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UPDATED | Mother charged in infant's death

Star Beacon - 10/20/2018

Oct. 19--JEFFERSON -- The mother of a 13-month-old girl who authorities say was brutally raped and murdered more than a year ago was arrested Friday in Conneaut.

Kelsie Marie Blankenship, 23, of Conneaut, was arrested by Conneaut police after a secret indictment was issued Wednesday on two counts of felony murder; one count of felonious assault (second-degree felony); two counts of endangering children (second-degree felony); one count of endangering children (third-degree felony) and one count of domestic violence (first-degree misdemeanor.)

Conneaut police declined to release a police report pertaining to her arrest, but Ashtabula County Prosecutor Nick Iarocci said she was arrested at an apartment on Sandusky Street.

Blankenship's daughter, Sereniti Jazzlynn-Sky Sutley, died Oct. 7, 2017 from blunt trauma to her head and trunk, according to the Ashtabula County coroner's office. The child died at a Clark Street apartment.

Blankenship's live-in boyfriend Joshua Gurto, 38, is facing charges of aggravated murder, murder, rape, felonious assault and domestic violence. A death penalty specification associated with the aggravated murder charge was dropped against Gurto as a result of Blankenship's indictment, according to Iarocci.

Iarocci said Blankenship, who has been a person of interest since day one, has been "fairly cooperative" with law enforcement since Gurto's indictment and has offered information at their request.

Iarocci said he felt dropping the death penalty specification was the "fair and correct thing to do." When pressed on the reason why, he declined to offer specifics, though he said the reason "may come to light in the future."

Iarocci, flanked by members of law enforcement, had a press conference Friday where he said the ultimate goal with the indictments is to obtain justice for Sereniti, and nothing else. Iarocci said Sereniti had blunt force trauma to all parts of her body, severe injuries to her head, face and torso and she "was vaginally raped brutally."

"This child received a horrible death," Iarocci said. "And being only 13-months-old my office and law enforcement is going to do everything we can to make sure the person or persons responsible will pay for her death and how brutally she died."

Iarocci, who at times appeared to struggle while talking about the murder, said it can be hard to keep emotions under the surface in such cases.

"Far too often these cases are happening in this county," he said. "I'm not going to get into why I feel emotional about it, but I do want to say this child deserves justice, even if it means convicting her mother for what happened to her."

Iarocci declined to discuss whether Sereniti or her mother had been involved with Children Services, or if there had been any signs of abuse reported prior to her death.

Iarocci would not say if Gurto implicated Blankenship in the murder.

Blankenship's indictment comes a little more than a year after Gurto was formally charged with murder and rape Oct. 13, 2017 by Conneaut Law Director Kyle Smith. Gurto fled the area, hitchhiking and camping in the woods until his capture Oct. 27 in Franklin Park Borough, Pennsylvania.

Gurto is not the child's father and she was Blankenship's only child, Iarocci said. The victims of crime office has limited contact with Sereniti's father, Iarocci said, but the office has been communicating with the appropriate family members.

Blankenship will be arraigned in the "near future" in County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Harris' courtroom. She is currently incarcerated in the Ashtabula County Jail.

Iarocci said he wants the community to know that authorities have been doing everything they can to find the killer and the person who caused Sereniti's death. Authorities will continue to interview witnesses and seek out information because the case is difficult and factually a challenge, he said.

"Just because Ms. Blankenship has been indicted does not mean the investigation has stopped," he said.

Iarocci urged the public to avoid jumping to conclusions or making accusations or inappropriate comments about the case on social media.

"Let us do our job and let the courts do its job to make sure whoever is responsible for this pays," he said.

When asked if there is a message to others who see a child they think might be an abuse victim, Iarocci said to contact police immediately and report it.

Blankenship has a criminal record, which includes convictions in 2015 for illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs and aggravated possession of drugs.

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(c)2018 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio)

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