Woman Pleads Not Guilty to Child Abuse Death

Woman Pleads Not Guilty to Child Abuse Death

Nov 20, 2008

Jay Sorgi

The woman charged with the child abuse death of her infant nephew is being held on $500,000 bail.  Crystal Keith pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless homicide and child abuse causing great bodily harm.

This comes a day after a fight broke out at the funeral of the infant, Christopher Thomas.

Keith allegedly admitted to abusing Christopher multiple times over a period of several months because she could not get him to stop crying.

The Milwaukee Bureau of Child Welfare gave Keith custody of Thomas and his sister, though another family wanted to adopt him.

"Just because they're family doesn't mean it's the right choice," said Darlene Logan, who wanted to have the chance to take care of Thomas.

If Thomas is convicted, she could get a sentence of up to 75 years in prison.