Mother charged with manslaughter

Shelby Starr, 20 of Mountain View, faces manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, and child abuse charges following the Feb. 2022 death of her 11-month-old child.

According to a probable cause statement filed by Lieutenant Torey Thompson, Starr put the child to sleep in a “small closet room,” measuring nine-by-four feet on the night of Feb. 9. There was a 1,500-watt electric heater in use to heat the room. 

According to court documents, Starr turned on the heater, closed the door of the closet room, and did not check on the baby for a 12-hour period of time. At approximately, 11:00 a.m. the following morning, the child was discovered deceased inside the room by a household member. 

Volunteer firefighters, paramedics, and Sheriff’s deputies responded to the residence, and remarked on how hot the room was. 

“When I arrived, the door to the closet room had been opened and the electric heater had been removed from the room for a period of time. I noticed this room was considerably hotter than the rest of the residence,” reads Lt. Thompson’s statement. 

An autopsy revealed the child’s cause of death was directly related, “to the operation of an electric space heater in a small, enclosed room for an extended period of time.” 

The child did not have any disease or injury which would have otherwise contributed to her death. 

The Howell County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges on April 16. The defendant pled not guilty, posted her $50,000 bond, and requested a change of judicial venue on April 18. 

On April 19, a motion to raise the security level on the case was filed. As of press time, the matter remains public record. 

This matter is currently set for a case review setting on May 15 before the Honorable R. David Ray.