By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH — Mikayla Munn received a 12-year sentence Tuesday afternoon in Wabash Circuit Court in connection with the 2016 death of her newborn son.
Wabash Circuit Court Judge Robert McCallen III suspended three years of the sentence, during which time Munn will be placed on probation.
Munn pled guilty in June to neglect of a dependent, a level 3 felony. She originally faced charges of murder and neglect of a dependent as a level 1 felony.
At approximately 11:28 p.m. March 8 Munn, who was a student at Manchester University, informed the North Manchester dispatch she had just given birth, had passed out and that upon awakening found the baby was not breathing.
MU security officers were first on the scene and found Munn in the tub holding the baby, which was wrapped in a towel. She was consequently arrested in May 2016 following a death investigation by Indiana State Police Detective Josh Maller and North Manchester Police Detective Sergeant Jon Pace.
McCallen imposed the sentence following an hour’s worth of testimony from family and friends of Munn, including Mishawaka resident Desmond Roland, the baby’s father.
The judge called this case “the most difficult case I’ve ever had.”
“Ms. Munn, you’re not a monster,” McCallen told her, in response to remarks about her made on social media sites.
He noted that she went to a good high school, a good university and, based on the testimony from her parents, came from a good home and was “raised by good folks.”
“But we’re not here for what you were,” he continued. “We’re here for what happened on March 8.”
Munn contended that she did not know she was pregnant. However, McCallen said he didn’t believe that.
“I believe you knew you were pregnant,” he said. “You had numerous chances to avoid this. … The outcome was the death of a child.”
Munn, during testimony, expressed remorse for her son’s death. However, McCallen said he had a hard time believing people when they say such things.
“Are you truly remorseful, or are you remorseful for where you are today,” he asked rhetorically.
“This will not define you,” the judge told Munn. “But I have to deal with what was presented to me.”
During testimony, Munn’s parents, Pamela and David Munn, described their daughter as a loving individual who worked hard in school, was an excellent volleyball player who played for four years on the Spartan squad, was involved in the community.
“She gets along with everyone,” Mrs. Munn said. “She loves to be around kids, and she has a special spot for seniors.”
She said that she misses her daughter “dearly, and I wish for nothing more for her to be able to come home.”
Any dreams her daughter had are now gone, she noted. However, she now must create new dreams and she and the family want to work with her to fulfill them.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Mrs. Munn said. “That doesn’t mean they have to pay for them the rest of their lives. She deserves a second chance.”
Under questioning from Wabash County Prosecutor William Hartley Jr., Mrs. Munn said she wasn’t aware that her daughter was pregnant. Asked how she would have reacted if she had known, she said like any parent, she wouldn’t have been happy, but would have helped her daughter any way possible.
Munn’s father told the court “people who know her and who have spent time with her know what a kind, caring person she is. Please be lenient and merciful in your decision.”
Munn claimed the father of the baby was one person, but later changed that statement and said Roland was the father. DNA testing proved him to be such.
He said he has known Munn since junior high school and said she was “a sweetheart of a person who would give you the shirt off her back to help you. She would do anything for anybody.”
He said he learned in October 2015 that Munn was pregnant, and assumed the pair would talk about their options when she came home over Christmas break. However, she later told him that she suffered a miscarriage and was no longer pregnant. He didn’t learn the truth until March 2016.
“I’ll never hear my son call my name,” Roland said, fighting back tears. “I’ll never get to throw a ball with him.”
Munn, in addressing the court, said “I’m not the monster I’ve been portrayed to be in the media.”
“I’ve made some serious mistakes,” she continued. “I’ve made some selfish decisions and terrible choices that led to my son’s death. I have no one else to blame but myself.
“I don’t know why I did what I did. All I can say is I’m sorry.”
Munn told the court that she has been studying the Bible and would one day like to help other women who are in the position she was. She also told those who are now in that situation to remember “there are options. Please get help. Don’t think you’re alone. Please get help.”
Munn’s attorney, Daniel Vanderpool, told the court the entire lives of the entire Munn family changed on March 8, 2016, and that Munn’s life was going to change again, based on the judge’s sentencing decision.
“They’re a loving family,” he said of the Munns. “They care about each other and try to do the right thing. But they’re not perfect … but neither are any other families.”
In addition to passing sentence, McCallen signed an order authorizing the Indiana State Police to turn the remains of the baby over to Roland for burial.