Mom faces 13 felonies after daughter dies, 2 malnourished

KENNETT -- A Stoddard County judge ordered a Malden woman to stand trial Friday on more than a dozen felonies stemming from the death of her adopted daughter, as well as the alleged neglect of two other adopted daughters.

Tina Diann Burton, 46, originally was charged with the Class A felony of second-degree murder or in the alternative the Class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and the Class A felony of child abuse.

Burton was charged with the Class A felony of second-degree murder or in the alternative the Class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter; the Class C felony of second-degree domestic assault or in the alternative the Class C felony of second-degree domestic assault; the Class C felony of first-degree endanger- ing the welfare of a child; the Class A felony of child abuse or in the alternative the Class A felony of child abuse and the Class B felony of child neglect.

The allegations in the first seven counts involved Burton's eldest daughter, who died May 1, 2014, at a St. Louis hospital, where she had been a patient for about two days.

Burton also was charged with the Class B felonies of child neglect and child abuse and the Class C felonies of child abuse and first- degree endangering the welfare of a child (two counts).

Those charges stem from Burton allegedly failing to provide adequate nutrition and/or food to her deceased daughter, as well as her then 4-year-old and 2-year-old daughters.

During Burton's preliminary hearing, Satterfield heard testimony from four witnesses for the state: Malden Police Sgt. Russell Miller; Erica McDonald, a Missouri Children's Division investigator; Dr. Juliette Scantleberry, assistant medical examiner from the St. Louis City Medical Examiner's Office; and Dr. Adrienne Atzemis, child abuse pediatrician and medical director of the Child Protection Program at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

At the conclusion of the testimony, Satterfield took the case under advisement and gave the state and Burton's attorney, Patricia Tucka, until May 22 to provide written arguments.

After considering the testimony, exhibits and attorneys' arguments, Satterfield issued a written order on Friday.

In that order, Satterfield said, he found probable cause to bind Burton over to stand trial on all 13 felonies.

Satterfield ordered Burton to appear at 10:30 a.m. June 10 before Presiding Circuit Judge Robert Mayer for arraignment on the charges.

In his order Satterfield said, counts I-VII charged Burton with "either causing the death of her daughter ... or with knowingly or recklessly causing physical injury, serious physical injury or creating a substantial risk to the health of said child by inflicting abusive head trauma and/or acceleration/ deceleration forces."

The state, he said, presented expert testimony regarding the 5-year-old's cause of death.

The child died of a "closed head injury due to head trauma, resulting in a severe brain injury, with right parietal hemorrhage in the brain, a subgaleal hematoma and cerebal edema (excessive fluid)," Satterfield said.

Burton, Satterfield said, admitted to McDonald she had seen her daughter awake in bed, with her eyes open, and she was the only adult present at the time "she claimed (the girl) later fell from that bed and suffered the above described injuries, which required her immediate hospitalization."

Both Atzemis and Scantlebury "opined" Burton's explanation of the child being injured when she fell from the bed onto the floor "was not plausible given the child's severe head trauma," Satterfield said.

The doctors, he said, further indicated the "onset of the symptoms of the child's presenting injuries at the hospital would have been very close in time to any head trauma suffered by the child."

Satterfield said the doctors testified a "person would have recognized the need for medical intervention at that time."

Atzemis, he said, also testified the girl had no medical history of seizures, and a seizure would not have caused the closed head injuries, which were found during the autopsy.

"In counts VIII-X, (Burton) is charged with knowingly causing serious physical injury to (her eldest and youngest daughters) and physical injury to (her 4-year-old daughter) by failing to provide adequate nutrition and/or food to the children," Satterfield said.

In counts XI-XIII, he said, Burton is charged with "knowingly creating a substantial risk to the life, body or health" of all three of her daughters by "failing to provide adequate nutrition and/ or food" to them.

The state, according to Satterfield's order, presented expert testimony from Atzemis as to those allegations.

Satterfield said Atzemis reviewed medical records for Burton's eldest daughter from birth up to the time of her death, as well as medical records for the other two girls from birth through February.

"Based upon her review of those records, and per the standards established by the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the doctor generated a medical record review report and created growth charts for each of the children," Satterfield.

In her testimony, Satterfield said, Atzemis reported after the children were placed with Burton, "they exhibited weight loss to such a degree, that in her opinion, (the eldest and youngest girls) were severely malnourished.

"The doctor testified that during this time, the other child ... experienced no- table weight loss and had a considerable decrease in her grown rate."

Atzemis, Satterfield said, also testified that the "two surviving children," since their removal from Burton's care, had gained significant amounts of weight and were now within their expected growth range.

Prior to their removal, the girls reportedly had been in Burton's home since Aug. 29, 2012.

"Further, Dr. Atzemis gave her opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that (all three girls) suffered severe, prolonged nutritional neglect leading to failure to thrive and that (the eldest and youngest) suffered severe malnutrition to such a degree that is represented a risk to their lives," Satterfield said.