Who Is Shaylyn Ammerman? In Indiana, Spencer Man Rapes And Kills Baby Girl While Drunk

A man in Spencer, Indiana, has negotiated a deal with prosecutors under which he will plead guilty to murdering and kidnapping a 1-year-old girl if other charges against him including rape and child molesting are dropped, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Kyle Parker, 23, presented the Owen Circuit Court with evidence on Friday proving why he was pleading guilty to murdering Shaylyn Ammerman. Owen Circuit Judge Lori Thatcher Quillen will deliberate over Parker’s plea deal in the coming days and make a ruling in the case Feb. 27. Spencer is located roughly 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Shaylyn was taken from her crib at her paternal grandmother’s house on March 23, 2016 by Parker. Parker’s stepfather told local detectives that Parker admitted to him Sunday night from jail that he killed Shaylyn alone and then used bleach to erase DNA evidence. Parker was drinking whiskey with Shaylyn’s uncle, Adam Ammerman, at the home and waited until the entire family went to sleep before abducting her in the early hours of the following day.

Adam Ammerman said he heard the sound of the front door close around 4 a.m. local time and looked out of his window to see Parker "walking away from the house" and "carrying something." Adam Ammerman said when he yelled goodbye to Parker, he “thought he saw a foot dangling from Kyle (Parker’s) side but was not certain so he went back to bed.”

Shaylyn's family reported the toddler missing to the police when they woke up on March 23, 2016. When Parker was asked by local investigators about Shaylyn's disappearance, he said he had no involvement in the incident but was able to direct police to the location where the body was found. Police discovered Shaylyn's body 10 miles northeast of the home she was taken from in a remote riverbank next to a tree and a burn pile of her clothes and other evidence. An autopsy on the body revealed that the toddler was assaulted numerous times while she was still alive and died from asphyxiation, according to local reports on March 25, 2016.

Adam Ammerman told investigators that his mother had come home one day to find Parker visibly drunk and sitting in a rocking chair while holding Shaylyn in his lap. Friends of Parker reportedly said he “drank a lot” and was “attracted to younger girls in the 12- to 14-year-old range.”