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Jamie Petronella, 23, was charged May 4, 2016 in Blanco County with three counts of injury to a child.
Jamie Petronella, 23, was charged May 4, 2016 in Blanco County with three counts of injury to a child.
A 24-year-old Blanco man will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility for parole after taking a plea bargain in the 2016 death of a 1-year-old girl, according to court records.
John Cody Lawrence pleaded guilty to the charge of capital murder of a child under 10 years of age, as well as four counts of assault on a public servant Friday in the 33rd District Court, a news release from the district attorney’s office in Blanco County said Thursday.
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Lawrence was arrested for the death of 15-month-old Sunny Dakota Flade-Bort. The child’s mother, Jamie Petronella, was also arrested and charged with multiple felony injury to a child. Those charges are pending in Blanco County.
Police responded to a Blanco apartment on May 3 after Petronella reported her child was not breathing. Officers found Sunny Bort unresponsive on the living room floor.
The child was transported to University Hospital in San Antonio, where she later died, the district attorney’s office said in a news release.
Petronella allegedly blamed the child’s injuries on another child in the apartment. An extensive investigation ensued and Petronella and her boyfriend, Lawrence, were arrested. The assault on public servant charges stemmed from an incident that occurred after Lawrence’s arrest.
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According to a previous report, the child had suffered injuries consistent with sexual assault. Officers noted bruises on both sides of the child’s mouth and a large dried wound on her face.
In published reports at the time of the couple’s arrest, Blanco Police Chief Mike Ritchey, was quoted as calling it “the worst child abuse case I’ve ever seen.”
“(Lawrence) agreed to life without the possibility of parole,” said Blanco County District Attorney Wiley B. “Sonny” McAfee. “He also waived his rights to an appeal, so he will spend the rest of his life in prison.”
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