By Shereen Siewert
A plea deal appears to be in the works for a Merrill-area mother charged in connection with her 15-month-old son’s death
Amber Paige Boyd, 23, faces charges in Lincoln County Circuit Court of child neglect where the consequence is death, two additional child neglect charges, possession of methamphetamine, possession of amphetamine/LSD/Psiolocin, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia to manufacture methamphetamine in the presence of a child younger than 14 and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her boyfriend, 25-year-old Cody Gene Robertson, is also charged in the case.
Police say Boyd, at about 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2020 called 911 to report she found her child not breathing at her town of Corning home. Boyd told dispatchers she discovered the child “like five minutes” earlier, and called another person before calling 911. Officers and rescue crews arrived about 15 minutes later and noted that the child had numerous bruises to the face, head, arms and legs, according to the criminal complaint.
According to court documents, an autopsy performed the following day showed the child had dozens of lesions on the child’s body and weighed just 17 pounds at the time of his death, below the third percentile for children his age. Blood test results showed the boy had methamphetamine in his body at the time of his death and additional tests showed his siblings also had methamphetamine in their urine, according to court documents.
Boyd is listed as the organizer for a GoFundMe effort to pay for the boy’s funeral costs. The fundraiser netted $1,330.
During a status conference this week attorneys told Judge Jay Tlusty that the parties are working out a plea deal in the case, according to online court records. A plea hearing is set for March 21.
Boyd, who was bound over for trial in September and arraigned in October, remains behind bars.
