A mother has been indicted on murder and other charges in connection with the death of her 6-year-old son more than 16 months ago.
Tiera Mounts, 29, was indicted on 33 counts, including murder for her a role in the death of Wyatt Mounts and attempts to cover up her role in the homicide.
“In addition to charging her with the murder of Wyatt, the 33-count indictment, which was filed with the common pleas court earlier this afternoon (Friday), alleges Mounts engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity to felonious assault, endangering children and the murder of Wyatt, as well as obstructing justice and tampering with evidence,” said Blue.
If convicted, Mounts will be the second person responsible for the murder of Wyatt Mounts after Blue successfully convicted Marvin Benson for the murder earlier this year.
Benson, 33, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 15 years by Guernsey County Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel G. Padden in March.
Benson was convicted by a jury on two counts of murder for the slaying of Wyatt Mounts. He was also convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter, first-degree felonies; one count of endangering children, a second-degree felony; and one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony.
At the request of defense counsel and with no objection from prosecutors, the convictions were merged in the sentencing hearing. The result was one indefinite 15-years-to-life prison sentence for Benson.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony from Cambridge police officers, Guernsey County Coroner Dr. Sandra Schubert, and Dr. Jeffrey Lee of the Licking County Coroner’s Office, as well as recorded statements from Benson himself.
Lee performed the autopsy on Wyatt Mounts after he was found dead April 16, 2018, at the home where he lived with his mother, Tiera Mounts, and Benson. Investigators reported seeing signs of severe physical abuse on the boy’s body.
In a news release from the time of Benson’s conviction, Blue said Benson confessed to Cambridge Police Detective Greg Clark that he had repeatedly kicked and thrown the child the night before (April 15), but claimed the boy seemed fine later that night.
The confession reportedly came during a preliminary interview.
Tiera Mounts kept the boy out of school April 16, due to him vomiting throughout the night. She returned home from work that day and found him dead in his bedroom, according to Blue.
On April 17, Clark attended the autopsy of the victim in Licking County. Lee discovered a tear in the victim’s bowel caused by blunt force trauma. It was determined this tear had caused the boy’s death, rather than a head injury. This evidence also matched the explanation in Benson’s confession.
Mother indicted on murder charge after son's death
A mother has been indicted on murder and other charges in connection with the death of her 6-year-old son more than 16 months ago at a South 10th Street
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