4-year-old girl dies of injuries allegedly inflicted by stepmother

A 25-year-old woman from The Plains has been charged with attempting to murder her 4-year-old stepdaughter, and may now face a murder charge, in the wake of the child's reported death in a Franklin County hospital early Wednesday afternoon.

Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly announced today that the little girl, Kaylen Young, died after life support was removed shortly before 1 p.m. at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

This will probably mean, the sheriff indicated, that an aggravated murder charge will be sought against the girl's stepmother at a June 2 county grand jury.

Ashley Jean Young, of 15A Beech Road, was arrested and charged by Athens County sheriff's deputies after a brief investigation Monday and Tuesday, following a report of an injured child brought by ambulance into the emergency room of O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens. As of Wednesday afternoon, Young was in jail in lieu of $1 million bond, imposed by Athens County Municipal Judge William A. Grim.

Athens County assistant prosecutor Keller Blackburn reported Wednesday around 11 a.m. that based on reports he was getting from hospital personnel in Columbus, the 4-year-old girl's prospects looked very poor at that time.

"I spoke to the hospital last night after 10, and Children Services has spoken to the hospital," Blackburn reported. "And I believe we'll have some sad news soon We've been told by the doctors that these are 'non-survivable' injuries."

Around 4:35 p.m. Monday, according to Sheriff Pat Kelly, hospital employees contacted Athens County Children Services, after treating a child who was described as "unresponsive" and with suspicious marks on her body indicating physical abuse. Children Services then contacted the sheriff. The child was life-flighted to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, and according to Kelly, was reportedly not doing well as of Tuesday afternoon.

Hospital sources "were not sure that the baby was going to live," Kelly reported around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. "The report we got was that the brain was damaged on the child."

Young was reportedly at home with the child Monday in the family's trailer, after the girl's father, who has legal custody of the 4-year-old, left for work in Columbus around 5:30 a.m. Kelly said investigators have interviewed the father and believe he had nothing to do with injuring the child.

After getting the report on the child's injuries, Kelly said, his officers conducted search warrants on Young and on the trailer and questioned Young, leading to her arrest. Evidence found in the home, the sheriff said, seemed to point to a deliberate assault on the little girl.

"The baby's face imprint was in the carpet at the house," Kelly said. "There were hair samples taken around the house From the looks of the residence, violence certainly took place involving the child. The violence was directed at that child."

Kelly said he considered felonious assault as possibly an appropriate charge in the case, but was told by assistant prosecutor Blackburn that the alleged facts could support an attempted murder charge. If the child dies, Kelly said, the state may seek a murder indictment from a grand jury.

Kelly said Young also has a child of her own, which he believes is around 15 months old. That child has been placed into the custody of the parents of the man whose daughter was injured, he said.

Blackburn said before the girl's death that he was likely to take Young's case to a county grand jury June 2, whether or not he was seeking an indictment on the attempted murder charge, or a murder charge.