Mother’s death won’t stop case against Baby Chance’s father

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SARASOTA, Fla. — The death of a woman who took a plea deal in the murder case connected to the high-profile killing of her 9-month-old baby won’t keep the state from prosecuting the baby’s father, but all of her previous testimony will be thrown out, the state attorney’s office said.

Kristin Bury, who pleaded no contest to aggravated manslaughter and received 25 years in prison in exchange for testimony against the child’s father, was found dead inside her cell Saturday morning in an apparent suicide.

The killing of baby Chance Walsh drew attention from across the country last October after the 9-month old was brutally beaten, suffocated and left to die in a closet. Chance’s father, Joseph Walsh, faces a first-degree murder charge.

Despite the loss of Bury’s testimony, Walsh’s attorney said they will not file a motion to dismiss the case. Former state attorney Joe D’Allesandro said that the fact both sides are moving forward with the case is a signal that additional evidence exists.

“I’m sure they have other evidence that they can use in the court room,” D’Allesandro said. “I think it’s most likely that they’ll go ahead with what charges they have, if they feel like they can continue.”

Defense attorney Lori Huskisson issued a statement in which she characterized the impact of Bury’s death upon the trial as minimal.

“We were very shocked and saddened to learn about Kristen Bury Walsh’s untimely death. In regards to the upcoming trial, Miss Bury Walsh’s death does not have much of a legal impact in Mr. Walsh’s case,” Huskisson wrote. “It has always been our position that Kristen Bury Walsh was not a credible witness. Miss Bury Walsh’s credibility would have been challenged had she testified at trial, but it is with our greatest sympathies that Kristen chose to end her life in this manner. We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to her loved ones at this very difficult time.”

Questions remain about the circumstances of Bury’s death. Her body was found in a Sarasota County Jail cell where she had been transferred for a hearing that took place last month. It’s unclear why she hadn’t been transferred back to prison.

Bury had no disciplinary record and no visitors while in prison, a Florida Department of Corrections official told WINK News.

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