Grandparents of 2-year-old Gardner girl allegedly murdered by father's fiancée still looking for answers
11/30/2017 10:18 am PST
By Shannon O'Brien, WDAF
OLATHE, Kan. -- (WDAF) -- A Johnson County judge ruled Wednesday that 24-year-old Lindsey Thomasson will go to trial for the murder of her fiancé's daughter, Presley Porting.
Presley Porting lived with her dad and Thomason, his fiancée. In February, paramedics were called the their home because Presley wasn't breathing. A pathologist testified in October that the little girl suffered a savage beating, which caused bleeding to her brain and around her eyes.
The little girl's family said there are still a lot of unanswered questions about Presley's death.
“This is the end result. This is the sum of all fears of any parent of any grandparent. This is my granddaughter. This is what is left of her,” Martin Porting said as he held the ashes of his granddaughter.
Presley's grandfather was shocked at evidence presented during Thomasson's preliminary hearing, but most upsetting to Porting was learning Presley's father, Nick Russom, was granted immunity for testifying against his fiancee.
“I believe the father also either acts in unison or after the fact tried to cover up,” Porting said.
Police said Russom was not home at the time of the brutal beating, but the Porting family wants to know what Russom needs immunity from.
“And I think it will come up in trial," Porting said. "But if he is granted immunity, we are just left with too bad so sad, at least we got a conviction.”