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Mother of Slain Toddler to be Sentenced
Friends, family ask judge to give Takara Kaye Juntunen treatment instead of prison sentence
your
“SHE WILL BE DOING TIME FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE WITHOUT FORREST IN IT,
WHAT SHE REALLY NEEDS IS TREATMENT FOR HER ADDICTION AND LOSS OF HER SON SO THAT SHE CAN START HEALING.” - FAMILY FRIEND
BRIEFS
Former Olney Fire Chief Denies Stealing From Department
The former Olney Fire Department chief has denied allegations that he stole $51,000 from the rural department over four years.
Kenneth Morehead, 48, pleaded not guilty to felony theft on Dec. 1 in Flathead County District Court. He will stand trial in May 2017.
According to court records, Flathead County Finance Director Sandra Carlson contacted the Flathead County Sheri ’s O ce in July after discovering that the Olney Fire Department had a negative balance. An audit found that Morehead had allegedly used the account to fund personal purchases between 2012 and 2016. As county o cials dug deeper into the books, they discovered that tens of thousands of dollars had been spent at local auto parts businesses and grocery markets with little or no documentation.
A few days later, a sheri ’s deputy interviewed Morehead, who allegedly admitted to using the re department’s account for personal purposes.
In light of the allegations, Morehead stepped down this summer from both his position as the volunteer re district’s chief and as a member of the board of trustees that oversees the district, which is funded through county tax dollars.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 ne.
Investigations Continue into Kalispell, Evergreen Shootings
Local law enforcement continues to investigate two separate shootings that occurred last week in the Kalispell area.
On Nov. 27, a 39-year-old woman was shot in the leg at a home near Woodland Park. Then, just over 24 hours later, a sec- ond shooting occurred two miles away on Sleepy Hollow Road in Evergreen. In that incident, a 33-year-old man was shot in the hip.
Both victims were taken to the hospi- tal and survived their injuries. No one has been arrested in either case.
Kalispell Police Department Capt. Doug Overman said the shootings were unrelated to one another.
Kalispell Police responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 on Woodland Avenue. The victim said she had been walking near Woodland Park when she heard a gun- shot and then realized she had been shot in the leg. However, that story was quickly disputed, and detectives believe the shooting actually occurred inside a house.
“The statements from the victim did not match what we found at the scene,” Overman said.
Overman said the shooting remains under investigation, but authorities believe they know who red the gun.
The second shooting on Nov. 28 on Sleepy Hollow Road was reported shortly after 7 p.m. According to Sheri Chuck Curry, there were other people in the house when the 33-year-old male was shot, but the circumstances leading to the shooting remain unclear.
“We’re still interviewing people and
Mhoalyidyaoyur
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
The 23-year-old Kalispell woman convicted of negligent homicide after her boyfriend murdered her 2-year-old son will be sentenced this week in Flat- head County District Court.
Takara Kaye Juntunen will appear in court on Dec. 8, two months after she pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the 2015 death of Forrest Groshelle.
Juntunen was arrested and charged with felony negligent homicide in June, just weeks after Brandon Walter Lee Newberry, her boyfriend in late 2014 and early 2015, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide.
According to the plea agreement, pros- ecutors and the defense are expected to recommend a 20-year sentence to the Department of Corrections with 15 years suspended. However, District Court Judge Heidi Ulbricht could choose to sentence Juntunen to up to 20 years in prison.
Prior to the Dec. 8 sentencing, friends and family of Juntunen wrote letters to Judge Ulbricht urging her to send the convicted to a treatment program and not prison. Many of the letters painted the picture of a single mother who loved her son but was struggling with drug
addiction.
“I know she was under the in uence
of drugs, but she didn’t know about the abuse. I know my daughter and she would have never let anyone hurt Forrest,” wrote Juntunen’s mother, Cindy.
“She will be doing time for the rest of her life without Forrest in it,” wrote a family friend. “What she really needs is treatment for her addiction and loss of her son so that she can start healing.”
In court documents led this spring, Deputy County Attorney Andrew Clegg accuses Juntunen of being responsible 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
“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 interv
iew
w
it
h
law
enfo
Juntunen said Groshelle had refused to
season be
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
filled with
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.
awnadrmjtoyh.
In February 2016, Juntunen’s father contacted the sheri ’s o ce after dis- covering drug paraphernalia inside his
daughter’s b
ackp
k. A r
id
n the
ac
es
paraphernalia was later determined to be methamphetamine. In an interview with law enforcement, Juntunen admit- ted to using meth on a daily basis, speci - cally on the days leading up to Groshelle’s death.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
rcement,
ue o
we’re still processing evidence,” Curry
said. www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com news@ atheadbeacon.com
DECEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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