A New Ross woman facing a felony count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury will not go to prison for nine years.
Instead, Megan L. Marshall, 27, will serve a four-year sentence on house arrest followed by five years on probation. The terms of her plea deal were upheld Friday by Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Darren Chadd during a sentencing hearing.
Marshall’s charge stems from the life-threatening and life-long injuries her 3 1/2-month-old daughter sustained on Aug. 22, 2019, while in the care of Marshall’s boyfriend, Dylan T. Myers.
A jury convicted Myers in October 2022 of one felony count of neglect of dependent resulting in catastrophic injury. The court sentenced him to 30 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. Myers appealed the conviction and sentence, but it was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Marshall’s jury trial in June ended in a mistrial and her case was reset for trial this fall. On Oct. 30, Marshall agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of neglect of dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and in exchange the state would dismiss the one felony count of neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury.
Marshall’s defense attorney, Bryan Coulter, said during Friday’s hearing that his client loves her daughter, Charlie, and she never physically harmed her.
“She’s in a difficult spot and she understands that,” Coulter said.
Marshall will be allowed to have supervised visits with Charlie, who is now four years old and resides in Waveland with her biological father, Nathan White. Marshall also will be allowed to have supervised visits with her other three children who reside in rural New Ross with their maternal grandmother.
The court ordered Marshall to pay court fees and all costs related to her electronic monitoring, probation and child support. She also was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.
“The actions of Dylan Myers and the inaction of Megan Marshall have forever changed my life and the life of a four-year-old little girl,” White wrote in a statement he submitted to the court.
“The hours and dollars that I spend with Charlie, and keeping her safe is central to my life,” he added. “It disgusts me when I think of how Megan let this animal Dylan treat Charlie.”
White said his daughter is significantly developmentally delayed and impaired, and doctors believe she always will be.
