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Dellia Castile (WSBT file photo) (October 5, 2012) |
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Police, DCS agree: If Tramelle calls came today, outcome may still be the same
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Does boy's death point to larger problem?
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Did we miss clues to the horrors in the Sturgis house?
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'I'm never going to keep my mouth shut again'
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State court blocks DCS hotline story
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Court ban lifted, Tribune free to publish accounts of abuse
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SOUTH BEND -- Two pictures emerged Friday of life inside the home where Tramelle Sturgis died.
One was of a happy family who'd gather around the TV with grandma to dance to a "Michael Jackson: The Experience" video game.
The other was of a hellish dungeon, where Terry Sturgis' children were beaten for minor infractions and ultimately, last November, where 10-year-old Tramelle died.
The question on Friday, the second day of the child neglect trial of Dellia Castile, was whether, as the grandmother who shared their home, she knew of both realities.
On a day spent bogged down with the testimony of police officers, a school principal and the forensic pathologist who conducted Tramelle's autopsy, the most compelling testimony came late in the day, when two of his brothers testified.
Tramelle's older brother, now 15, testified that on the day of Nov. 3, he came home from school aware that he was in trouble -- the principal had called to say he had been caught stealing and would have to serve in-school suspension.
The teen, the oldest of Terry Sturgis' children, said his grandmother told him to go downstairs to clean up and maybe avoid his father's punishment.
"Then they called me to talk about it," the teen said.
"Who's they?" asked deputy prosecutor A.J. Ennis.
"My dad and my grandma," the teen replied.
"And did they have anything?" Ennis asked.
"The stick with the duct tape," the teen said.
"And what did your dad say?" Ennis asked.
"Me and my stick are going to have some fun," the teen replied.
"And where was your grandma when this was going on?"
"She was 3 feet away."
He's 'going to kill the kids'
The teen and his now 9-year-old brother both testified that their grandmother was aware of the punishments their father handed out.
Castile, they testified, would treat their burns with cocoa butter. She would beg Terry Sturgis not to hurt his children -- instead offering up punishments like mowing the yard or cleaning the bathroom. Sometimes, to temper his anger, she would cook him meals.
One was of a happy family who'd gather around the TV with grandma to dance to a "Michael Jackson: The Experience" video game.
The other was of a hellish dungeon, where Terry Sturgis' children were beaten for minor infractions and ultimately, last November, where 10-year-old Tramelle died.
The question on Friday, the second day of the child neglect trial of Dellia Castile, was whether, as the grandmother who shared their home, she knew of both realities.
On a day spent bogged down with the testimony of police officers, a school principal and the forensic pathologist who conducted Tramelle's autopsy, the most compelling testimony came late in the day, when two of his brothers testified.
Tramelle's older brother, now 15, testified that on the day of Nov. 3, he came home from school aware that he was in trouble -- the principal had called to say he had been caught stealing and would have to serve in-school suspension.
The teen, the oldest of Terry Sturgis' children, said his grandmother told him to go downstairs to clean up and maybe avoid his father's punishment.
"Then they called me to talk about it," the teen said.
"Who's they?" asked deputy prosecutor A.J. Ennis.
"My dad and my grandma," the teen replied.
"And did they have anything?" Ennis asked.
"The stick with the duct tape," the teen said.
"And what did your dad say?" Ennis asked.
"Me and my stick are going to have some fun," the teen replied.
"And where was your grandma when this was going on?"
"She was 3 feet away."
He's 'going to kill the kids'
The teen and his now 9-year-old brother both testified that their grandmother was aware of the punishments their father handed out.
Castile, they testified, would treat their burns with cocoa butter. She would beg Terry Sturgis not to hurt his children -- instead offering up punishments like mowing the yard or cleaning the bathroom. Sometimes, to temper his anger, she would cook him meals.
