FROM C.J. ROBINSON
CHIEF DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
Wetumpka, AL – August 3, 2022 –An Elmore County jury convicted Pamella Shelton on one count of Felony Murder and one count of Aggravated Child Abuse for the injuries inflicted upon her two-year-old step-granddaughter in July of 2017. The Wetumpka Police Department conducted the investigation and Shelton was originally indicted on one count of murder in 2018.
The first jury was empaneled in October of 2019, but a mistrial was declared due to a procedural violation. Before the case was re-set for trial the Nineteenth Circuit District Attorney’s Office obtained a subsequent indictment later in 2019, from an Elmore County Grand Jury for felony murder and aggravated child abuse. The first indictment was dismissed, and the State proceeded on the second indictment.
A jury was empaneled on the second indictment in late June 2021, but the trial was put on hold due to the unavailability of a material witness (the Defendant’s daughter, but not the mother of the deceased child, who was present in the home when the fatal injuries occurred to the victim and initially gave statements to investigators). The State produced evidence this material witness was intentionally subverting attempts by law enforcement to be served and whilst doing so was communicating with Shelton about the status of court proceedings and Shelton even secretly informed her daughter that a warrant had been issued to secure her daughter’s attendance as a witness.
After months of searching and monitoring phone messages, her daughter was located by law enforcement and was taken into custody. The case was immediately set for trial. The jury who was selected 13 months earlier was notified and returned to the Elmore County Judicial Complex to hear the case (this week.)
Judge Bill Lewis commenced the trial after hearing a myriad of motions argued by defense for the release from custody of the witness, why the trial should not proceed, and ultimately why the defense believed the case should be dismissed. The state elicited expert testimony detailing the extensive head injuries and abusive head trauma that could only be caused by “violently shaking and slamming the skull of this child against a hard surface” resulting in her death.
The long-time expert testified the fatal injuries came form force imposed on the victim’s head that was equivalent to a high-speed car wreck with the car flipping end over end and then being slammed onto a hard, ungiving surface.
The State rested and subsequently the defendant chose not to put on a defense. After gut-wrenching closing arguments recounted the injuries to the child and summarized the evidence, the jury retired to the deliberation room and emerged with a guilty verdict on each count. Felony murder and aggravated child abuse are both class A felonies with a punishment range of 10-99 years or life.
Chief Deputy District Attorney CJ Robinson thanked law enforcement and the victim’s family for their diligence and unwavering resolve to obtain justice for this murdered child.
“First of all, this case does not end this way without patience and a commitment to the process from Judge Lewis and the circuit clerk. The Wetumpka Police Department is to be commended for their dedication and hard work on this case as investigators worked tirelessly to uncover the truth. This family has been through hell. I pray no one ever must endure the horrors this family has lived through. Nothing will ever bring back the life of this precious child, but there is comfort knowing her killer will not walk free. There is some form of peace in knowing that justice is coming on August 31 when this woman who had no respect for what a gift from God this child was, will go to prison and stay there for a long time, hopefully the rest of her life. The road to this point was dark, long, and difficult, but as prosecutors it’s the path we are honored to travel in order to hold those accountable who victimize our most vulnerable citizens, our children.”
