Wallace charged on son's birthday

• On what would have been her son's first birthday, a local mother was charged Tuesday in his death.
• Sheryl Wallace is charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.
• The 21-year-old ex-Muncie resident is scheduled to appear at a Sept. 23 initial hearing.
• Wallace's husband, Corey, is also charged in the February death of their 5-month-old son Jensen.

MUNCIE — Jensen Michael Wallace should have celebrated his first birthday on Tuesday.

Instead, the baby's mother was formally charged with complicity in his Feb. 10 death.

Sheryl Ashley Wallace, 21, last week joined her husband, Cory, in the Delaware County jail.

On Tuesday, Chief Trial Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman filed formal charges against Sheryl Wallace — neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony carrying a maximum 50-year prison term, and obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence.

The neglect charge alleges Wallace "did knowingly place (Jensen) in a situation that endangered (his) life and health or deprived (the baby) of the necessary medical care," resulting in his death.

The Wallaces lived in a South Meeker Avenue home at the time of their son's 5-month-old son's death, and later moved to Indianapolis.

The day he was arrested in August, Cory Wallace told police he had dropped his infant son onto a hardwood floor, then failed to seek medical attention for what proved to be fatal brain injuries.

After realizing his son was dead, the 23-year-old father said he ignited fires in the baby's bedroom, hoping to hide the cause of his son's death. An autopsy, however, would show Jensen died before the blaze was set, and had been the victim of physical abuse.

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The obstruction charge alleges Sheryl Wallace tried to mislead police investigating her child's death.

Authorities say that in the hours after her baby died, Wallace told authorities numerous lies about the events leading to the fire in her family's home, and the infant's behavior and condition in the final hours of his life.

Wallace — being held in the Delaware County jail under a $55,000 bond — is set to appear at an initial hearing in Delaware Circuit Court 1 on Sept. 23.

Sheryl Wallace was taken into custody last week in Indianapolis, a few days after she gave birth to a second son. That baby is reportedly in the custody of the Department of Child Services.

Cory Wallace — facing the same counts as his wife, and three other charges — is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 25. His bond is set at $180,000.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.