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Mother of Slain Toddler Sentenced to
your
Department of Corrections
Takara Kaye Juntunen will be screened for recovery program after pleading guilty to
negligent homicide
May your
holiday season be filled with warmth
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
The Kalispell woman convicted of negligent homicide after her boyfriend murdered her 2-year-old son in 2015 has been sentenced to the Department of Corrections.
Takara Kaye Juntunen was given a 20-year sentence to the Department of Corrections with 15 years suspended on Dec. 8 in Flathead County District Court. Juntunen, who pleaded guilty earlier this year for her role in the 2015 death of Forrest Groshelle, will be screened for placement in a drug addiction treatment program.
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.
Prosecutors have said Juntunen was under the in uence of methamphet- amine when Groshelle died because of persistent abuse at the hand of Newberry.
Judge Heidi Ulbricht decided to follow a joint recommendation from prosecutor Andrew Clegg and defense attorney Ste- ven Scott that would send Juntunen to treatment rather than prison. Scott, who works for the O ce of the State Public Defender in Helena, submitted 21 letters written family and friends in support of Juntunen getting treatment. He said it was the  rst time he’s ever seen such an outpouring of support for a defendant in a case of this nature.
“Takara is one of the most polite cli- ents I’ve ever had,” he said. “She knows she needs help. She understands that drugs got her into this situation. She knows that methamphetamine clouded her judgment.”
Scott said Juntunen was a prime can- didate for drug treatment and that he had no doubt that the 23-year-old woman could become a contributing member of society with professional help.
Moments before Ulbricht handed down her sentence Juntunen brie y
BRIEFS
Kalispell Police Department Bolstering Sta  With Two New O cers
 The Kalispell Police Department will add two law enforcement positions in January 2017.The Kalispell City Council unanimously approved a budget amend- ment on Dec. 5 that will set aside funding for two new o cers.
Police Chief Roger Nasset said there are candidates from a previous hiring
and joy.
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.
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 on the days leading up to Groshelle’s death.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
4,200 more calls than it received during all of 2012. The call volume represents a 20 percent increase. Nasset previously told the Beacon that the police depart- ment has seen an uptick in cases that are more complex and time consuming.
Kalispell amended its annual budget
Takara Juntunen appears in Flathead County District Court. BEACON FILE PHOTO
spoke to the court.
“Thank you for giving me a second
chance,” she said, as she started to cry. Judge Ulbricht then discussed the severity of Juntunen’s crime. Ulbricht noted that she was intimately familiar with the case because she also sat over
Newberry’s criminal case.
“You had a job as a mother to protect
your child from harm,” the judge said. “Had you and Mr. Newberry sought med- ical treatment, Forrest would probably still be with us today.”
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
pool who could start duty by Jan. 10. The positions will be help address over- night sta ng needs and be paired with a K9 unit on a swing shift, as well as help with other enforcement and community needs, city o cials said.
The additional sta ng will put Kalis- pell’s Police Department at 41 o cers. The department responded to 26,318 calls during the  rst nine months of 2016, about
at
e
of
death
for three mon
ths
the tim
the
and was living at her home in Evergreen. He frequently watched the child while Juntunen was at work.
appropriations to use $78,750 to hire the
www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
additional o cers.
news@ atheadbeacon.com
DECEMBER 14, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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