A 26-year-old woman pleaded no contest Tuesday to killing her 4-year-old stepdaughter in May 2011.
Ashley Young, of The Plains, pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated murder and child endangerment and one count of murder, tampering with evidence and attempted aggravated possession of drugs.
By pleading no contest, Young is not admitting guilt to the crime, but that the state has enough evidence to convict her.
The state’s evidence says that Young caused multiple life-threatening injuries to her 4-year-old stepdaughter, Kaylen Young, which resulted in Kaylen’s death on May 25, 2011.
Young’s suggested sentence from the plea agreement is life in prison with the possibility of parole in 20 years.
Kaylen was taken to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital May 23, 2011, with suspicious marks on her body that suggested physical abuse.
She was transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where she was taken off life support May 25, 2011. Her cause of death was determined as blunt force trauma to the head, according to court documents.
Ashley Young was originally charged with attempted murder on May 23, but the charge was increased to aggravated murder after Kaylen died in the hospital.
Because Young was charged with aggravated murder, she could have been sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole if the case had gone to trial, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Young is due back in court for sentencing on Nov. 10.
ml147009@ohiou.edu
