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Mother of Slain Toddler to Plead Guilty to
Negligent Homicide
Takara Juntunen is expected to appear at a change of plea hearing on Oct. 3
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
A 23-year-old Kalispell woman is expected to plead guilty to negligent homicide a year and a half after her boy- friend murdered her 2-year-old son.
Takara Kaye Juntunen signed a plea deal earlier this month when she admit- ted that her decision to let Brandon Wal- ter Lee Newberry care for her son in early 2015 lead to Forrest Groshelle’s death. Newberry was convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Juntunen is scheduled to appear at a change of plea hearing on Oct. 3.
Prosecutors are expected to recom- mend a 20-year sentence to the Depart- ment of Corrections with 15 years sus- pended. They will also recommend that Juntunen be treated for substance abuse.
A second charge of felony crim- inal possession of dangerous drugs will be dropped, according to the plea agreement.
In court documents led earlier this year, Deputy County Attorney Andrew Clegg accused Juntunen of being respon- sible for her son’s death because she failed to seek medical attention for the boy in the days before he died, even though he showed signs of being abused.
On Feb. 17, 2015, the Flathead County Sheri ’s O ce responded to the report of an unresponsive child at a home in Ever- green. Upon arrival at the home, they determined that the child was deceased. First responders also observed injuries to the child’s face, neck, arms, legs, back and buttocks.
An autopsy revealed that Groshelle had been hit multiple times in the abdo- men, causing a laceration of the small intestine that slowly poisoned the boy. During an interview with law enforce- ment, Newberry told them that in the days before Groshelle’s death he had been
BRIEFS
Two Creston Murder Suspects to Stand Trial Next Month
Two of the four people arrested in con- nection with the death of a Kalispell man earlier this year are expected to stand trial next month.
Jury trials for Robert Matthew Wit- tal and Melisa Ann Crone are tentatively scheduled to begin on Oct. 17.
Wittal, 29, has been charged with deliberate homicide and Crone, 29, has been charged with accountability to deliberate homicide in connection to the stabbing death of 35-year-old Wade Allen Rautio. Crone has also been charged with criminal possession of drugs.
Takara Juntunen appears in Flathead County District Court. BEACON FILE PHOTO
“roughhousing” with the child. Newberry had been dating Juntunen for three months at the time of the death and was living at her home in Evergreen. He frequently watched the child while
Juntunen was at work.
In an interview with law enforcement,
Juntunen said Groshelle had refused to eat and was “throwing up brown stu ” in the days before he died. She also said the boy had “turned purple” at one point and had a temperature of 101 the day before he died. Despite the fact that the boy was throwing up and had a high fever, Jun- tunen stated that she did not believe Gro- shelle’s symptoms were serious.
Witnesses later told law enforcement that Juntunen’s level of care and atten- tion for Groshelle declined because of continued drug use. During the investi- gation, law enforcement found drug par- aphernalia in the home.
Two other men, Christopher Michael Hansen, 28, and David Vincent Toman, 20, are also charged with accountabil- ity to deliberate homicide. Hansen and Toman are expected to stand trial in March 2017. All four suspects have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to court documents, Toman drove Rautio, Wittal and Hansen to an area o Foothills Road east of Creston. Once there, Wittal allegedly stabbed Rau- tio multiple times. Hansen also punched Rautio and provided Wittal with a second knife after Wittal lost the rst one. Wittal then stabbed Rautio in the neck.
On June 13, the Flathead County
In February 2016, Juntunen’s father contacted the sheri ’s o ce after dis- covering drug paraphernalia inside his daughter’s backpack. A residue on the paraphernalia was later determined to be methamphetamine. In an interview with law enforcement, Juntunen admitted to using meth on a daily basis, speci cally in the days leading up to Groshelle’s death.
Newberry was arrested and charged with deliberate homicide in February 2015. Earlier this year, Newberry pleaded Alford to an amended charge of miti- gated deliberate homicide. An Alford plea occurs when a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prose- cution has enough evidence that, if pre- sented to a jury, would likely result in a conviction. On April 19, Newberry was sentenced to 40 years in prison with no parole restrictions.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Sheri ’s O ce received a report of a mur- der near Creston. Upon further investiga- tion, they found Rautio’s body in a creek near Peters Ridge. All four suspects were apprehended within a few days.
Prosecutors believe that Rautio was killed at Crone’s request. According to witnesses, Crone believed that Rautio had stolen drugs from her.
All for suspects remain incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center. If convicted, all four suspects could face maximum sentences of life impris-
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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