Mother Charged with First Degree Murder

After consulting with District Attorney General Jody Pickens, Madison County Sheriff John Mehr, has announced that Chasity Yancey, has been charged with First Degree Murder in Perpetration of Aggravated Child Abuse and/or Neglect and an additional count of Aggravated Child Abuse and/or Neglect.

The defendant willingly placed two juvenile children in a locked and barricaded room, in an attempt to deprive them of food and water, leading to the malnourishment and dehydration and the death of one of the children.

Yancey, age 27, was arraigned today in Madison County General Sessions Court and is currently being held without bond.

On October 30, 2018, at approximately 5:20 pm, Madison County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to 146 Cane Creek Road to assist EMS with an unresponsive three-year-old female child. Upon arrival, deputies observed EMS performing CPR on the child.

The child was transported to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital where she was pronounced dead. After receiving consent to search the house, deputies quickly located a four-year-old child. She was transported by EMS to the same hospital and then sent to Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis for further medical attention.

Upon investigation, it was also determined that these two children had been repeatedly subjected to this type of neglect for approximately one year. An autopsy was conducted on the deceased child in Nashville.

Anyone with information on this case or the children, please contact the Madison County Sheriff’s Office 731/423-6000 or Crime Stoppers 731/424-8477.