Whitehouse mother accused of abusing adopted twin sons takes witness stand in trial

During her testimony, Cheryl Lane, of Whitehouse, admitted she hit one of the twins with an archery arrow, but she claimed it was reasonable corporal punishment.

Author: Zak Wellerman, Jesus Martinez

TYLER, Texas — A Smith County woman accused of abusing her adopted twin teenage sons in 2019 was emotional as she testified on her own behalf and also spoke about striking one of the children with an arrow Thursday afternoon.

During her testimony, Cheryl Layne, of Whitehouse, admitted she hit one of the twins with an archery arrow, but she claimed it was reasonable corporal punishment.

Cheryl Layne said she had to use corporal punishment in the past with all her children by using a belt, a fly swatter, a spoon, grabbing them by the ear, or by something that was handy.

The defense began presenting testimony Thursday morning in the trial of Cheryl Layne, who is charged with four counts of injury to a child with the intent to cause bodily injury.

She and her husband, Mark Layne (a Tyler Police Department officer at the time) were both arrested in September 2019 after the 13-year-old twins reported being abused by their adopted parents to a school resource officer.

Mark Layne has not yet been indicted (formally charged) in this case and has had no court dates.

The arrest affidavit details allegations of abuse, including beating the children with an archery arrow, a belt and their hand and making them eat out of the trash. The document states the children showed bruising and redness.

At one point on the stand, she told the court the accusations made against her hurt because they were coming from her own sons. 

She was asked why the felt striking the teen with the arrow as a punishment was reasonable. 

"Sure, I could’ve gone about it a different way. Sure, we could’ve sat down and had a talk after we played tug of war with it. I was disciplining him for attempting to take away from me that I was taking away from him," Cheryl Layne said. 

"Because you’re his mother and he doesn’t get to do that," said defense attorney Beau Sinclair. 

Layne responded, "Correct." 

She denied a claim by one of the boys that she slammed his head against a wall during this encounter. She also denied that the twins were treated like slaves. 

She added that all her kids had more chores than others due to the fact that there were so many of them in one household.

Cheryl Layne's daughter and the twins' sister Kali Layne took the stand, saying the biological kids and adopted children were not segregated as they played together. She said that the adopted kids were not treated like slaves as one of the twins said Wednesday.

She testified that all of the kids received corporal punishment or had spankings once or twice. She also recalled getting grounded and having things taken away as forms of punishment. She said their parents particularly didn't like lying or stealing. 

She said she did not recall the day when Cheryl Layne allegedly struck one of the teens with an arrow. She remembered a time when her mom told her to take away the name brand clothing from her brothers, but she was not told the reason why. 

The prosecution said others said the clothes the boys were wearing were ill-fitting and unclean, but Kali Layne said she remembered the clothes being clean, just not branded. She was told by her mother to review a checklist of chores that the twins were supposed to do. 

Kali Layne agreed with an interview in September 2019 that she told someone her mom spanked her and left bruises. She also testified that her twin brothers are untruthful.

"You said that you were spanked by your mom and had bruises on your butt. Do you recall making that statement," said Smith County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Anderson. 

"I don’t remember, but if it’s on there, I believe you. I believe you," Kali Layne said.

Debbie Sinclair, who said one of the twins lived with her and her husband from April 2021 to November 2021, then testified the twin who lived with her is “very not truthful.”

Dr. Wesley Pemberton, an emergency room physician and associate professor of family medicine, testified for the defense as an expert. He is also the supervisor for Cheryl Layne and has known her for five years. He said that would not affect his testimony.

The defense then showed images of the twins' bruises that are a part of evidence, and Pemberton said he cannot be sure of what caused the bruise or when it happened. 

A police officer would not have the ability to diagnose or say what made a bruise, Pemberton said.

Pemberton testified that in reviewing records, he saw that one of the twins had chronic nosebleeds. The defense showed an image of one of teens with a mark below an eye, and he said that it looked like an "allergic shiner," which is a mark below the eye caused by allergies and is common in children. He said an "allergic shiner" can sometimes be confused as a black eye. 

Pemberton testified to the prosecution that in the ER, he would also speak to the person with bruises or injuries to ask questions along with looking at the person or using pictures. Pemberton said documents showed that one of the children tested positive for certain allergies, but allergic shiners were not mentioned.

Testimony in the trial continues Friday.