Posted on 02/21/2008 10:40:12 AM PST by LibWhacker
Parents of 5-month-old appear in court to face first-degree murder charges, may be facing death penalty
PEORIA - Benjamin Sargent died with his eyes open, fists clenched and strapped into a car seat after eight days without food or water, the county's top prosecutor said Wednesday.
The 5-month-old was dropped off at his parents' house on Feb. 4, wearing a bright-blue snow suit and strapped into his car seat. Eight days later, he was found in the same position, said Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons during a bond hearing for the parents, who are charged with capital murder for their son's death.
"It's the worst case of child neglect we have seen since the turn of this century," Lyons said afterward. "(On Tuesday), I told (Peoria Police) Chief (Steven) Settingsgaard that this case even rattled me."
Charged are Tracy D. Hermann, 21, and James E. Sargent, 23, both of 3012 W. Proctor St., with two counts of first-degree murder. Additionally, the charges state the parents' actions or lack thereof, were "brutal and heinous . . . indicative of wanton cruelty," factors that could mean they face up to 100 years in prison if convicted.
Lyons also said he might seek the death penalty for the two and has 120 days to make such a decision. State law allows a capital charge if the accused is older than 17 and the victim is younger than 12.
"He died from starvation due to neglect from these two defendants, his parents," Lyons said, spitting out the last word with contempt.
Several courthouse employees gathered in the third-floor courtroom for the hearing; many curious as rumors had been circulating throughout the day about the case. When the two walked into the room, the idle chatter immediately stopped and all eyes stared at Sargent and Hermann.
During the 20-minute hearing, both parents appeared before Circuit Judge Glenn Collier. Sargent said virtually nothing and carried a blank look on his face. Hermann told Collier her attorney was in Hawaii so she requested a court-appointed lawyer.
Collier ordered the two held without bond, pending a hearing Friday afternoon when it is expected that Lyons, who has indicated he will prosecute the case, will present more evidence as to why the two should not be released pending trial.
Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll said Wednesday afternoon Benjamin weighed 10 pounds when he was found by police. He was nearly eight pounds at birth, she said.
Reading from a prepared statement, Lyons said police found the infant sitting in his own waste, all the while strapped into the seat which was in a crib.
A person who was staying at an unattached garage adjacent to the house had seen Benjamin at some point, thought it was "odd" that he was still on the living room floor after being dropped off and moved him, car seat and all, into the other room.
There Benjamin sat for eight days, most of which both Hermann and Sargent were home, "playing video games, watching TV, feeding and caring for themselves," Lyons said afterward.
Police had interviewed Sargent, who at first told them he had moved the baby "once or twice," but later conceded that he might not have moved Benjamin at all during the week, Lyons said.
"The person from the garage tells police that Benjamin was found just as he had left him eight days earlier," the prosecutor said.
Hermann's last contact with her son was the night before police were notified. Then, she allegedly told police she "looked at the baby in the crib and presumed he was sleeping so she said she stuck a bottle between the baby and the side of the car seat so that when he woke up, he could grab it and feed himself," Lyons said in open court.
"In case the court had missed it earlier, Benjamin Sargent was five months old," he said, staring directly at Hermann.
The house, Lyons said, was in complete disarray, with clothing everywhere and spoiled food left out. The temperature in the baby's room was nearly 80 degrees and was also filthy, he said.
Hermann then left for Iowa to meet with a man she had met over the Internet, the prosecutor said, noting that she allegedly told police "that Benjamin was not her duty and that it was James' responsibility."
When asked if either exhibited signs of mental illness, Lyons said they showed no such signs from the state's point of view.
"Police noted that she seemed callous and somewhat annoyed with the process, something similar to what she showed in the courtroom today," he said.
Prosecutors from Lyons' juvenile division have already begun proceedings to permanently remove Hermann's 3-year-old daughter from the home. That child was staying with another family member but is now in foster care with Department of Family and Children's Services.
OMG I am speechless. If they don’t get the death penalty, then no one deserves it.
I can't think of a punishment that is severe enough to cover what these to sociopaths did to that poor little youngster.
Sadly few of the people who vote for executives and legislators who are soft on crime don’t realize they are part of the problem. I wonder how many people from within and without Obama’s home state of IL who think he is like the second coming of Christ realize what an abysmal record he has on crime issues.
Sometimes I think I should not read FR anymore because I come across stories like that and it saddens and enrages me.
