A 37-year-old Cheyenne woman who told a Laramie County District Court judge she was “overwhelmed” caring for a 14-year-old son and two younger children has admitted to forcing the teen to drink more than a gallon of water that sent him into life-threatening convulsions last fall.
Stephanie Linke appeared before Judge Robin Cooley and pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse, responsible for physical injury.
The plea was part of a deal made with Laramie County Assistant District Attorney Jack Hatfield that would see Linke receive a minimum of 15 years and maximum of 17 years in prison in exchange for a charge of aggravated child abuse — responsible for physical injury.
A second charge of aggravated child abuse — responsible for mental injury would be dropped as part of the deal. Under the deal, the judge could not suspend the sentence.
Charges against Linke and her boyfriend, Michael Gruchacz, followed a Cheyenne Police Department response to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center on Oct. 16, 2025, when the 14-year-old boy was brought in unresponsive and stiff, “drooling,” with a body that was “ice cold” and suffering from seizures, according to court documents.
Under questioning from the judge, Linke, who appeared with her attorneys Jonathan Foreman and Cassandra Craven, told Cooley she understood the terms of the agreement and entered it willingly.
Cooley asked her how she pleaded to the charge.
“Guilty,” Linke said.
Under questioning from Foreman, Linke told the court she was living in Cheyenne with her boyfriend and her three sons, the oldest by a different father. She said the teen had behavioral issues and had lived with her for three years — spending the majority of his time in the custody of his father and grandmother.
“Overwhelmed”
Linke told the court the boy’s father was convicted of abusing him. She said she found out in June 2025 she was going to have custody of the teen again.
“I was overwhelmed,” she said.
On Oct. 16, 2025, Linke told the court the teen was dehydrated.
“He didn’t want to drink water. He wanted to drink soda,” Linke said.
She added she did not keep soda in the house because of the sugar content.
Linke told the court she filled up a gallon jug with water and had the teen drink it. Then her boyfriend, Gruchacz gave him water and she filled up another container with a half gallon of water.
“Do you know if he finished it?” Foreman asked.
“I do not,” Linke said.
She told Foreman that her son weighed 90 pounds. She agreed with Foreman that the amount of water she gave her son exceeded the information she read on the internet about daily intake.
Under questioning from Foreman, Linke said the teen went into the basement to use the bathroom. She heard a thump and found him “passed out” on the floor.
Linke said she called 911 and paramedics arrived and checked the boy’s vital signs and they “were fine.”
“Did they offer to take him to the hospital?” Foreman asked.
“Yes,” Linke said.
She said they decided not to go to the hospital at that point but later took him in their car because he was still “incoherent.”
At the hospital she was told that her son had low sodium levels, Linke said.
“What caused that?” Foreman asked.
“Too much water,” Linke said.
Foreman then told the court he understood the boy’s oxygen level was 82% and that he consulted with a nephrologist about the sodium level and then was was stopped by the judge. Cooley said she wanted to make sure he was laying a basis for the guilty plea and not trying to excuse the actions of his client.
The attorney told the judge he was trying to lay out his client’s guilt.
“Risk Of Death”
“It created the risk of death,” Foreman told the judge, referring to the sodium level.
He then asked Linke if her actions caused a substantial risk of death to her son.
“Yes,” Linke said.
She said the teen was taken from Cheyenne Regional Medical Center to Denver’ Children’s Hospital Colorado by helicopter.
After a question from the judge, Linke agreed that she was responsible for the 14-year-old’s care.
The judge said she would accept the guilty plea but would not accept or reject a plea agreement until after a pre-sentence investigation.
Craven then asked the judge to consider allowing Linke to have contact with her other two sons at the discretion of the Wyoming Department of Family Services. She said said the guilty plea would mean the younger boys would not need to testify in a court case and any concerns about contact would be mute.
“She’s hopeful that she can work with the DFS plan and reunify with her other children,” Craven said.
Hatfield said he had no objection and believed it was appropriate to try and re-establish those relationships.
Cooley agreed to modify Linke’s bond conditions to allow for contact at DFS discretion.
Sentencing Date
Cooley set Nov. 24 as a sentencing date and reminded Linke her plea agreement stipulates full cooperation with the Department of Probation and Parole in completing the pre-sentence investigation.
Similar aggravated child-abuse charges and court action remains pending against Gruchacz. His trial date is set for Nov. 2.
Court records show that when the teen was brought in to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center by Linke and Gruchacz staff found several abrasions and bruises on his body and a notable wound behind his left ear.
The boy’s joints “cracked and popped” and he was diagnosed with hyponatremia, a life-threatening condition that occurs from a lower-than-normal level of sodium in the bloodstream, a police affidavit states.
The teen also was suffering from abnormally long seizures and had low levels of phosphate in the blood. He was transported quickly to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver, the affidavit states.
In Denver, staff told police that Gruchacz indicated he had placed him in the bathtub before calling 911. Linke said he had grabbed her breasts in alleged “sexual assaults,” hospital staff told police.
A doctor at Children’s Hospital on Oct. 29 told an investigator that the teen had marks, bruising, and scars consistent with child abuse and malnutrition. The doctor told police that without medical intervention, the teen would not have survived.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
