Shayne Michelle K Hammerman was born on December 31st 2014 in Bloomington Indiana to parents Jessica Stewart and Justin Hammerman she was the father’s first child but she had two older brothers Gage and Blaze through her mother at the time of our story shayen was just a little over 14 months old with wispy blonde hair wide blue eyes and what her uncle called the most adorable smile on Earth she was a happy baby with a bubbly personality she was always laughing and giggling she loved playing patty cake and peekaboo and she
loved to dance her grandmother said when the slightest little tune of music comes on she starts dancing her mother agreed saying she’s a happy baby anytime any kind of music comes on the TV she’s bobbing her head stomping around dancing she was just learning to walk and was still unsteady on her feet her great grandmother said she could take a few steps but would Teeter and then topple onto the floor she said she could hardly walk steadily without falling down her father said that she was a joyful and playful baby she was particularly
adorable when she wanted to be picked up he said she’d hold her arms wide open and close her little fingers until he lifted her Justin and Jessica’s relationship ended soon after shayan’s birth the couple shared cussy of the baby she spent half of her time with with her mother Jessica and the other half with her father Justin he lived with his mother brother and stepfather in a small White House in Spencer Indiana Spencer is a small town it had about 2,300 residents in 2016 this house was located on a quiet lot in the 400
block of West Jefferson Street near Riverside Cemetery in the Assembly of God Church Justin’s mother Tamara Morgan grew up in Spencer and said she always thought it was a safe place she said I’ve lived in Spencer all my life life and we don’t lock doors here shayin stayed with her father Tamara was her main caretaker Tamara was delighted with her first granddaughter and described her as easiest and happiest baby to take care of Tamara had a full house in addition to Justin and shayen her husband Danny Morgan and one of her
other grown sons Adam ammerman shared her home another woman named Kelly Rogers was also staying with the family with all of the bedrooms being full shayan’s crib was set up in the living room and her toys and clothes were stored nearby this made it easy for Justin and Tamara to both take care of the baby and it also meant everyone in the house had easy access to her Adam occasionally had friends visit the home one friend Kyle Parker had visited at least a dozen times according to Tamara she thought Kyle seemed like a nice guy
and she trusted him she said he talks so kindly and he played with shayen on at least one occasion when the baby woke up and was fussy Tamara watched Kyle Rock her back to sleep Kyle had been living with Tina Wagner and her husband in gosport and evener town about 10 miles away from Spencer he had moved out but was still doing odd jobs for the couple they had hired him to paint their garage and he hadn’t finished yet for as much as Kyle had visited Adam Tamara thought she was her son’s friend however Adam described him as more of an acquaintance
or a friend of a friend on March 23 third Adam said he was still a little hung over from drinking the night before but he invited Kyle over to watch some TV and drink some whiskey since the baby was in the living room they went into Adam’s bedroom where they were joined by Tamara’s husband Dany they spent the evening in Adam’s words just hanging out having a good old time laughing talking about random stuff Adam said he had asked Justin if he wanted to have a few drinks but Justin said he was tired and declined around 10 10 p.m. Tamara zipped
shayen into an owl onesie and tucked her in with her purple pacifier and winning the Pooh blanket Justin tucked her in as well he said I leaned down and said Daddy loves you and gave her a kiss and hug good night Tamara said she checked on her several times that evening up until 1:30 when she went to bed meanwhile Adam had already fallen asleep in his room he said I fell asleep once cuz I was a little hung over and I was tired and I had just a little too much over my limit I went to bed passed out his stepfather Danny tried to go to bed
around 1:30 with Tamara but the couple liked to listen to music when they fell asleep and he couldn’t get the TV to work in their bedroom woke Adam up to help Adam said I got woken up because my stepdad ended up screwing up our TV package on Dish and I had to fix that that was at 1 2:00 in the morning once the TV was working again Tamara checked on the baby one more time and went to bed Adam went back to his bedroom and Kyle was still there awake and drinking by himself he said Kyle was in my room sitting in the chair drinking and
talking to people on his phone I guess cuz I heard the tick tick tick of texting Adam fell back asleep and woke a couple hours later when he heard Kyle leave through the front door sometime after 2:00 Kelly The Other Woman staying at the house came home from work she left early the next morning for her next shift she left a couple of new newspapers on the kitchen counter but otherwise she did not interact with anyone as for Kyle he showed up the house and gosspo at around 3:40 in the morning even though he didn’t live there
