Teen to plead guilty in daughter’s death

LaChelle Anderson, who was 17 when she was accused of fatally stabbing her 19-monthold daughter, would spend 20 years in prison under an agreement that sent her case to adult court Wednesday.

Franklin County Juvenile Court Judge Terri Jamison transferred the case after Anderson admitted that prosecutors have enough evidence to show probable cause, or a reasonable belief, that she is responsible for the death and that she isn’t an appropriate candidate for treatment in the juvenile system.

The admissions were part of an agreement under which Anderson will plead guilty in adult court to involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and felonious assault, Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Clark said. Prosecuting and defense attorneys have agreed to recommend a 20-year sentence as part of the plea deal, he said. A date has not yet been set for her appearance in county Common Pleas Court.

She originally was charged with murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years in the adult system.

Anderson called 911 on Sept. 2, 2017, asking for help because her child needed medical attention and was not moving. When Columbus police officers and fire paramedics arrived at the house in the 800 block of South 22nd Street on the South Side, they found Anderson covered in blood and the girl with multiple stab wounds, Clark said.

The child, Lalanna Sharpe, died after being taken to nearby Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Anderson admitted to police that she stabbed the girl, Clark said.

In January, Jamison found that Anderson was competent to stand trial after hearing testimony from two psychologists who said Anderson is not intellectually disabled and doesn’t have a severe mental illness. They gave conflicting opinions about whether she understood the case against her and was able to assist her defense attorney.

Both concluded that she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and suffers with anxiety after a traumatic childhood spent mostly in foster care. She also told both psychologists that she sometimes hears voices, or auditory hallucinations.