Woman charged with child’s neglect death may get summer trial

A Lake County judge set an Aug. 22 trial date for a Cedar Lake woman charged in the 2019 neglect death of her 6-month-old daughter.

Brittany Chambers, 23, is accused of leaving her daughter with a boyfriend, which violated a prior Indiana Department of Child Services agreement. The child, Elliana Orgon, was dead by the time police arrived on June 21, 2019, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Chambers was charged with two counts of neglect. Her boyfriend was not charged, according to court records.

Judge Natalie Bokota told defense lawyer Kerry Connor Tuesday she would set several status hearings for updates. Her next appearance is set for March 1.

During the hearing Tuesday, Chambers appeared pregnant.

Police arrived at the house on the 700 block of South Main Street on June 21, 2019, where Chambers was holding the infant, saying she wasn’t breathing. An officer couldn’t open her mouth. The baby was cold to the touch and was in rigor mortis, according to an affidavit.

An autopsy showed the infant had four broken ribs, both shoulders were dislocated, a fractured C1 vertebrae, hematoma on both lungs, multiple injuries all over the cranium including a fracture on the rear of the cranium that caused a hematoma and extensive blood on the rear of the brain just outside the fracture.

Police said in the affidavit that the injuries were caused by blunt force trauma and were done likely 12-14 hours before police arrived.

While in the house, officers reported the boyfriend’s bedroom was filled with garbage, drug paraphernalia, animal feces and other “substances” on the floor that stuck to their shoes. The child’s playpen was broken and filled with clothes.

Chambers signed an Indiana Department of Child Services safety plan on March 19, 2019, stating that her baby would have no contact with her boyfriend, who is not the baby’s father, and maintain suitable housing.

The safety plan was put into place after a suspicious injury to the baby that required hospitalization, according to police.

Police said that Chambers told them she was with her boyfriend and the baby on June 20 and 21 and she left the baby alone with the boyfriend while she left with a friend to take her 2-year-old son to his father’s apartment.

Police said Chambers did that knowing that she violated the safety plan put in place by the DCS.

Chambers noticed Elliana looked “different” when she got back to the boyfriend’s house, but didn’t check on her, she told police, according to court documents. A friend came by, who took Chambers, the boyfriend, with the child to Gary to buy drugs, according to the affidavit.

Chambers claimed she was robbed at the first drug deal, but was able to buy some later. The friend later dropped off the couple at the boyfriend’s house where they smoked synthetic marijuana, she told police.

She claimed she didn’t know what happened to the child and didn’t check on her between midnight and 2 p.m. the next day.