More than 50 people crowded the courtroom at the Athens County Court of Common Pleas Wednesday for the sentencing hearing of Ashley J. Young.
Young sat silently at the front of the packed courtroom while Judge L. Alan Goldsberry, Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn and her defense attorneys Glenn T. Jones and Herman Carson discussed her sentence.
She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for killing her four-year-old stepdaughter, Kaylen Young, in May 2011.
Young, 27, of The Plains, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, murder, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and attempted aggravated possession of drugs as part of an Alford plea agreement Oct. 2.
By taking an Alford plea, Young is not admitting guilt but rather that the state has enough evidence to find her guilty of killing Kaylen.
The state’s evidence says that Young inflicted multiple life-threatening injuries to Kaylen on May 23, 2011. Kaylen was taken to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital with suspicious marks on her body that suggested physical abuse.
Kaylen died of her injuries at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus after being taken off life support May 26. Her cause of death was determined as blunt force trauma to the head, according to court documents.
Young’s child endangerment and murder charges were merged into her aggravated murder charge, for which she was given a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. She was sentenced to three years for the tampering with evidence charge and 180 days for the drug charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
Before Goldsberry announced Young’s sentence, he allowed Kaylen’s family to make a statement. Young began to sob while Jackie West, Kaylen’s grandmother, spoke about Kaylen and her death.
“How do we put into words the devastating impact this has had on our family?” West said. “There is a hole in our lives that will never be filled.”
West explained that Kaylen’s greatest pride was being a big sister to Allyza, who was less than a year old when Kaylen died.
“But, Allyza will only know about her sister through stories,” West said.
West also spoke about having to tell Kaylen’s cousin and best friend, Tim, who was six months younger than Kaylen, what had happened to her.
“ ‘Why would Aunt Ashley do that?’ ” West said Tim asked her after she told him.
Craig Young, Kaylen’s father and Ashley’s ex-husband, declined the chance to make a statement to the court. Ashley also declined to make a statement.
Goldsberry accepted the plea agreement and granted Young credit for the 505 days she has already spend in jail.
“There are no winners when something tragic like this happens,” Goldsberry said.
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