Three Officers Testify In Stahl Trial
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
Autumn B. Stahl
WARSAW — Three police officers testified in the second day of a jury trial for a Pierceton woman accused of stabbing a man and burning a stuffed animal next to a young child.
Autumn B. Stahl, 34, 4722 E. Old Road 30, Pierceton, is charged with aggravated battery and attempted aggravated battery, both level 3 felonies; battery by means of a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony; two counts of neglect of a dependent, both level 6 felonies; and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child, a level 6 felony.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek continued the state of Indiana’s case on Wednesday, Dec. 14, by calling Indiana Conservation Officer Matthew Maher for testimony.
Maher was the first officer to arrive at the residence where the incident occurred. Upon Maher’s arrival at the scene, Stahl was naked and shouting across the street at the man she allegedly stabbed. Maher testified that he didn’t believe Stahl was initially aware of his presence. While Maher attempted to speak with her, Stahl walked backward and tried to shut the residence’s front door.
Maher made entry into the home and grabbed Stahl, placing her into a prone position. He noted the home was extremely hot and in a a state of disarray. Maher said the fire department was contacted to assist with immediately disconnecting gas to the home. Stahl then grabbed a nearby curtain rod and began hitting Maher. She also attempted to retrieve a nearby knife. Officer Ryan Piper, who was a Pierceton Police officer at the time, then arrived and assisted.
When asked to describe Stahl’s overall demeanor, Maher said she was agitated and had to be restrained to a gurney.
In cross-examination, Defense Attorney Nicholas Wallace asked about the weather conditions outside of the home and if they contributed to the extreme heat in it. Maher said the temperatures on Aug. 1, 2020, were in the upper 60s, and noted the home’s temperature made him uncomfortable. He also said Stahl was taken to a local hospital for concerns related to her physical and mental health.
Piper was the next officer to testify, with body camera footage of his time at the scene played for the jury.
Upon entering the home, Piper told Stahl to calm down or else a Taser would be deployed. Stahl then became compliant, stating “I’ll calm down. I’m not here to hurt anybody.” The kitchen stove’s front door was also open, with a lit burner.
Piper then went across the street to a neighbor’s residence to check on Stahl’s five children and the man who was stabbed. The man showed Piper his injury and mentioned Stahl’s attempt to drown their youngest child.
Footage showed Piper returning to the residence where the incident occurred and assisting Maher and medical personnel with wrapping Stahl in a sheet and restraining her to a gurney. In the video, Stahl shouted for the man she attacked to help her and at one point said the number “six” several times.
In cross-examination, Wallace asked Piper about statements Stahl made, including the words and phrases “Take me,” “baptism,” and “six.” Piper said he couldn’t recall the statements.
The state’s final witness was Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. James Marshall, who interviewed Stahl about the case on two separate occasions.
The first interview took place at Warsaw’s Parkview Hospital about a couple hours after the alleged stabbing. Body camera footage from KCSO Deputy Logan Pitts of the interview was played for the jury.
During the interview, Stahl said she contacted law enforcement because the man she attacked was not listening to her request for asking for help in bathing their children. Upon mentioning her youngest child, Stahl became extremely emotional. Marshall and Pitts briefly stepped out of the room so Marshall could ask Pitts about the status of Stahl’s children. When Pitts said the children were fine, Marshall re-entered the room and told Stahl this information. She then briefly mentioned not having slept in days, at which point Marshall and Pitts concluded their interview.
Marshall then did a follow-up interview with Stahl on Aug. 6, 2020, at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office. This interview was also played for the jury.
In the interview, Stahl immediately recognized Marshall as one of the officers she spoke with at the hospital and apologized for her behavior.
“Please know I was not in my mind that day,” said Stahl.
After being read her Miranda rights, Stahl said, “I would rather talk because I just want to be honest.”
Stahl recalled the events of Aug. 1, 2020, saying she lit one of the stove’s burners to “get rid of the bad spirits in the house.” She also said she was seeing numbers and hearing voices, having gone eight days without sleep. Stahl mentioned multiple times in her interview with Marshall that she constantly asked for help from others with taking care of the children, and getting mental help assistance, but never got it.
“My mind just broke,” said Stahl. “I had no intention of hurting anyone.”
When asked about placing her youngest child underneath a faucet, Stahl said she was washing their forehead, “cleaning the kids to make them pure.” She also admitted to lighting a stuffed animal on fire. Stahl elaborated that she thought Aug. 1, 2020, was “her day to die” and discussed her struggles with postpartum depression. She said the man she stabbed made her life really difficult, as he supposedly offered no help with the children and Stahl’s mental health.
Stahl told Marshall she arranged for a counseling session about two weeks after her youngest child was born, but that she was unable to get help because she had no one else to lean on.
“I wasn’t going to kill my children,” said Stahl. “They’re my life.”
When asked about medications, in the interview, Stahl said she was not taking any but frequently smoked marijuana to help with her anxiety and depression.
In cross-examination, Wallace asked Marshall if he believed Stahl was being honest with him. Marshall said he believed Stahl was trying to be truthful and noted her statement of the incident aligned with what witnesses had reported.
After Marshall’s testimony, the state rested its case. Following a lunch break, the defense also rested its case, calling no witnesses. Stahl did not testify.
Kosciusko Superior Court One Judge Karin McGrath informed the jury that Stahl was raising an insanity defense. Two mental health experts have been subpoenaed for testimony on evaluations they completed on Stahl’s mental health.
The experts will begin testifying at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, in Kosciusko Superior Court One.
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