A Kemmerer mother arrested for drug possession shortly after her young daughter's babysitter allegedly beat the child to death last November has been sentenced to probation.
Lincoln County District Court Judge Joseph B. Bluemel on Wednesday sentenced Kayla Kartchner, 27, to two years of supervised probation, with the threat of an 18-month to 36-month jail sentence if she violates her probation.
Kartchner's sentence comes following a plea agreement with the Lincoln County Attorney's Office, Bluemel noted, in which prosecutors agreed to drop one of the two felony drug charges against her, and another misdemeanor charge of methamphetamine possession.
Kartchner pleaded guilty Wednesday to the one remaining felony marijuana possession charge.
The Lincoln County Attorney's office originally charged Kartchner in January, about four weeks after Kartchner's daughter died of an alleged beating at her babysitter's home in Kemmerer.
The daughter's babysitter, Cheri Marler, is facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges stemming from her alleged confession that she repeatedly clapped the girl's head between her hands and beat her at Marler's home Nov. 25.
Police also found injuries on Kartchner's younger daughter during Marler's arrest, according to court documents.
When Kartchner arrived at the scene of her daughter's death, Kartchner told authorities she hadn't seen her daughter for two or three days, according to court documents.
Marler told police Kartchner asked her, Marler, to watch the girls.
Marler has a tentative August trial date.
Kartchner's supervised probation includes several conditions.
Bluemel ordered her to keep her appointments and contracts with probation officers. He also ordered her to submit to random drug and alcohol testing, avoid drugs and alcohol and to live "a worthy and respectable life" and not break any laws.
Kartchner may not leave Wyoming without prior approval, Bluemel said, and may not knowingly associate with people who are using drugs or alcohol, nor frequent establishments whose main product is alcohol, according to the order.
Clair McFarland can be reached at: Clair@CowboyStateDaily.com