anymore Tina and her husband were already up getting ready for work and were surprised to see him there so early he also took a shower and washed his clothes which seemed an odd way to get ready to paint a garage when the ammerman family woke up at around 8:00 a.m. the next morning shayen was gone Tamara was was still sleeping when her son shook her awake yelling mom do you have shayin panicked she went to the baby’s crib it was empty they searched the house but they knew she was gone she wasn’t able to get out of the crib on
her own and she could only walk a few steps at a time she couldn’t have wandered away and the front door tended to stick there was no way she could have opened it on her own nothing else had been taken but the baby her clothes and toys were all still there Tamara’s brand new laptop was still in the living room just a few feet away from the crib there were no signs of a Breakin but then the door was unlocked like it always was Tamar was sure a stranger had taken the baby she said that the only explanation is that
someone came in and took her the family called 911 and reported her missing to the police they didn’t call Jessica shayan’s mother Jessica found out when the police knocked on her door looking for the baby shayen wasn’t there either while her family prayed she was still alive officers called in search and rescue teams to look for the toddler using ATVs they drove through the brush and searched through the surrounding areas special Crews used sonar to check the nearby White River the search continued overnight Jessica begged the
public to bring her baby girl home have been following this story since this afternoon and now hours later shayen ammerman is still missing State Police tell us there are several Persons of Interest in this case and they will not stop until shayin is found RTV 6’s chance waler joins us live in Spencer now he spoke to the mother Chancellor Jessica Stewart says little shayin can walk but she certainly doesn’t believe that she climbed out of her crib and left on her own neither do police and as they guard the scene of
her disappearance tonight and search the area they do so believing firmly that her life is in danger she a happy baby um anytime any kind of music comes on the TV she’s bobbing her head stomping around dancing and tonight on behalf of that little girl an Owen County mother has a simple and potent request please bring her home she needs her mom 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday morning police got the call that 15-month-old shayen ammerman was missing shayen was staying at her father and grandmother’s house the grandma told police she put Shaya into bed around midnight and went to check on her around 8:30 the next morning um and the um the child was not in her crib we had pounding on the door police rushed down the street to shayan’s Mom’s house they hoped the child was there but she wasn’t after a few minutes it sunk in and I was crying while Jessica says she’s been wrestling with the shock and fear of the
unknown investigators have been searching high and low for any sign of the girl police say the girl’s grandmother and at least three men were in and out of the house last night they’ve questioned them all they’ve also served several search warrants on various vehicles and houses in and around Spencer right now we have made no arrests um there has been no clear motive that has been established police say shayin was last seen wearing a white zipup sleeper with owls on it and a purple pacifier attached she might also
be carrying a blue and white wind the Pooh blanket police are asking you obviously to keep an eye out for this little girl if you think you’ve seen her or if you have any information or think you do about what happened police are asking you that you call them at 812 332 4411 you can remain anonymous officers and reporters wanted to talk to everyone that had been at the home on West Jefferson the night she disappeared several of the men including Justin took polygraph tests cell phones and computers were taken as evidence and a
search warrant was filed for the Facebook records of everyone involved told reporters that she was terrified and wanted their help to bring shayen home she said I’m scared I’m angry I’m frustrated I’m scared to death for her she asked the reporters to let everyone know she was missing she said find my granddaughter get it out there get it everywhere Adam and Justin both wanted to correct the reporters the first news stories had alleged that there had been a party at the home they wanted to make it clear there had been no party just a
friend was over for a few drinks when a reporter asked when that friend left Adam said at roughly 3 4:00 in the morning I heard the front door open and I look out my window and Kyle’s walking down the yard to his car opened my window I yell out to him Kyle where are you going never answered me back he just got in his car and took off and the reporter asked if Kyle had taken the baby Adam said no I didn’t see shayen at all and of course I was sleepy I had sleepy eyes I had alcohol in me and my vision was all messed up my own s i I
went to sleep when he him when he was still awake and what run me what was my understanding is is you and him were hanging out or uh what was going on it was three of us it was me my stepdad Danny and Kyle we were all in my bedroom we were sitting now sitting down watching TV and yes we had a few drinks but nothing to the extent of what they are saying as a party you’re just hanging out yes we’re just hanging out having a good old time laughing talking about random stuff I was nowhere near Justin Justin was never in the room what
