Evelyn Mae Boswell death: Teen mum Megan pleads not guilty as lawyers decide whether to seek death penalty
SULLIVAN COUNTY, TENNESSEE: Megan 'Maggie' Boswell who was charged with murder in connection to the death of her 15-month-old daughter Evelyn Mae Boswell has pleaded not guilty to felony murder and other charges. 19-year-old Megan was seen sporting a face mask while appearing briefly via video for an arraignment in Tennessee's Sullivan County Criminal Court. She pleaded not guilty to all the 19 charges that have been levied against her, Daily Mail reports. This was Megan's first court appearance since a grand jury indicted her.
The 19 charges include the murder as well as abuse of her daughter Evelyn. During the arraignment, prosecutors told the judge that they had not yet decided whether to seek 'enhanced punishment' — the death penalty or life without parole in Megan's case. If the prosecutors don't seek the 'enhanced punishment', Megan faces a life term with the possibility of parole after she serves 51 years in prison should she be convicted of charges.
Megan's lawyer has asked the court to change the venue for the trial given that the months-long coverage of Evelyn's disappearance had tainted the potential jury pool. The judge said that the venue change motion would have a hearing on December 3.
The toddler's remains were found in March on a property that belonged to a Boswell family member. Evelyn had last been seen in December and was officially reported missing in February, many weeks after she had vanished. When questioned, her 18-year-old mother, Megan, reportedly gave many conflicting statements, including falsely claiming that her mother, Angela, had taken the toddler and that she was pregnant with her second child.
She also told investigators that Evelyn had been with the child's father who works with the US Army in Louisiana. It has been reported that Evelyn's remains were found by Megan's father Tommy inside the family's compound. Besides the two counts of false reporting, Boswell will also be facing charges of one count of aggravated child abuse, one count of aggravated child neglect, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of abuse of a corpse and one count of failure to report a death under suspicious, unusual, or unnatural circumstances.
It was determined that Evelyn had died in or around December last year. Reports reveal that Tommy has denied having anything to do with his granddaughter's death or disappearance. The authorities have not revealed the manner in which the toddler died. The grand jury presentment puts forth two theories. One suggests that the toddler was killed through an act of child abuse and the second says that she was killed because of child neglect, Knox News reveals.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch had said, "as we struggle to understand why or even how someone would even harm an innocent child, we will never know because thank God most of us are not wired that way, but we can certainly try our best to make sure those responsible for these incomprehensible acts are held accountable. Today's indictment is the first step in ensuring that happens. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends who loved baby Evelyn. She didn't deserve this. No child does."
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.