Infant sisters the victims of child abuse

A Westminster area man has been ordered to prison for 40 years for two crimes, one of which killed one child and severely injured another. After hearing testimony, Judge Scott Sprouse handed down the sentences to defendant Matthew Chappell, who is in his mid 20s. Sprouse called what happened to Gwynne and Gracie Hess “troubling and horrible.” Chappell pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and guilty to great bodily injury to a child. Gwynne died in June 2017. According to the Sheriff’s Office, “It has been determined that the defendant (Chappell) dropped the child on the floor with food in the child’s mouth causing the child to die as a result of the incident.” Chappell claimed the 22-month old girl choked on a “gummy bear” while changing her diaper. A few months later, Gracie suffered skull fractures while being cared for by Chappell, who was not the biological father of the girls but did have a relationship with their mother. The mother, Raven Hammond, attended today’s proceeding but chose not to speak and was consoled by a family member as he stood to address the judge before sentencing. Gerald Hammond, grandfather of the victims, said Chappell showed “the hallmarks of a psychopath” – a reference by Mr. Hammond to Chappell having mourned without guilt what happened to the girls and picking out the tombstone for Gywnne. Chappell’s mother, Julie Chappell, said members of their family couldn’t believe that Matthew Chappell could have deliberately harmed either girl and she asked the judge to consider that her son had no previous record of violence.