MURPHYSBORO — Jackson County Circuit Judge W. Charles Grace denied a motion Friday to reduce bond for a 25-year-old Du Quoin woman accused of suffocating her newborn infant in a trash bag after giving birth to him Jan. 22, 2011, in a bathroom somewhere in Carbondale.
Casey M. Parnell is charged with involuntary manslaughter, concealment of a homicidal death and concealment of a death.
She is being held in Jackson County jail on in lieu of $750,000 bond. Public defender Peggy Degan requested during a Friday court hearing to reduce bond to $2,000 stating Parnell’s family could only raise about $200 for her release.
“I don’t think she’s a flight risk,†Degan told Grace who replied that he had to take into account the circumstances of an infant in-volved in the case.
Jackson County state’s attorney Michael Carr argued Parnell has a criminal history with charges indicating she has a severe crack cocaine addiction.
A driving under the influence charge reduced to reckless driving resulted in a one-year probation sentence. While meeting with her probation officer in July 2011, the defendant fainted, was taken to the hospital where tests indicated she was pregnant, Carr told the court.
A few months later, she was arrested on possession of a controlled substance charge that was later reduced to possession of drug paraphernalia.
Degan argued her client got outpatient drug counseling at a Perry County treatment center in Du Quoin.
Other information surfaced in exchanges between Degan, Carr and Grace such as Degan saying her client had notified the police department initially. That was countered by Carr saying Parnell waited six hours after suffocating her newborn to notify law au-thorities and only after her roommate said she would do so unless Parnell took action.
Degan said alleged witness testimony that was surfacing during the exchanges was fraught with lies that discern much of witness testimony in criminal cases, prompting her to say out loud, “We are going to have mini-trial right now.â€
Grace replied there would be no mini-trial and his decision was to deny the bond reduction request. Grace ordered a 1 p.m. Feb. 25 status hearing.
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Count 1 of the indictment, involuntary manslaughter of a newborn child, states Parnell acted recklessly in unintentionally killing the newborn when she gave birth to him into a toilet, picked him up and wrapped him in towels and then placed him into a trash bag which resulted in asphyxiation.
Count 2 alleges Parnell concealed the newborn’s death with knowledge he had died by homicidal means. Count 3 alleges she knowingly moved the body of a dead person from the place of death with intent to conceal information regarding the place and manner of his death.
