Thurston County sheriff’s detectives said a woman accused of beating and killing her 2-year-old daughter showed no emotion as she was questioned, and even made plans to go out with a friend by phone when she was finished talking with detectives.
Monique Hachtel was ordered held on $750,000 pending a charge of second-degree murder in the death of her daughter Kelsey. “There was never any signs or indication of remorse or real emotion,” said Thurston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Detective Ray Brady.
The girl died Monday from injuries a pathologist called blunt-force trauma to her abdomen. According to a probable-cause affidavit, the pathologist compared the injuries to being in an automobile crash at 35 miles per hour. Hachtel told investigators she was sleeping with the girl on her couch and woke up to find her dead.
According to the affidavit family members told investigators Kelsey had shown signs of being seriously ill for several days beginning around February 19th. Hachtel was warned she should take the girl to see a doctor but never did, according to the affidavit.
“She had suffered such severe internal injuries and was basically just slowly dying from those injuries,” said Brady.
Hachtel appeared confused as she appeared in court via a remote camera from the Thurston County Jail, telling the judge she didn’t understand her rights or the charges against her.
Family members blamed reporters and law enforcement for the allegations, saying Hachtel was innocent. “It’s all fake,” said one woman, who did not identify herself. “You guys are prosecuting her before she even gets a chance. She was asleep, and every time that baby got hurt she was not home,” the woman shouted as she hurried from the courthouse.
A Thurston County prosecutor asked for high bail, saying Hachtel was planning to move to Mexico to join her boyfriend and had recently been in that country to visit him. She was ordered to surrender her passport and travel documents in the event she makes bail.
KIRO