To HELL with both of them. Let their judgement come to each of them as it should. My concern is for the suffering this little one went through before he died. I hope he is in clean clothing and being cared for in the loving manner that he should have been on this earth.
There are people out there who want children so badly and yet these kind of scum have them. May they burn in hell forever and beyond that.
God rest the soul of the little angel in the snowsuit. We would have loved and cared for you. :( I just breaks our hearts.
meeting someone she met on the internet? Yeah right..
Hi Mom...words this poor baby never had the opportunity to mutter. Maybe he could have called someone else Mom who would have adopted and loved him.
As a relatively new father I don’t know whether to cry or throw up. Maybe both.
and left to sit in their own excrement.
I hate to even begin to imagine what this poor baby boy suffered and endured. Doesn’t it just tear your heart out? This is not right. These people should be put to death. They do not deserve to walk among us.
>>why can’t these people give their children to someone who will love them?!<<
You know, I am not really a kid person, I don’t have a huge drive to be a parent, but if someone told me this was going to happen I’d snatch that baby out of there so fast all you’d see was a blur.
And I’d threaten to tear the face off either one of these wastes of good organs if they got within state lines of the kid.
I can’t stand this stuff.
*sigh*
we will never know in this lifetime why there is such evil and disreguard for the most vulnerable of our society......
The issue of crime is virtually nonexistent in today’s political debate. Unless, of course, it’s a “hate” crime.
Looking the other way at crime, drugs and cultural degradation is what leads to such tragedies of little Benjamin.
God bless this poor little man.
Evil, pure evil...
Just reading this story I found myself filled with a rage I haven’t felt in a long time...
I have shed tears for this child... Sweet Jesus please comfort this precious little soul...
My God
Maybe a ( Most Disturbing ) notice int he headlines would be appropriate.... I have grandbabies as well.
From the storyWhen the two walked into the room, the idle chatter immediately stopped and all eyes stared at Sargent and Hermann”
What was missing?
“In the silence, all that could be heard was the sound of the slide of a 45 stripping a hollow-point round out of the magazine, just before the two died in a hail of gunfire....”
Like that would happen.
Lynching’s too good for ‘em. (spits, walks off)
For those of us living in the Peoria-area, we saw States Attorney Kevin Lyons interviewed on the local news. He sees a lot of nasty stuff, but this is the first time I have ever seen him so shaken; he could barely get the words out.
It’s truly scary when someone who sees the results of evil everyday gets shaken up by something that seems to top everything that’s come before.
Many tears in our house last night, and this morning. God Bless little Benjamin!
‘A person who was staying at an unattached garage adjacent to the house had seen Benjamin at some point, thought it was “odd” that he was still on the living room floor after being dropped off and moved him, car seat and all, into the other room.’
I’m totally confused by this. The stranger/neighbor could see that the seat was on the LR floor, then came into the house and moved it to another room?
This is just weird. Sounds like a Judge Judy special.
Apparently not married(?), a bit too young, already have a presumably illegitimate kid, and also screwing around (she went out of state to meet some Internet honey?) even more. Never mind the “disarray” of the place they live in, and that they seem to enjoy the very “adult” pasttime of video games.
Yup, it’s a recipe for disaster.
when i read these stories
my first thought is
human DEVOLUTION happens more frequently now
ditto
this is a case where an eye for an eye should apply
“I’m totally confused by this. The stranger/neighbor could see that the seat was on the LR floor, then came into the house and moved it to another room?”
this must be really lousy reporting
because certainly, by now, the authorities know more than that about this person - did they/did they not speak to anyone in the house, was anyone else home - if not, then why were authorities not called then, etc, etc
Ditto. As a father, I... I just can’t express the way stories like this rip my heart out. That poor little baby. It hurts me when my own little boy bumps his head or bangs his knee on something; the thought of a little one suffering like that makes me want to hang my head and resign from the human race.
I could never be a cop. I’m no fan of the police as a whole, but I salute the ones who had to go out and drag in the human garbage responsible for this. It must have required the greatest of professionalism not to simply scatter their useless brains on the floor on sight. I could never have done it, that’s for certain.
No one can help this little baby now. All we can do is watch out for the little ones in our own lives and believe that a just God is keeping tabs on every low-down son-of-a-bitch who mistreats, hurts, or kills children. These two will pay for this — down to the last penny!
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