Sawyer County couple charged with 4-year-old’s death
Domenic Falkner and Samantha Smith Credit: WDIO/Sawyer County Sheriff's Office
Eight months after a 4-year-old Wisconsin girl with cerebral palsy died, court records show her mother, as well as the mother’s boyfriend, have been charged.
Hubbard sister station WDIO-TV reports Samantha Smith and Domenic Falkner have been charged with felonies in Sawyer County.
Court records show Falkner has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, Physical Abuse of a Child, Repeated Acts Causing Great Bodily Harm as well as Chronic Neglect of a Child (Consequence is Death). All of the felony charges have a Party to a Crime modifier.
Meanwhile, court records show Smith was charged with Chronic Neglect of a Child (Consequence is Death), as well as Physical Abuse of a Child and Repeated Acts Causing Great Bodily Harm—both of which are felonies and have been modified with Party to a Crime—on Tuesday.
Both Falkner and Smith have a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday morning.
WDIO-TV reports Zoey Chafer’s cause of death, according to the complaint, is acute alcohol toxicity, with her blood alcohol level at .572. The 4-year-old received nutrition through a feeding tube, according to the document.
The complaint mentions other evidence of alleged child abuse, including bruising and broken bones.