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SALT LAKE CITY — A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for a Murray day care owner charged with abusing three toddlers in her care.
Kami Kay Tollefson, 43, was charged in 2010 with three counts of child abuse and neglect — two second-degree felonies and one third-degree felony — alleging she abused three children between the ages of 13 months and 18 months. Prosecutors say the children were hurt within a span of less than two years.
At a hearing Monday to schedule a jury trial for Tollefson, a new hearing was instead set for a change of plea on May 23, according to court documents. This is the third time a change of plea has been scheduled as Tollefson has been represented by as many sets of attorneys.
The first abuse incident was in June 2008, according to police, when parents of a 16-month-old boy picked their son up from the unlicensed day care that Tollefson operated in her home, finding the boy lethargic and in pain. The boy was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery to remove part of his pancreas. Tollefson said he had slipped on a toy car and fallen.
In April 2009, Tollefson told parents of an 18-month-old boy their son had woken up from a nap with a rash on his neck. Doctors later determined it was bruising, police said. In February 2010, a 13-month-old girl who Tollefson said had hit her head was found to have hemorrhaging in her brain and in back of her eyes, as well as retinal detachment in both eyes.
Tollefson pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2011.
