exposing the dark side of adoption
Register Log in

Utah mom charged in daughter's death

public

A mother who pleaded guilty to what authorities called one of the worst cases of child abuse in Utah history has been accused of murdering her 3-year-old daughter four years ago in Coldwater, Mich.

Becky Tucker, 34, was charged Monday with second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse in the 1995 death of her 3-year-old adopted daughter, Danielle.Tucker is serving a five-year sentence in Utah for nearly starving to death Brittany, Danielle's older half-sister.

She faces up to life in prison if convicted on all the Michigan charges.

A spokesman for the Utah Attorney General's Office said Utah will comply with Michigan's request. But there could be a delay if Tucker protests a Michigan trial.

"Justice needs to be served," said Elizabeth Dornan, Danielle's maternal grandmother, who would like to see the case tried in court.

The charges were filed 10 months after Branch County authorities exhumed Danielle's body. County prosecutor John Livesay said autopsy results showed the little girl died from a closed-head injury. He declined to be more specific.

The December 1995 fatality occurred while Tucker and her husband, Christopher, were living in Coldwater, Mich. The couple had told authorities there that the 3-year-old girl had accidentally fallen down stairs at the family's home.

Christopher Tucker is serving a sentence of one to 15 years in Utah for abusing Brittany. He is not charged in Danielle's death. Livesay said he was at work at the time authorities believe Danielle was hurt.

Livesay said police were not aware of Danielle's death until last year, when Utah authorities notified them of their investigation of Becky Tucker.

In a subsequent conversation with investigators from Coldwater and Utah, Utah authorities said Becky Tucker allegedly confessed to pushing her daughter down the steps. Livesay has not confirmed whether she confessed or if there have been more conversations with her.

"Had we been aware of the death . . . then perhaps Brittany, who was the victim of the abuse in Utah, that might never have happened," Livesay said. "Unfortunately, that's history."

Danielle's half-sister, Brittany, then 6, was found in November 1997 living in a filthy locked basement room in the family's Trenton, Utah, home. She weighed just 32 pounds. Police say she was regularly burned and beaten.

Her 4-year-old half-sister, whose name was withheld, was also found. Authorities said the Tuckers' two natural sons were not abused.

Livesay said Michigan now has safeguards that he believes would prevent another child's death from going unnoticed the way Danielle's was.

Cache County prosecutor Scott Wyatt, who handled Brittany's case, said Brittany and her younger sister are being adopted by a family he believes will cherish them.

"There's no justice to be found in this case," Wyatt said. "All we can do as prosecutors is try to get accountability when things like this happen."

1999 Apr 7