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Jury: Boys' Mother Was 'Criminally Negligent'
By
Kyle Bosch
Story Created:
Mar 12, 2010 at 12:42 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 13, 2010 at 3:45 PM CDT
The mother of two Texas County boys who drowned in a river in 2009 was "criminally negligent" in not keeping them safe, a coroner's jury ruled Friday.
Now, it's up to the Texas County prosecutor to decide what charges, if any, to file against Jennifer Bagley.
The six-member jury gathered Friday in Houston to hear evidence in the drowning deaths of Jesse James Bagley, 7, and Wyatt Earp Bagley, 4. The boys' bodies were found Aug. 10, 2009. They had vanished the day before.
The Texas County sheriff and a deputy both testified the children's mother, Jennifer Bagley, never assisted in the search and never appeared to be concerned the boys were missing.
Texas County Coroner Tom Whittaker called for an inquest in the case last month. He told a newspaper in Houston he still had some lingering questions about the case.
At the time of the drowning,s investigators said Jesse and Wyatt had no adult supervision when they went to play by the river, which is near their home.
The Division of Social Services was also very familiar with the Bagley household. Records obtained by KSPR News show five hotline calls made to DSS -- before the boys vanished -- about the way the children were being treated.
The sheriff says her only other child, a 3-year-old girl, is in the children's division's custody.
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