State fails to show probable cause
Judge Vicki Clussman dismissed charges of felony child neglect against an Iola couple whose 2-year-old daughter died in the slats of a homemade bed.
Cody Deschler and Emily Ferg were charged with neglecting a child-consequence is death for the June 12 incident involving their daughter, Cyrilla, at an Iola home.
They appeared in court Wednesday, Dec. 7, for a preliminary hearing.
After hearing testimony from Waupaca County Detective Sgt. Nate Nelson and statements from the prosecutor and defense attorneys, Clussman said she did not find probable cause and that state had not met the burden of proof,
According to the criminal complaint, the girl was sleeping in a homemade, lofted bed about 3 feet above the floor.
When the child apparently tried to climb out of the bed feet first, her legs and torso slipped between the slats, but her shoulders became wedged.
Due to the height of the bed, the girl’s feet could not reach the floor, causing her to aphyxiate and die.
Ferg and Deschler were sleeping in another room at the time of the incident.