Blake pleads guilty in death of son

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October 6, 2009

By Nate Smith, Staff Writer The Washington Times-Herald Tue Oct 06, 2009, 09:58 PM EDT

JASPER — Vadney Blake, 23, Cannelburg, pled guilty in Dubois County Circuit Court Monday to battery resulting in death, a Class A felony.

Blake could face as much as 30 years in the beating death of her son, Jalen, 2 1/2, in a home in Haysville on June 27, 2008. She was charged with battery and neglect of a dependent resulting in death in January. As part of the agreement, the neglect charge, also a Class A felony, will be dropped.

The agreement goes before Judge William Weikert for review and acceptance. A sentencing hearing has been set for Nov. 2 in Jasper.

Blake was in court Monday with her attorney, Howard B. Lytton, and agreed to the plea. As part of the plea, she admitted to striking her son on June 27 with a Home Interiors candle.

Jalen Blake tested positive for methamphetamines on June 6. Vadney admitted in an interview with Daviess County Sheriff’s deputies that she and boyfriend Jeff Truelove had been smoking meth in front of Jalen. In the police record, Blake also admitted hitting Jalen with the candle three times.

Jalen was not removed from the home. Investigations by both the Times-Herald and The Indianapolis Star revealed that officials from the state Department of Child Services knew that Jalen had tested positive for meth and did not inform their supervisors until after his death.

Truelove committed suicide on July 14 after state police started looking for him in connection with the case.

Dubois County Prosecutor Michael Fritch said if the judge accepts the plea agreement and sentences Blake to the maximum, she would serve 20 years in the state Department of Corrections and 10 years on work release, if she is eligible at the time.

Blake wrote the court on June 7, asking for a counselor or a psychological evaluation.

“I’m just trying to stress the fact that this is really hard on me emotionally and mentally exhausting and I really believe I need some help,” Blake wrote in the letter.

Also in the plea agreement was language about her Daviess County case. Before she was charged in Dubois County for Jalen’s death, she was first charged in Daviess on July 18, 2008, with dealing in a narcotic drug, a Class A felony, and neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Class C felony.

The agreement said both sentences in Dubois and Daviess counties were to run concurrent, or at the same time. If the sentence in Daviess County is longer, Blake has the option of appealing to the court to reconsider the plea agreement in Dubois County.

As of today, there is no plea agreement filed in Daviess County and a trial is scheduled for Nov. 4. Jasper lawyer Anthony Quinn is scheduled to represent Blake in Daviess County.

Fritch said he had spoken with Daviess County Prosecutor Byron Overton and said its his understanding the sentences would be concurrent. Lytton also confirmed the same understanding.

“I consider the cases interrelated,” Fritch said.

A message was left with the Daviess County Prosecutor’s office.

n Bill Powell of The Jasper Herald contributed to this report.

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