Chapter 12 - Simone’s Charges
Simone faced more serious charges.
The shove involved a child near a staircase.
Intent mattered.
So did location.
So did injury.
The prosecutor reviewed:
Security footage.
Witness accounts.
Callie’s forensic interview.
Medical records.
Prior statements Simone made about Iris.
No evidence Simone intended to kill Callie.
No weapon.
No ongoing attack after the fall.
No invented attempted-murder charge because dramatic fiction likes big labels.
The initial case included assault and reckless-endangerment-related counts.
A child-endangerment theory was also considered under applicable law.
Simone’s defense argued she intended to stop Callie, not cause a fall.
The footage showed a forceful push.
Callie’s body going backward immediately.
Hard to minimize.
Her lawyer did not try to claim Callie caused it.
That helped.
Meanwhile family court became involved separately because Simone’s conduct raised questions about judgment affecting Iris.
Nathan did not seek termination of Simone’s parental rights.
He sought temporary modification around her surgery and criminal case.
Specific.
No social-media war.
No:
unfit mother forever.
He asked for:
Primary physical custody during the medical and criminal uncertainty.
Therapeutic support for Iris.
No unilateral third-party guardianship planning without disclosure.
A parenting coordinator.
Simone fought the first proposal.
Then softened after her own lawyer told her the shove had changed the landscape.
Iris needed stability.
Ironically, the very thing Simone wanted.
But stability now required reducing Simone’s unilateral control.
May you like
Fear has a brutal sense of humor.
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