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August 3, 2009

Woman enters plea of felony child abuse after missing 2 appearances

By Cass Rains, Staff Writer

A former Enid woman entered a plea Monday on a count of felony child abuse after missing two previously scheduled court appearances.

Kimberly Dawn Coulter, 24, entered an Alford plea before Associate District Judge Tom Newby during a 9 a.m. hearing.

An Alford plea is a plea in which the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence but admits sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty.

Coulter, who operated a day care out of her home, is accused of shaking then 5-month-old Tegan Corr, who was in her care, on Dec. 7, 2006, causing the boy to suffer brain damage and seizures. The boy was hospitalized for 32 days.

During the brief hearing, Newby asked Coulter if she fully understood the agreement she entered with her attorney Brian Lovell, which includes waiving certain rights guaranteed by the state constitution and Constitution.

According to court documents, there is no plea agreement with prosecutors.

In the court filing, Coulter denies hurting the boy and states conflicting medical testimony of the prosecution and defense’s expert exist that could result in a guilty finding.

“By my entering this Alford plea, I maintain that I did not, intentionally or unintentionally, cause any injury to this child; however, the risk of the potential guilty verdict is too great to proceed to a jury trial considering the possible range of punishment attached to the charge levied against me,” the filing reads.

Felony child abuse carries a punishment of up to life in prison or up to a year in jail and/or fines of $500 to $5,000.

Newby said he would accept Coulter’s plea and ordered a pre-sentencing investigation to be completed by Oct. 13. Formal sentencing was set for Oct. 20.

Coulter, who now resides in Illinois, previously was scheduled to enter an Alford plea June 22 but was involved in an accident on her way to court. She was ordered to appear again by July 13, or before if medically able to do so, but she again failed to appear. At that hearing, Newby ordered a bench warrant and bond forfeiture, which was recalled during Monday’s hearing.

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