GUILTY IN - Skylea Carmack, 10, Gas City, Grant County, 31 Aug 2019 *stepmom arrested* *appeal filed 2022*

[claudianunes]

What I don't understand is why the shed wasn't searched earlier. The entire property should have been searched inch,by inch,top,to bottom. Especially since she was Sketchy from the get go. Did they not have permission,need a search warrant?

Her father was straight up asking people to check their sheds and garages.

 

[claudianunes]

Nope. They are total crap statistics. Loads of people are claiming her as a sister admittedly just because they knew her all her life. They aren't blood siblings. And I have a feeling it's the same with Skylea's mom's FB claim of having like a dozen kids. No one talks about who these kids are. It's just a claim. Apparently if you knew Skylea growing up she's your sister.....

Based on what? If that was the case, we would have 40 names on that obituary.

 

[MsMarple]

What I don't understand is why the shed wasn't searched earlier. The entire property should have been searched inch,by inch,top,to bottom. Especially since she was Sketchy from the get go. Did they not have permission,need a search warrant?

Yep, that was my question early on too.

The probable cause doc said Carmack called to report Skylea missing at 9:10 pm Saturday August 31. By the next day detectives suspected Carmack might have harmed her.

But even after interviewing the husband and the other children LE didn't search the house. It wasn't until September 4 after Carmack admitted she killed Skylea and hid her body in the shed that LE obtained a search warrant to search it.

There's no mention of LE asking permission to search the home earlier but maybe it's possible they did and Carmack refused? Or they felt they couldn't search the home without probable cause and had to wait? I dunno.

In other cases searching the home usually happens immediately. All I've been able to come up with is since Skylea was 10 (as opposed to a toddler) LE leaned towards her being a runaway, especially since Carmack made sure to stress that scenario. Why they didn't search once they suspected Carmack is beyond me. I wonder if she had planned on moving the body but never had a chance?

Poor Skylea, her body disposed of like trash.

https://s3-ca-central-1.amazonaws.c...Probable-Cause.pdf?embedded=true&url=FILE_URL

 

[Laughing]

RIP, Skylea!

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

Her father was straight up asking people to check their sheds and garages.

Ok. Other people's sheds.

Her father was straight up asking people to check their sheds and garages.

Ok. Did he check their shed?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

According to Kevin, Skylea took a purple autism awareness blanket, a pink backpack and a blue drawstring bag with “Sky” written on it. She was wearing teal converse shoes and a shirt with Mario and Luigi on it.

Photos show Skylea with darker hair but her father describes it as short and blonde right now.

Her father said Skylea has a history of running away but usually she goes to his mom’s house.

“I have to remain hopeful that she is still OK and she is just hiding out with a friend or she found an old garage that she can hide in,” said Kevin.
Father of missing 10-year-old from Gas City speaks out

 

[oviedo]

Ok. Other people's sheds.

Ok. Did he check their shed?

Apparently not ... but I did think I read that LE searched the home itself just not the shed - will see if I can find the link

 

[imstilla.grandma]

We're not even mad at this point," he said. "We are just worried about her being OK -- just want her to come home."
Father of 10-year-old missing Indiana girl speaks out

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

The six other children who were in the home are now in the care of Child Protective Services.
Indiana woman arrested in death of 10-year-old stepdaughter

They better think long and hard about what they are going to do to Protect these children. Judges better think long and hard about it too. No more disregarding what's best for them,and pandering to neglectful,abusive parental units.
MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Apparently not ... but I did think I read that LE searched the home itself just not the shed - will see if I can find the link

I cannot fathom LE conducting such a preliminary search and not checking the property shed. I do hope they release the reason why they failed if that is the case.

 

[oviedo]

Police say there was a “conglomerate of evidence" that led them to arrest Amanda Carmack in connection with the death of her stepdaughter, 10-year-old Skylea Carmack

BREAKING: Body of missing Gas City girl found in shed behind home; stepmom accused of strangling her

FOX59 News on Twitter

The body of 10-year-old Skylea Carmack was found inside a plastic trash bag, hidden inside a shed behind her Gas City home.

FOX59 News on Twitter

Police believe Skylea Carmack was killed between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday. Amanda Carmack reported her missing at 9 p.m.

FOX59 News on Twitter

Police say they previously searched the home, but they were looking for a little girl. They had no reason to believe at that time that her body was hidden.

FOX59 News on Twitter

Found the post - they did search the house ...

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

Found the post - they did search the house ...

How sad. I imagine they must be kicking themselves in the behind now. I guess I'm really jaded after all the child murder cases. I've followed. I would be tearing everything apart,leaving no stone unturned,probe everything.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

We caught up with two police officers who were trudging through a beanfield south of the Grant County community Tuesday afternoon.

They were looking for any evidence that Skylea Carmack might have walked through the property towards a nearby wooded area.

It is one of many spots being investigated, as law enforcement pours over more areas outside Gas City.
Still no sign of missing Gas City 10-year old; police expand search
I’m a blue supporter but they were searching everywhere for days except for the property she went missing from. I do not understand.

 

[Charlot123]

Helmuth said she used to let Amanda watch her adopted 3-year-old.

“She was my babysitter,” said Helmuth. “He came home and said ‘Amanda is mean.’”

Helmuth said he didn’t say why she was mean, but Helmuth noticed the boy would come home hungry.

“Then I find out that the kids had to ask permission for everything,” said Helmuth.

She said her son, Kevin, is blaming himself for not knowing.

“Kevin is like ‘mom, why didn’t they tell me?’ Well, they were scared,” said Helmuth.

