STONE COUNTY, Ark. – The man accused and charged for abusing a young Stone County girl in 2016 has taken a plea deal. Her family says they didn’t know any of this was going to happen until recently.
In November 2016, Skylar Shellstorm, 4, died and her death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators believe her mother, Victoria Dycus, and her mother’s boyfriend, James Hagen Glenn, abused her which resulted in her death.
In pictures, you can see the joy four-year-old Skylar Shellstrom brought to those who loved her.
“I wish I had Skyler back. It’s been a horrible couple of years, her father Jonathan Shellstrom said.
It’s been one year and seven months without her. She passed away in November 2016.
Her family says the medical examiner’s report shows she was “struck with a blunt force object” and she had bruises in multiple stages of healing on her body.
Her dad says those who took her life may have been prosecuted, but he’s still not happy.
“The judicial system failed,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan, who lives in Colorado, says he was contacted on Monday that Glenn would get a plea deal.
“I don’t feel like the plea was appropriate in this case. I mean, he definitely took the life of my daughter,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan’s family says Glenn plead down from a first-degree murder charge to first-degree battery.
“The person I believe in my heart physically did it is fixing to walk away in a year or two,” Jonathan said.
In May 2018, a jury convicted Skylar’s mom, Victoria Dycus, of first-degree murder. She’s serving out her prison sentence.
Jonathan says he wanted to sit in a courtroom with a jury watching Glenn’s moment in court, but now he say she doesn’t believe justice was served.
“I’ve got to believe that God’s got this and God’s justice is going to outweigh man’s justice,” Jonathan said.
The prosecuting attorney has confirmed that this plea deal did happen.
She says that the medical examiner’s report pinpoints the time of death to mother’s care, that’s why they plead down to battery.
