Stephanie Shirts Appealing Child Abuse Case

A Casper woman who pleaded guilty and has been sentenced on charges that she burned a baby's face with a hot saucepan, is claiming that her former attorney messed up.

Stephanie Shirts is asking the Wyoming Supreme Court that she be allowed to withdraw her guilty pleas to two counts of child abuse, one count of aggravated child abuse and two counts of child endangerment - meth, because she claims ineffective assistance of legal counsel.

Before she entered the guilty plea, there was a pre-trial hearing, where a judge denied her motion to suppress her statements made to law enforcement.

In her appeal, Shirts claims that her attorney at that time, mis-informed her that she could appeal the judge's denial had the case gone to trial, when in fact she couldn't.

The case started in middle September 2014, when Casper Police were called to the Wyoming Medical Center about a one-year-old girl with severe head trauma.

The child had significant head injuries and was on a ventilator.

An officer also observed burns to the face and head, as well as multiple injuries in various stages of healing over her body

Officers went to a house on the 1700 block of South Fairdale Avenue, where Shirts, and two co-defendants lived.

Shirts was accused by prosecutors of burning the child’s face with a hot sauce pan, as well as shaking the child violently and smothering her, to get her to stop crying.

She is currently serving 18-20 years in prison.