Father Charged In Toddler's 2007 Death
Father Charged In Toddler's 2007 Death
Jeffrey Spohn
By LISA A. DAVIS AND TODD LESKANIC | ldavis@tampatrib.com tleskanic@tampatrib.com
Published: November 12, 2008
LAND O' LAKES --
After 18-month-old Ryanne Spohn died of a brain injury 19 months ago, her adoptive father, Jeff, said the child had fallen and hit her head at her Wesley Chapel home.
On Monday, Jeff Spohn was charged with first-degree murder in the toddler's March 2007 death. Spohn, 33, who lives in Ocala, was indicted last week by a Pasco County grand jury.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office determined Ryanne died from shaken-baby syndrome, Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll said.
"We originally investigated it as an accident," he said. "Medical evidence determined otherwise."
No one answered the phone at the Spohns' Ocala home Monday evening.
Court documents show that Spohn's account of what happened to Ryanne didn't match the child's injuries. Spohn told investigators he was at the family's Millhopper Avenue home with Ryanne and her older sister, Macie, on March 2, 2007.
He said he had confined Ryanne behind a safety gate while he was helping Macie put her shoes on. Ryanne began to climb the gate but fell backward and hit her head on the floor, Spohn told investigators.
Spohn said he called 911 and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the child. Ryanne began having seizures and was taken to University Community Hospital, where she died.
Hillsborough County Associate Medical Examiner Leszek Chrostowski concluded this summer that Ryanne died of cerebral trauma, the result of a battering. Physician Randall Alexander, the statewide director of the Child Protection Team, found that the force needed to inflict Ryanne's injuries was not consistent with Spohn's account.
Shortly after the toddler died, a judge removed Ryanne's 3-year-old sister, Macie, from her parents' home and placed her in her grandmother's care. The state Department of Children & Families had allowed Jeff Spohn and his wife, Heather, supervised visits with Macie.
On Tuesday, Jeff Spohn was being held in the Land O' Lakes Jail with no bail set.
Reporter Lisa Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083. Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.