She wishes her fear wouldn’t have stopped her from speaking up.

“If you think anything, it doesn’t hurt to make a phone call, just for safety reasons,” said Helmuth. “And if anybody would get upset about that, then there is something wrong.”

She doesn’t want others to feel this same guilt.

“If I checked it out, maybe Skylea would be alive,” said Helmuth.

The thought of her granddaughter’s last moments is haunting her.

“I just wish we could have pulled her out before, and pulled all the kids out before all this,” said Helmuth. “We all miss her, we all love her, but yeah, she is definitely in a better place than living with her.
Grandma of girl allegedly murdered by stepmom saw troubling signs

Kevin had four or five “moms” and moved the child with him. This is the recipe for disaster. And then if you read all comments to the link posted by @margarita25 , pay attention to the screenshots made by the biomom, where she mentioned physical abuse of Skylea by the father, and condoned it.

He might blame himself all his life, but in my world, he is not a victim. Maybe not the perpetrator, but not someone I would feel sorry for.

Heck, the ex of Holly Davis was probably a better father to Skylea than Kevin.

 

[Charlot123]

The state wants to shield a lot of information from public eyes in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Child Services.

The group suing the state opposes that push.

New York-based advocacy organization A Better Childhood filed the lawsuit on behalf of Hoosier foster children. It argues, for instance, DCS fails to provide stable homes for kids and moves them around too much.

The state wants court filings in the case sealed and redacted – it says children’s confidential information is otherwise at risk. But A Better Childhood executive director Marcia Lowry says not everything should be sealed.

“When we have an expert, for example, look at the case of a particular child and say, ‘Well, this happened and that happened and this happened – and that was all devastating to the child,’" Lowry says. "We think that information should not be sealed – only without telling the child’s name, family members’ names, that kind of stuff.”

Lowry says it’s important the public learn how DCS handles children.
State Wants To Seal Filings In DCS Class Action Lawsuit

How can one provide the homes? It is easy to sue CPS, but how to find good foster parents? It is darn hard, and I know some amazing foster parents, and I respect them, but the best ones limit the amount of kids to take, because they don’t do it for money.

 

[Steelslady]

Skylea Carmack, 10 years old, Gas City, passed away on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, in Gas City. She was born in Marion on Wednesday, October 1, 2008, to Kevin Carmack and Stacey Brandenburg.

Skylea was a member of Jesus Fellowship Family. She loved to camp, fish, read books, and collect monster high dolls. She enjoyed painting, riding her bike, and was just beginning to learn how to sew. Skylea will be remembered for how much she loved spending time with her family. She had a wonderful spirit and loved everyone she came in contact with.

Additional survivors include her twelve brothers, Tony, Joshy, Hunter, Ranger, Blake, Levi, Tristian, Kevin Jr., Ethan, Seth, Mavrick, and Donovan; five sisters, Cheyenne, Shyann, Dakota, Jasmine, and Emily; grandmother, Brenda Helmuth; and two grandfathers, David Brandenburg and Albert Hart, Sr..

At the family's request, a Celebration of Life service for Skylea will take place at a later date.
Skylea Carmack Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

17 siblings? Yowzers. Praying that all of these remaining children are safe and sound.

 

[margarita25]

What I don't understand is why the shed wasn't searched earlier. The entire property should have been searched inch,by inch,top,to bottom. Especially since she was Sketchy from the get go. Did they not have permission,need a search warrant?

Iirc from the PC Affadavit, they returned with a warrant to search the shed, so I’m not sure if permission was denied initially or what the deal was, but I’m thinking that upon an initial search, Skylea would not have been visible since she was concealed and they may not look inside garbage bags etc.. If they suspected FP then they would make sure there is a warrant so nothing is compromised for the prosecution, moo.

 

[oviedo]

Iirc from the PC Affadavit, they returned with a warrant to search the shed. So I’m not sure if permission was denied initially or what the deal was. Upon an initial search, they may not look in garbage bags etc...if they suspected FP then perhaps later they would, and make sure there is a warrant no nothing is compromised for the prosecution, moo.

They can authorize a search and LE can also get a warrant so nothing is compromised I’ve seen this done before / why not in this case? I’m just trying to understand the logistics of their investigation because as best I can tell- a thorough search wasn’t done until after she turned herself in and confessed IIRC- JMO

 

[margarita25]

They can authorize a search and LE can also get a warrant so nothing is compromised I’ve seen this done before / why not in this case? I’m just trying to understand the logistics of their investigation because as best I can tell- a thorough search wasn’t done until after she turned herself in and confessed IIRC- JMO

I’m thinking they suspected FP from the start, but can’t go touching and looking in bags without a warrant, and wouldn’t want to. They can do their initial inspection to make sure she’s not alive in there. But if she’s deceased and concealed in there, it’s obviously going to be a crime scene so they would want and need a warrant for that. In other words, if there’s a chance she could be in the garbage bags, etc. no doubt they wouldn’t want to touch anything in there without a warrant. If she is not clearly visible, then that in itself says they are going to need a warrant. Hope that makes sense. That was my first thought too, how did they miss her? She obviously wasn’t visible and couldn’t be found without a more detailed search, one which would require a warrant. I’m sure they checked the shed and saw she wasn’t alive in there.

 

[155etta]

Apparently not ... but I did think I read that LE searched the home itself just not the shed - will see if I can find the link

I swear I read an article that said police did a cursory check of the shed but were looking for a live girl hiding at that time, not a body in a trash bag, if that makes sense. Sorry, can't find the article now.