Misty Stoddard

Case record: Misty Stoddard

Background

Misty Stoddard was a 37-year-old resident of Sarasota County. She was the stepmother of 11-year-old Melissa Stoddard.

Melissa Stoddard was autistic and was diagnosed with autism before she was old enough to attend primary school. She was also described as having autism and bipolar disorder. Melissa struggled when her regular routine changed and spoke basic sentences. She later moved from North Carolina to Florida in the summer of 2012 and lived with her biological father, Kenneth Stoddard, and Kenneth’s partner, Misty Stoddard.

Lisha Stoddard was Melissa’s biological mother. Melissa’s older brother had been arrested and charged with a felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct after he reportedly molested one of his stepsiblings when the family was in Sarasota County in 2012. Lisha Stoddard chose to send Melissa to Florida to protect her from her son, according to a Florida Department of Children and Families report.

The Stoddards’ household in Sarasota County included multiple children: Theresa Dermody testified that Misty Stoddard’s partner, Kenneth Stoddard, was often gone for work and Misty Stoddard was left with the burden of watching the children, which included three sons (then 15, 5, and 4) and two daughters (8 and a baby under 1). Melissa, who was 11, moved in during the late summer of 2012 while Stoddard was pregnant again.

The offence

Misty Stoddard was convicted of first-degree murder connected to the death of Melissa Stoddard. She was also convicted of aggravated child abuse in the death of Melissa.

The case described Melissa dying after being bound to a board and having her mouth duct-taped until she suffocated. Melissa was not breathing when first responders arrived at the house in rural eastern Sarasota County on Dec. 12, 2012, and she was not breathing at that time. She was brain dead and was on life support for several days until she died from a lack of oxygen to the brain on Dec. 17, 2012.

Court documents showed that the child had been tied to a board and her mouth duct-taped until she suffocated. Evidence in court included a plywood board manufactured to fit Melissa’s body, with holes cut for attachments to straps. Prosecutors described it as a torture device.

Investigation

Police and medical testimony included findings of duct tape throughout the home. Lead detective Kim Northfield testified that duct tape was found on the Stoddards’ kitchen counter and a hallway table, in the bathroom trash, and clumped outside on the concrete porch, and that it was found throughout the home.

Google searches found on Misty and Kenneth Stoddard’s computer included inquiries about restraining a child and items such as “human muzzle,” “silent gag,” and “mouth silencer,” with the searches described as becoming more aggressive over time. Detective John McHenry testified that there was no way to tell the exact person who accessed the pages because the computer belonged to both Kenneth and Misty Stoddard and was password-protected.

Forensic and lab testimony included:

• Megan Rommel, a crime lab analyst from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Fort Myers, testified that nine of 23 different spots on the plywood board tested positively for blood traces.
• Diana Wright, a forensic examiner at an FBI lab in Virginia, testified about duct tape on a helmet that Melissa was forced to wear.
• An expert witness confirmed that duct tape was stuck to Melissa’s right wrist after she stopped breathing.

Evidence described included DNA matching on the board. A forensic witness testified that DNA on the board matched the DNA profiles of Kenneth, Misty, and Melissa Stoddard.

Trial

The trial took place as a weeklong murder trial before Sarasota County Circuit Judge Frederick Mercurio. Prosecutors and defense counsel presented opening statements and witnesses.

Prosecutor Karen Fraivillig read a letter written by Melissa’s biological mother, Lisha Stoddard, in the courtroom at sentencing. The letter was addressed to Misty Stoddard.

During trial testimony:

• A jail inmate, Barbara Whiteaker, testified that Misty Stoddard confessed to duct-taping Melissa’s mouth shut on Dec. 12, 2012, the night the girl was rushed unresponsive to the hospital.
• Misty Stoddard’s teenage son testified that both Kenneth and Misty Stoddard regularly tied Melissa to a board and duct-taped her mouth to keep her from crying out. The son also described that a sock had been stuffed in Melissa’s mouth as a gag and duct tape was wrapped around the child’s head.
• A teacher at Oak Park School testified that he notified a state agency anonymously after becoming suspicious about what was happening at home and described filing an anonymous child abuse report. The teacher, Paul Squea, testified he used a computer in the school’s staff lounge and reported anonymously on Dec. 10, 2012, and that he never saw Melissa hurt herself in class.
• Oak Park social worker Jody Smith testified that she visited the Stoddard home in early December to see why Melissa had missed weeks of school and that Misty Stoddard would not let her inside, speaking to her on the front porch and stating that Melissa was out running errands with her father.
• A neighbor, Theresa Dermody, testified about hearing yelling and cursing and hearing sounds described as “somewhere between a slap and a punch,” and that she and her family did not alert authorities despite hearing violence.

