been transported at least twice to Haywood Regional Medical Center for alleged contractions over the past week or so. She was cleared each time as not being in labor," the filing states.

Haywood County taxpayers will continue to foot the bill for Grasty's incarceration and medical care, reimbursing the state facility for Grasty's stay there.

History with the law

Austin Clonts, 27, has been in and out of trouble with the law since he was 18. The past few years, he's also been in and out of prison — mostly in, according to court records.

Meth use was a recurring factor in Austin Clonts's criminal activity. Whenever he got out on probation, he would violate his parole and end up behind bars again. Other times, he would be out on an unsecured bond while awaiting trial, only to rack up more charges before his pending court date.

Such was the case at the time of Camden Clonts's death. Austin Clonts was charged with possession of meth in Sept. 2020, two months before the fire. He wasn't kept in jail, but instead walked with an unsecured bond of $1,500, despite his past criminal activity.

At the time of the Sept. 2020 meth charges, Austin Clonts had been out of prison for six months after serving time for two other meth charges dating to 2017.

Incidentally, Austin Clonts was in prison when Gratsy got pregnant with Camden Clonts, so he isn't the biological father despite his name being listed on Camden Clonts's birth certificate.

Camden Clonts was born in August 2020, and thus conceived around November 2019 — but Austin Clonts was in prison from July 2018 to February 2020.

Austin Clonts and Grasty were together by the time Camden Clonts was born, however, so the couple decided to list Austin Clonts as the father on the birth certificate, and give the baby Austin Clonts's last name.

Here is the timeline of Austin Clonts's recent criminal activity:

—April 2017: Charged with possessing meth on the premises of the jail. Given probation instead of active prison time.

—July 2017: Charged with possessing meth, a probation violation. This time he's sent to prison.

—April 2018: Gets out on probation after serving the minimum sentence.

—July 2018: Charged with breaking into vehicles and felony breaking and entering — once again violating his probation. Sent back to prison to serve out the remaining time on his 2017 meth charge and the new charges.

—February 2020: Gets out, but remains under probation.

—Sept. 2020: Charged with possession of meth. Also hit with habitual felon charges due to prior record. He isn't kept in jail, but instead let out on a $1,500 bond while awaiting his court date.

—Nov. 2020: The fire occurs, Camden Clonts dies.

—Jan. 2021: Charged with stealing a vehicle and possession of meth again. Remains out on bond, but is put under probation.

—May 2021: Doesn't appear for his court date and a warrant is issued for his arrest.

—May 2021: Before being located on the outstanding warrant, he commits felony breaking and entering and larceny in Hendersonville.

—June 2021: Sentenced to seven years in prison for the collection of charges in Haywood and Henderson racked up since Sept. 2020.

—July 2022: Grand jury indictment comes down for the Nov. 2020 involuntary manslaughter charges.