New court date set for child abuse suspect

Published 9:27 am Wednesday, April 29, 2015

By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 26-year-old former Alabaster woman who has pleaded not guilty to allegedly causing brain damage to her infant son in 2014 is now set to appear in court in June after her April 27 court date was continued.

Lunceford

Lunceford

Caitlin Gregory Lunceford, who lists an address in the 6900 block of Harpers Dairy Loop in Bessemer and previously listed an address in the 500 block of Windsor Court in Alabaster, originally was set to appear in Shelby County Circuit Court for an arraignment on April 27, but her court date was continued until June 15 at 8:30 a.m.

A Shelby County grand jury returned a one-count indictment of aggravated child abuse against Lunceford during its October 2014 term. She entered a plea of not guilty to one count of aggravated child abuse on Dec. 1, 2014, according to court records.

According to Lunceford’s indictment, she allegedly mistreated her infant son, who was about 2 months old and in Lunceford’s care at the time of the incident, by “striking and/or hitting and punching and/or shaking the victim.” Lunceford’s arrest warrant claimed she caused “brain damage” to the infant during the Jan. 11, 2014, incident.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Lunceford on Jan. 23, 2014, and charged her with aggravated child abuse, a Class B felony. The suspect was released from the Shelby County Jail on a $30,000 bond the day after her arrest.

In February 2014, Lunceford requested a previous court order denying her contact with her child be lifted, and requested she be allowed supervised visitation for one hour three nights per week. According to court documents, as of April 29, no ruling had been entered on the matter.

In a motion filed on Sept. 15, 2014, Lunceford’s attorneys, Barry and Lara Alvis, again requested Lunceford be granted supervised visitation with the child, claiming “The failure of the child to spend time with its mother can create significant long-term adverse consequences with the child.”