Felony charges have been dropped against two Tacoma women accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a GoFundMe fundraiser set up for a relative whose infant was killed by the baby's father.
Pierce County prosecutors said they didn't believe they could prove the case. The infant's mother also wrote in a court filing that she eventually received all the money raised for her.
Leslie Frances Teehee and Taryn Louise Major were charged in Superior Court with first-degree theft in March. Prosecutors alleged that after nearly $9,000 was raised following the Feb. 22, 2023, death of 4-month-old Cody Kennedy to help his mother, Daijsa Fehlen, the defendants funneled thousands into their personal accounts and spent the money on themselves.
Teehee is Fehlen's grandmother, and Major is her aunt.
Cody's father, Samuel Bryon Kennedy, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the baby's death April 12, and he was sentenced later that month to 18 years in prison. According to court records, Kennedy shook the boy in their West End apartment when he started crying.
The infant was brought to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital after 911 was called, and a brain scan found bleeding and other injuries consistent with abusive head trauma, records state. He died the next day.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Matthew Thomas wrote in a court filing that additional investigation found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the theft case, including whether Teehee and Major had violated GoFundMe's terms of service in the handling of donated funds.
In a statement to The News Tribune, a spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Adam Faber, said the defense was able to show more transaction data than what the beneficiary of the fundraising campaign initially reported to Tacoma police.
"As the case developed, the evidence was mixed, and it became clear that a jury would be unlikely to find that the suspects had an 'intent to deprive,' as required for proving Theft 1 beyond a reasonable doubt," Faber said.
The case was dismissed without prejudice Aug. 29, meaning that prosecutors could refile charges if circumstances change.
In a brief phone call with The News Tribune, Teehee's court-appointed attorney, Steven Merrival, described the incident as a family situation, and he said the money had gone to the appropriate place.
"People were trying to do the right thing," Merrival said. "People just looked carefully at the GoFundMe figures and said well, there's really not much to get excited about here."
Merrival is a veteran attorney who worked for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office from 1982 to 2017. He quipped that prosecutors should have dismissed the case as soon as he filed a notice of appearance in the court record.
Major's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Fehlen previously told The News Tribune that her infant was on life support when Teehee and Major asked her if she wanted them to set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for her. It raised $8,951, and charging documents alleged that the defendants started taking money from it for themselves five days after Cody died.
Prosecutors alleged that Teehee and Major withdrew $5,900 from the GoFundMe for personal use in 23 separate transactions.
Fehlen previously said she discovered money was being kept from her in May 2023, and she reported Teehee and Major to the police the next month.
In a victim impact statement filed March 18, Fehlen wrote that although she eventually received all the money, she had late fees on all of her bills because of the way it was paid back. She also said she was without a car for months, and while funds were kept from her, she wasn't able to pay for her rent, phone, car or insurance.
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