The Case

Cynthia's bedroom &  the carpet on the Sheriff's parking lot.

Hope Collins, the divorced mother of the child, had left her flat, driving off with her boyfriend to spend the night at his house.

It is well documented that Hope regularly left her child unattended, sometimes feeding the child adult sleeping pills before doing so, the Putnam Child Welfare Services contacted her on two occasions regarding her practices that were reported by a neighbor. However, no action was taken.

After the fire, when threatened with arrest for neglecting her child, thereby being responsible for the girl's death,. Hope claimed that she left her child in the care of Kenny Richey, a friend and one of several people who attended a party that occurred on the breezeway between Hope and her participating neighbor's flat before the fire. Hope claimed she asked Kenny to watch her child moments before she climbed into her boyfriend's truck.

Kenny Richey maintains that he did not agree to baby-sit Hope's child because he was too drunk from the party.

Two witnesses were present - Hope's boyfriend and his friend who sat in the passenger seat. Both these men denied hearing Hope ask Kenny to watch her child.

A third witness, a resident of the building, observed from behind her bedroom window. Although this witness heard nothing but roar of the truck's engine that awoke her, she observed Hope climbing into the truck then saw Kenny (who was obviously drunk) stumble from the pavement and collapse in some bushes where he lay for ten minutes. Becoming concerned, this witness testified that she was about to leave her flat to check on Kenny's condition when finally got to his feet and wobbled from her view.

This was the last person who saw Kenny before the fire caused pandemonium in the apartment complex.

Aftermath

Hours later, when Hope Collins was told about the fire and the death of her child, she did not make any comment nor ask the police officer about the whereabouts of any babysitter who she would much later claim had been caring for her child.

Upon arriving at St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima, where her child had been taken, Hope told a Doctor Thomas Dickey that her girl had previously set fires in her flat (although this fact became known to the prosecutor, it was never mentioned during Kenny's trial).