happened though did did did you guys fall asleep did Kyle leave I I uh I fell asleep once cuz I was a little hung over and I was tired and I had just a little much over my limit and I went to bed passed out was Kyle still there yes he was still there awake awake what was he doing he was still drinking with himself or yeah with himself was anyone still awake though was your stepdad still awake was he just there he was in his room awake trying to fix his TV and I was trying to fix the T where was Kyle he was just Kyle was in my room sitting
in uh the chair drinking and talking to people on his phone I guess cuz I heard the tick tick tick to texting and uh at uh roughly 3 4:00 in the morning I heard the front door open and I look out my window and Kyle’s walking down the uh yard to his car I open my window I yell out to him Kyle where are you going he never answered me back he just got in his car and took off later Adam would tell officers that he might have seen a foot dangling as Kyle walked away he wasn’t sure though and he went back to bed he never mentioned that detail in
his interview with reporters detectives were also talking to Kyle and the friends that he had previously lived with the couple told detectives that Kyle had been inappropriately attracted to young girls between the ages of 12 and 14 in the past and they described the odd behavior they had witnessed that morning the early morning arrival the shower and clothes washing he said ky’s didn’t seem like himself and that he’d been acting quiet and distant when police questioned Kyle they noticed that he had scratches all over his arms he
claimed that they were from a cat now during his first interview he said he left the home before 1:15 a.m. and waved goodbye to Adam when he left he claimed he had no idea what happened to the toddler during the interview police allowed Kyle to have a smoke break with his stepfather Mike Paton Mike said Kyle told him police would know the truth once they found shayan’s body in the DNA with it once he heard that Mike was sure Kyle was the one responsible the police asked The Stepfather to talk to Kyle and encourage him to cooperate in a second
interview with police Kyle changed his story he drew a map to show police where he had left the toddler he said he and Adam had found shayin unresponsive in the family home and had taken her to gosport to get rid of her police told him that Adam had passed his polygraph and they had reason to believe he hadn’t been involved how was arrested in a search team was sent to the location he had indicated he followed his map through downtown gosport out of town and down a long Winding Road toward the river 36 hours after she was reported
missing baby shayon was found by a Fallen Tree on a rural patch of land between the White River and Indian Creek a burnt pile of Ashes was found nearby investigators believed her clothes and blanket had been burned there Justin and his family found out she was dead when they saw it reported on the news they were not told before the news report Justin was devastated he said he wished he could take back time and save her he also wanted to know why he said we want answers I want to know why this man come in my house and took my daughter and did
what he did with her I really want to know the both Justin and Adam thought Kyle must have had an accomplice they were certain no one in their family had anything to do with shayan’s death Justin said none of my family had nothing to do with this why would we our family is a peaceful family do you I know we don’t like to speculate the autopsy is not even done but do you guys have any idea what his role was in this or what he did no no we have no idea what his role was we just we want to find out we answers I want to know why this man come
in my house and took my daughter and did what he did with her I really want to know this is he was he was a friend right I mean a family friend he he was he was he was more of an acquaintance and that you just had hung out with a couple of times we just hung out a couple of times he he he was he was a very nice guy not up tight just a real decent nice guy he hang out just hanging out Justin what I know he’s in jail what would you say to him right now if you had an opportunity to speak with him why why did you take my daughter and
kill her and hopefully not hurt him that do you think anybody else was involved I don’t know I honestly don’t think he acted alone he had to have somebody somebody accomplice pitting him up to it or something I honestly don’t think he would act alone and do this alone really don’t don’t know what what his role was or why how she ended up where she did and no we don’t we don’t know we don’t have no question we we have no answers we can’t get no answers from the police cuz they won’t they they won’t inform us and I
don’t know why they informed the mother before they they they never informed the father but they informed the mother Justin how did you find out I found this out on the news and on Facebook what is that like to find out your one-year-old passed away and having to find out that way it’s heartbreaking it it Beyond I can’t do it more on March 25th a candlelight vigil was held at the family of God Church in Spencer and when it was planned they were going to pray for shayan’s safe return but once she was found they instead held it in her
memory over 100 members of the community came to write the toddler’s name on pink balloons and to lean on each other during a difficult time the organizer encouraged the crowd to pray for one another pray for the family pray for comfort Pray For answers to the developing story in Spencer tonight police are still searching for answers for how and why 15-month-old shayon ammerman’s life ended so soon one person is behind bars but we’re told there could be more rest to come and that time L’s murder but as detectives work the
