Boone County judge denies motion to throw out murder charge in baby’s death
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The murder charge against the father of a baby found dead in Columbia will stay as the case heads to a jury trial early next year.
Staffone Fountain, 31, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree child endangerment and abandoning a corpse. He is being held in the Boone County Jail without bond.
At a Monday morning hearing, defense attorney Jennifer Bukowsky asked Boone County Judge Kevin Crane to dismiss the child endangerment and second-degree murder charges.
Bukowsky said prosecutors accused Fountain of "multiple acts" that may have led to the infant's death in 2017, which could confuse a jury. The two acts Fountain is accused of are putting the baby in an unsafe sleeping position and hitting the baby.
"Some jurors may think, 'Well, you place the child in an unsafe sleeping position,' while others thought 'Well, maybe he struck the child,' and you wouldn't have a unanimous jury, which is a constitutional right under the Missouri Constitution," Bukowsky said in court.
The state prosecutor said these charges are legal and Crane agreed. He denied the motion.
"A crime can be committed by several methods, and when a crime has been committed, possibly by more than one means, it's appropriate for the state to be able to charge those things. Here, we've charged by striking the child or by placing the child in a safe sleeping environment or by a combination of the two," said Susan Boresi, Boone County assistant prosecuting attorney.
Fountain was arrested along with the baby's mother, Lavosha Daniels, in June 2022. Fountain was charged with first-degree murder and abandoning a corpse. Daniels was charged with first-degree child endangerment and abandoning a corpse.
A note turned in to police in 2022 implicated Fountain in the killing of Samone Daniels, who was about 4-5 months old at the time of her death. Officers found the baby's remains inside a bag behind a business on Providence Road in Columbia in 2019.
Former Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones said the baby died two years before her remains were discovered. Assistant Chief Jeremiah Hunter previously said the baby died at the Red Roof Inn in Columbia.
The gap between the date of the baby's death and when she was discovered was another source of conflict in court Monday. However, the judge again agreed with the state that it would not affect the gathering of evidence.
The Boone County Prosecutor's Office amended Fountain's charges on Aug. 18 from first-degree murder to child endangerment and second-degree murder under Missouri's felony murder rule.
Fountain's trial date was moved back to Feb. 27, 2024. Daniels still awaits trial.
