The mother of a slain toddler girl and her former boyfriend have been charged in a case revived by the family’s demand for a grand jury investigation.
A Scotts Bluff County District grand jury, which convened last week, indicted Charyse Geurts on a felony charge of hindering an inves-tigation and a misdemeanor count of providing false information in the July 11, 2008, death of 2-year-old Juliette Geurts.
No one had been charged in the death of the child, who suffered and died of blunt force trauma to her head and abdomen.
Dustin Chauncey, Charyse Geurts’ then-boyfriend, has been indicted on charges that he caused the girl’s death. Chauncey faces felony charges of child abuse resulting in death, manslaughter and a misdemeanor count of providing false information to an officer.
Monica Hall, the aunt of Juliette Geurts, had pushed for years for prosecution in the case. She said the family is thrilled with the release of the indictments.
“I am so in shock,” she said. “I am so relieved that the grand jury was successful in indicting those responsible. I can’t believe it. It has been 4½ years that we were waiting for something and finally, we have an answer.”
The grand jury, led by special prosecutor James Zimmerman, had been charged with determining if probable cause existed in the case for an indictment. Three prosecutors — former Scotts Bluff County Attorney Derek Weimer, former Scotts Bluff County Attorney Tiffany Wasserburger and current Scotts Bluff County Attorney Doug Warner — had declined to prosecute the case.
Hall has been vocal in her beliefs that Charyse Geurts, Dustin Chauncey and a third man, Brandon Townsend, knew the circumstances of the girl’s death and should be prosecuted. All three adults were in the home at the time of the girl’s death. Hall’s efforts included partnering with two Scotts Bluff County residents, who gathered volunteers for a petition drive to force authorities to convene a grand jury to consider the girl’s death.
On Tuesday, Hall said she thanks the grand jury, the petitioners and Scotts Bluff County residents who signed the petition “for taking the time to be the voice for a murdered girl that didn’t deserve to die the way she did. I can’t thank them enough for that. …She (Juliette) wasn’t buried and forgotten.”
Charyse Geurts and Chauncey will be prosecuted according to 2008 statutes. The indictments were filed on Monday, but were not available to the public until Tuesday. Charges were filed directly in Scotts Bluff County District Court, where the cases will be tried.
Townsend has not been charged.