little girl’s family is preparing her funeral tonight more than 100 people turn out to remember little shayin in a town that’s been stricken with grief if there is anything good on this Good Friday in Spencer it’s that residents are coming together in a time of need family members gather at Spencer’s Cooper Park holding pink balloons on them they write shayin for being a dad for my first ever being a dad it’s hard right now I I Wish I Could Turn Back Time In addition to shayan’s father mother grandmother and countless other
relatives strangers fill the crowd many just feel the need to be here to support a little girl who never had a chance at life pray for one another pray for the family pray for comfort Pray For answers Sharon West the family of God Church tells me she organized this prayer vigil because something had to be done for shayen it just seems so surreal it just feels like a dream right now shaylen’s grandmother says the hardest part will be returning home and going through her things including a new Easter dress and
shoes she just bought for her first granddaughter in Jesus precious name and all of God’s people said amen police continued to look for the answers everyone wanted they got a search warrant for Kyle’s car which was in the garage at the house his friend Tina shared with her husband Kyle had cleaned the car and had disposed of some of the items by throwing them into the couple’s garage her garage and house were searched Tina said she wished she had never let Kyle live there and hadn’t let him in the night of the Murder She
said she was haunted by the situation and she put it very saddened that I feel like I’ve had a part in this though police searched for an accomplice they did not find one Kyle never confess to the police but over the weekend his stepfather visited him at the jail according to stepfather Mike Kyle confessed to him Kyle said he took shayen from the house alive and drove to gosport he pulled over on the way brutally essayed her and then smothered her with a cloth afterwards he said he covered the body with bleach and burned
her pajamas pacifier and blanket he said he had acted alone and he had no intention of going to prison for the rest of his life instead he told Mike that he planned to remove him himself from the earth already in jail Kyle was placed under constant video surveillance after his threat he was placed in a padded cell given a special safe sleeping bag was checked on every 15 minutes by guards on March 28th he was charged with murder sa strangulation kidnapping aggravated battery and additional charges Donald Vander Moore
the Owen County prosecutor acknowledged the difficulty of such a troubling case involving a young and innocent victim it was so troubling that he said grown Law Enforcement Officers just wince in pain it’s just horrible he called the allegations monstrous and said this is something law enforcement shouldn’t have to deal with these types of allegations are just atrocious the extent of the atrocity became clear when the results of shayan’s autopsy were released it took some time because it had to be done across state lines in Louisville
Kentucky it was done by Donna Stewart a specialist in pediatric cases that involve essay and Battery she described it as the worst case of seual trauma she had ever seen shayen was bruised and had as she put it numerous very apparent injuries sustained in an essay her cause and manner of death was homicide by asphixiation shayan’s Family struggle L with her loss made so much worse by the trauma she had endured grandmother Tamara said there’s just so many emotions that you can’t even put a finger on what emotion you’re feeling
one minute you’re disgusted then you’re angry we didn’t want to hear that she was hurt you have to be a really demented psychopath to hurt a baby Jessica the mother was haunted by the thought of her daughter’s last moments she said every day I have images in my head of what that night was like for her there’s nothing that could say or do to ever make me forgive him in her impact statement directed at Kyle she said you took my loving sweet and beautiful daughter away from me her brothers her dad and everyone who loves her I hope
you live with your guilt and it torments you for the rest of your life her father Justin said that shayin was his only child in the light of his life he said when I heard all the horrible things he did to my precious girl I wanted to die too her uncle Adam thought Kyle deserved the ultimate punishment in interview he said this I’m just going to speak plain and clearly whoever did this needs to burn in hell there’s no need for something like this to happen prosecutor vandemore worked for a year to put together a case
that would end in the death penalty or at least put Kyle behind bars for the rest of his life but unfortunately the case fell apart and on February 28th 2017 he was in front of Owen circuit court judge Lorie Thatcher quillin begging her to accept the plea deal he had negotiated this plea deal covered only the murder and kidnapping charges it dropped all of the essay and other charges the prosecutor told the judge he had almost no evidence linking Kyle to the crime shayan’s clothes were burnt so there was no evidence on her clothes and
