Chapter 11
The criminal cases were separated.
Celia Brandt entered a plea and testified.
Owen Pike cooperated in the vehicle-tampering case.
Evelyn and Victor chose trial on many counts.
The farmhouse evidence established planning.
Stillbirth forms prepared in advance.
Forged emails.
Sedatives.
Financial documents.
Instructions for handling Anna’s “departure.”
A draft public statement read:
Following a private home-birth tragedy, Anna Mercer has chosen to leave Indiana with her daughter. The Mercer family requests compassion.
No search would begin if the public believed Anna left voluntarily.
No birth records would exist.
No bodies might be found until decomposition made exact timing harder.
Victor had purchased fuel and cleaning supplies.
Investigators believed he intended to burn the farmhouse after removing financial documents.
Why did he leave before completing the plan?
A winter storm forced him back to company headquarters after a warehouse roof collapsed.
He expected Evelyn and Celia to manage the house.
Evelyn expected cold, blood loss, and drugs to finish what they began.
Lily moved sooner than they predicted.
Anna testified without the children present.
“Did Evelyn tell you your babies had died?” the prosecutor asked.
“No.”
“Did she seek medical help after you lost consciousness?”
“No.”
“Did Victor know the babies were alive?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He heard them cry.”
“Did you consent to stillbirth certificates?”
“No.”
“Did you consent to sedation?”
“No.”
“Did you intend to leave the state?”
“No.”
Victor’s defense argued Anna misunderstood conversations while in labor and under medication.
The recordings and messages supported her account.
Evelyn testified.
She described the situation as a failed private delivery.
“Did you believe Anna was dying?” the prosecutor asked.
“I believed she was resting.”
“For three days?”
“I left Celia responsible.”
“Did you know Celia’s license had been revoked?”
“I knew there had been a dispute.”
“Did you know the twins were alive?”
“I heard sounds.”
“Crying?”
“Yes.”
“Why sign or possess documents describing stillbirth?”
“To protect the family until facts were clear.”
“Why tell Victor cold would finish the mistake?”
Evelyn looked toward the jury.
“I was distraught.”
“Why give Lily sedated milk?”
“She was hysterical.”
“She was seven.”
“She needed sleep.”
The same word returned.
May you like
Sleep.
The name adults used when they wanted unconscious people to stop becoming problems.
