Mom admits guilt in neglected twins case
COEUR d’ALENE — The 27-year-old mother of twin 2-year-old girls who were found living in abominable conditions within a Coeur d’Alene apartment in December pleaded guilty on Monday in Kootenai County district court.
Elisabeth C. Crossley, of Coeur d’Alene, agreed to be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on one count of felony injury to a child. A second similar count was dropped by prosecutors who also agreed to limit their sentencing recommendation to the one suggested by the state’s presentence investigation report. The single count will incorporate both victims, who now are living in state custody.
A Sacramento, Calif., man who believes he’s the father, 41-year-old Scott Lewis Crossley, is getting a paternity test. He said he was led to believe, until just recently, that another man was the girls’ father. The Crossleys were married for several years and lived together in California and Texas.
They have been separated, but Elisabeth filed for divorce in August.
District Court Judge John Luster scheduled Elisabeth Crossley’s sentencing for April 13. The judge agreed to release her from Kootenai County jail on her own recognizance pending sentencing, but ordered that she remain in Idaho.
Luster said the facts of the case were “disturbing.”
Crossley kept her face covered with her long hair for most of her court appearance, and spoke softly in one- or two-word responses to questions from Luster.
Crossley’s twins were found Dec. 5 living in the filthiest conditions Coeur d’Alene police have ever witnessed. A passer-by alerted police to the danger. Crossley and her mother, Ruth K. Cassidy, 55, were living at an apartment on the 1200 block of North Lincoln Way in Coeur d’Alene with the girls.
Crossley and Cassidy were arrested after the girls were found sealed off in a bedroom, with no clothes, bedding or furniture. The girls were covered in fecal matter, as were the walls and floor of the bedroom. The girls had bruising on various parts of their bodies and open sores. Police vomited after opening the door to the room.
Police said there was a couch cushion tied to the inside of the bedroom door to muffle noise from the girls hitting it. Neighbors often complained about the girls crying.
Police found vertical claw marks in the paint and drywall, “as if the girls had been trying to claw their way out of the room in desperation.”
Elisabeth Crossley has not offered a reasonable explanation for the injuries or living conditions the girls were subjected to.
Crossley’s public defender, Craig Zanetti, said she would be living in a hotel in Coeur d’Alene and use her associate degree from ITT Technical Institute to get a job once she has been released. She was last working at Center Partners.
Last week, Cassidy entered an Alford plea to one count of felony injury to a child. With that plea, she didn’t admit guilt but acknowledged prosecutors have enough evidence to get a conviction. She also is to be sentenced April 13. A second count of felony injury to a child against her was dismissed as part of a plea deal.