nothing left but ashes despite Kyle’s alleged statements to his stepfather none of his DNA was found on over a hundred pieces of potential evidence the lab tested the lab also found no evidence of bleach even though he said he used it to cover up his crime prosecutor vandemore said the only piece of evidence that came back conclusively was related to a third party not Kyle Parker none of that helps our case police also administered three polygraph tests and two people failed the prosecutor didn’t name the other person
who failed but clearly it was someone other than Kyle Parker the results of a polygraph are admissible in Indiana and the defense would be able to use the other positive result to point blame away from Kyle the lack of evidence was enough to put the case on Shaky Ground but the prosecutor also had serious problems with the witnesses involved in the case they had committed in his his words a large number of impeachable offenses this meant there was plenty of room for a jury to find Reasonable Doubt in suspect other people who had been in the
home that night at least one of the witnesses had previously been charged with essay against young girl the prosecutor did not name the person who was charged but the Herold times a local Indiana newspaper reported that Justin had been accused of essaying a girl younger than 13 years old this alleged incident occur Ur in Illinois in 2003 but Justin was not charged until 2009 he wasn’t arrested until 2012 he was never convicted and he never faced trial the case was dismissed because his right to a speedy trial had
been violated the police investigation also found evidence that someone in the house had been searching for violent pornography on electronic devices that multiple people had access to they couldn’t tell who had been making these searches they also could not rule anybody out and these Search terms were disturbing the prosecutor listed a number of searches that had been located by the forensic sweep he asked Master Trooper Stacy Lee Brown to verify that his team found the following Search terms and I quote white female bound with a rope and
had a gag in her mouth girls want to get punished by strangers girls eaten alive girls hanged and girls enough the trooper agreed that those were the terms the investigation uncovered he also clarified that those terms were not associated with Kyle but with the witnesses the prosecutor pointed out that this is all evidence that we can’t hide from a jury he ended by telling the judge that taking Kyle to trial was too risky he said a lot of hay has been made in social media or the news about plea agreements why they’re bad why they’re
good the fact is as a prosecutor I’m responsible for finding the truth not what I want it to be this is an appropriate resolution it doesn’t provide closure for everyone but it’s the best we can do it’s the functional equivalent of a life sentence for Kyle Parker you have chosen to put him away for the rest of his life because that’s what he deserves a reporter inside the courtroom said the prosecutor was red-faced and seemed to be holding back Tears by this point he ended by saying blame me that we don’t have evidence
blame me that we’ve got witnesses that are impeachable but leave that family alone send him for 60 years to the Department of Corrections and let this be done your honor I ask you to accept the plea deal in this case it’s not what I want but it’s the right thing that has to be done judge quillin accepted the plea she said the facts of this case were the most gut-wrenching I have ever heard your actions were pure evil on that evening many in this community rightfully wanted you to receive the death penalty or life without Ro for
this crime what I can legally do as a judge versus what I would like as a parent and member of this community are totally in Conflict it’s clear to me based upon the gruesome facts of this case that you Mr Parker have no moral compass and no decency Kyle Parker was sentenced to 60 years for murder and 16 years for kidnapping to be served concurrently according to Indiana Law he has to complete about 75% of his sentence before being eligible for parole that time he will be 67 years years old if he ever gets out he will have to register
as a violent offender only since the essay was not part of his plea deal he is currently serving his time at Indiana State Prison you have completed his time served for kidnapping in 2028 he will not be eligible for parole on the murder charge until March of 2061 shayan’s funeral was held on March 30th 2016 at the Christian Life Center in Spencer before the public visitation there was a private viewing for the officers who had searched for the toddler she was buried in a white dress with a purple jacket and attendees were
encouraged to wear her favorite colors pink and purple businesses all over Spencer put up signs in her memory and hundreds in the small community showed up to remember shayin for those who couldn’t come the family asked members of the community to place a pink or purple light bulb in their porch light in her honor always smiling so full of Life those are the phrases being used as family friends and the community of Spencer gather to remember little Shaya ammerman it’s been one week since the one-year-old was raped and murdered by
some of the family called a friend then house Mike Pelton is live outside the Christian Life Center in Owen County with the latest Mike well this is open to the public but if you come down here the family asks that you wear pink or purple those were baby shayan’s favorite colors now I’ll step out of the way to set the scene for you there are several law enforcement officers is here helping facilitate logistics for the family as the parking lot is packed outside the First Christian Church where visitation runs until 7:00 tonight that’s when the
