Trial scheduled for SC mom charged in death of 4-year-old found dead in dresser
Rock Hill police in May 2020 found a disabled, special needs 4-year-old girl named India Heavenly Lacey Martin dead in a dresser drawer.
The child’s mother is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday for charges of murder and homicide by child abuse at the Moss Justice Center in York, according to the York County Clerk of Court online trial docket and prosecutors.
Jackleen Elizabeth Mullen, 26, faces those two charges plus a charge of aiding and abetting homicide by child abuse, according to indictments obtained by The Herald. Rock Hill Police Department officers said in court documents and previous court hearings Mullen lied about her daughter being with relatives in North Carolina before the body was found.
Indictments in the case obtained by The Herald allege the death happened between May 22 and May 26, 2020. The murder indictment alleges the girl had been assaulted.
The trial docket shows visiting Judge Eugene Griffith of Newberry will preside. Mullen could face life in prison if convicted of murder or homicide by child abuse.
Mullen has pleaded not guilty and has not been convicted of any crime in connection to her daughter’s death.
The charges
Mullen was arrested May 27, 2020 after law enforcement found India in the dresser at a home on Gentle Breeze Lane, officials said. The arrest warrant names Mullen as the child’s mother and states the child lived with Mullen at the time of death.
In a court document in the clerk of court case file and a court hearing after Mullen’s arrest, a Rock Hill Police Department detective stated India was special needs and disabled.
Mullen’s boyfriend at the time in 2020 was also charged in the case. Charges against him remain pending, but he is not set for trial this week.
Mullen has been held at the York County jail without bail since her arrest.
The trial
The trial could last several days. Leslie Robinson, 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office spokesperson, confirmed to The Herald the case is set for trial this week, but prosecutors declined to comment further.
Deputy Solicitor John Anthony and Senior Solicitor Erin Joyner are expected to prosecute the case at trial.
Mullen is represented by defense lawyers Luke Shealey and Brian Shealey of Columbia, court documents show. Efforts to reach the lawyers by phone at their office for comment about the upcoming trial were unsuccessful.
Twelve jurors must unanimously agree that a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to convict, judges typically say in court.
The trial of a mother accused of killing her own child is the second in two months in York County. In August, a Rock Hill woman was sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted her of homicide by child abuse 31 years after her child was found dead in the Catawba River in 1992.