Misty Stoddard testified in her own defense. She denied tying Melissa to the board and disputed that she had done it. She testified that Kenneth Stoddard brought home the plywood board for sexual bondage fantasies and that he tied her to the board, choking her and slapping her in the face, making her bleed. She testified that Kenneth restrained Melissa only twice on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, 2012. She testified that she wanted to free the girl but Kenneth Stoddard would not let her.

A psychologist called by the defense was described as not allowed to testify in front of the jury. The psychologist said Misty Stoddard suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Trial statements and quotes included:

• Prosecutor Karen Fraivillig said:

  “I no longer get to look into my daughter's big beautiful eyes or tuck her in at night or feel her hugs,”
  Fraivillig read the words aloud in the courtroom. “For that, I will never forgive you. You are a poor excuse for a mother and a human being.”

• Misty Stoddard said before sentencing:

  “I loved Melissa. I still love Melissa,”
  “I take full responsibility for the actions and inactions that led up to this event . . . If I could change it, I would.”

• Prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell said:

  “What is even worse was she was a special-needs child,” Fraivillig said.
  “She couldn't articulate to anyone how she was suffering at the hands of Misty Stoddard. “One can only imagine what the child went through.” “Parenting is hard and parenting an autistic child is harder. But parents do it every day,'
  O'Donnell said. 'They don't kill their children.' “This is where Melissa's head was every time she went to bed,”
  she said during closing arguments by tapping the top of the board.

• Prosecutor Karen Fraivillig asked:

  “Whose trial is this?”
  “It's Misty Stoddard's trial. Everything comes all back to her. This is not Kenneth Stoddard's trial. That's for another day and another jury.”

• Lisha Stoddard said after the verdict:

  “It was difficult,”
  “I'm just happy with the outcome.”

• Neighbor Kevin Dermody testified:

  “I was afraid the consequences might be worse if I intervened,”

• The teacher Paul Squeo testified:

  “I reported anonymously,”
  “I did report the injuries.”

• DCF spokeswoman Natalie Harrell testified in court as to website activity:

  “Essentially, two separate times that day, someone typed in her name and then chose to exit the website before proceeding any further.”

The jury was described as consisting of five men and seven women, and the verdict on first-degree murder was reached after deliberations described as taking 2 1/2 hours. Misty Stoddard was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

Sentencing

On August 14, 2014, Sarasota County Circuit Judge Frederick Mercurio sentenced Misty Stoddard to an additional 30 years in prison for her conviction on an aggravated abuse charge in the death of 11-year-old Melissa.

Misty Stoddard also automatically received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole after a jury convicted her of first-degree murder in June. The record states her sentencing occurred on Thursday, August 14, 2014.

The case described the sentencing as a response after Fraivillig read the letter from Lisha Stoddard. Fraivillig said the judge’s sentence was appropriate after Melissa was tortured and suffocated and stated that the child was a special-needs child who could not articulate her suffering.

Defense attorneys were described as having 30 days to appeal.

Appeals

Misty Stoddard’s defense team had 30 days to appeal.

Outcome

Misty Stoddard was convicted by a Sarasota jury of:

• first-degree murder (with a mandatory life sentence in prison without parole), and
• aggravated child abuse (sentencing included an additional 30 years).

Aftermath

At sentencing, Misty Stoddard stood before the judge and accepted responsibility for what happened, stating:

Later trial proceedings were expected for Melissa’s biological father, Kenneth Stoddard, who was charged with aggravated manslaughter, aggravated child abuse and tampering with evidence, with a second trial expected to begin later as described.