funeral begins now shayen ammerman was found dead last week court documents accuse family friend Kyle Parker of taking her from her father’s house before raping and killing her in smalltown Spencer the case is opening a big wound today we saw signs across town that read rest in peace shayin and in an emotional interview I spoke with a woman who was good friends with shayan’s family and she’s trying to remember that famous smile shayen always wore it’s horrible it’s very very horrible we’re slowly trying to get over
this and you know we can just only take it one day at a time and I understand how Jess feels because I mean you know I keep putting myself in her shoes and I can’t even begin to grab but she’s really going through but as a mother you know I can I I understand and during the visitation I’m told shayon is wearing a white dress and purple jacket again her funeral set for 7:00 tonight here at the Christian Life Center they are expecting a big turnout and they do encourage the public to attend however if you cannot make it
down here tonight Friends of the ammerman family ask that you go and buy a pink or purple light bulb and place it outside your home in order to show support for shayen and her family for now we’re live in Spencer for the now Indy Mike Pelton rtv6 one family friend said it was so sad and troubling that he could barely make himself attend he said that he was sick to my stomach literally to even think about it I could barely bring myself to walk in it’s hard given the circumstances tensions were high but a police presence kept the anger from
boiling over another mourner said there’s some tension in the air you know there are some things being said I just let both sides know I’m not here for that after the funeral a private burial ceremony was held at the chambersville cemetery in Spencer when such a terrible tragedy occurs and the whole Community is paying attention local organizations are often asked what the public can do Sandy RL director of prevent CA Indiana was asked for her advice in connection with this case she said when things happen it’s usually not a stranger over
90% of the time it is someone the child knows because of this she reminded parents to be extra careful about who has access to their children especially when drug use or drinking is involved according to reporting on the local news director RL said people need to think seriously about who they allow to be around their children especially very young children they can’t communicate their fears and their concerns so the responsibility is really on the parents to make sure whether it be a friend a family member a boyfriend a neighbor
that you vet those people before they have access to your children in addition to the brief statement she made at the sentencing hearing shayan’s mother also wrote a letter that was presented to the judge that day in it she imagines the daughter she will never get to see grow up and shows just a glimpse of the grief she struggles with every day it read my name is Jessica Stewart I am the mother of shayin the beautiful smiling 14-month-old baby who was taken from us in a brutal and senseless way writing this feels surreal like the last year
has been a bad dream I can’t wake up from but it isn’t a bad dream this is now my reality a year ago I was able to hug kiss feed talk to and dance with my beautiful girl it’s hard to believe that so much can change in just one year it’s not a day that goes by or a minute that passes that I don’t miss her give anything to hold her again but I can’t I’ll never never get that chance again shayen will never get the chance to start running talking start school lose her first tooth have her first crush graduate get married or have kids at 14
and 1/2 months old her life was cut short tragically and in the most horrific way I could ever imagine I still get images in my head what all might have happened that night wondering if she was crying for me to save her I talk to her every day and tell her that I wish I would have known I would have kept her home where she was always safe with her brothers and I I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save her and I would trade places with her in a heartbeat if I could so she could have her life back shayen is my only girl and her two older
brothers looked out for her now they’re scared that someone might take them like they took baby from us her brothers will never know their sister other than by their brief memories with her the photos that hang on the walls they will never get to teach her to play ball to fish or to drive a car instead the memories of her now include all the things they wanted to do while she was missing to bring her home but she never came home and my boys are still struggling to understand why it’s so hard to imagine how someone could be so
brutal to such a sweet beautiful and loving baby girl she was always so happy and dancing and smiling I don’t understand how or why someone would want to take that beautiful little girl away from this world she could have been anything she wanted when she grew up why take that little light away I believe the person responsible for the horrific death of my baby girl deserves the maximum penalty but that is not going to happen the penalty he is facing now may provide some justice for shayin and keep him from harming anyone else but there
is no penalty that can ever erase the devastation and loss or heal the trauma that has been inflicted on my family