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Parents arrested in child’s death

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Monday, July 12, 2010

MT. JULIET -- A local physician has been charged with first degree murder and her husband has been charged as an accessory after the fact in the death of their 4-year-old daughter.

A Wilson County grand jury indicted on Monday Dr. Deborah Mark, 39, with one count of first degree murder in the death of Kairissa Mark, 4, who died on July 2.

A news release from the Mt. Juliet Police Department late Monday afternoon, said officers responded to a call at 441 Laurel Hills Drive in Mt. Juliet on July 1 to assist Wilson County Emergency Management Agency medical personnel with unresponsive 4-year-old female child.

Officers quickly arrived at the scene and were met by the father, Steven Mark, who took them to the child. The officers immediately started life saving efforts by initiating CPR using both chest compression and breathing techniques. After WEMA personnel arrived, the child was transported to Summit Medical Center to meet a LifeFlight helicopter which then flew the child to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville.

Kairissa Mark succumbed to her injuries on July 2 and was pronounced deceased.

Since the inception of the incident, the MJPD Criminal Investigative Division has been involved in investigating this case. Agencies that assisted include the District Attorney General’s Office, Wilson County Sheriff’s Department, Lebanon Police Department’s Forensics Unit, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

The grand jury also indicted Dr. Mark on one count of Perpetration of Aggravated Child Abuse, one count of Aggravated Child Abuse and four counts of Child Abuse. She is being held in the Wilson County Jail under a $150,000 bond.

In addition to the charge of one count of Accessory After the Fact, her husband, Steven Mark, 47, was also indicted by the grand jury on a charge of one count of Aggravated Child Abuse and Neglect, one count of Criminal Responsibility for Aggravated Child Abuse, one count of Aggravated Assault by Failure to Protect and four counts of Child Abuse. He is being held in the jail on $100,000 bond.

The couple is to appear in court on Friday, July 23.

2010 Jul 12