Make wishtv.com your home page

Mother sentenced to 37 years after death of daughter

HANCOCK COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A Greenfield mother is headed to prison following the 2015 death of her one-year-old daughter.

Jessica Merriman, formerly Wagoner, was sentenced to 37 years on Thursday. WISH-TV’s partners at the Greenfield Daily Reporter said that Merriman will serve 25 years in prison followed by 12 years of probation.

Court documents stated that the child died from blunt force injuries to the head and abdomen. Merriman and her husband were accused of not seeking medical care for the child.

Matthew Wagoner, Jessica’s ex-husband, had previously been sentenced to 67 years for the death of Zoey Wagoner. A jury found him guilty of the crime in January.

Merriman took a plea deal in the case, avoiding murder charges.

Back in January, Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton said there are no winners in this case.

“There’s nothing that will bring the child back to life. Nothing will fix what is broken,” Eaton said at the time.

Crime Map
Use Search Bars Above To Search Crime Data