Kentucky grand jury declines to indict doctor in granddaughter’s hot-car death

A Kentucky grand jury declined to indict Dr. Stacey Fazenbaker in connection with the death of her 10-month-old granddaughter, Scottie Gwyn Crowell. Prosecutors said the jury returned a “no true bill,” meaning it did not issue an indictment, and found insufficient probable cause to bring a criminal case. Crowell was found unresponsive in a car outside Owensboro Health Multicare in Madisonville. The Mid-Michigan Now report says this happened on August 13, but does not provide a year in its account of the incident. It reports that temperatures that day reached about 95 degrees and that the car’s interior reached 115 degrees, citing reports for the vehicle reading. The New York Post describes the child as having been left in a hot car and alleges that Fazenbaker forgot her granddaughter there for hours. The Mid-Michigan Now account says the child was found unresponsive in the vehicle but does not make that allegation or state how long the child was there. The grand jury’s decision is not an indictment; the available accounts do not report a criminal trial or a finding of guilt. Hopkins County Attorney Hannah Kington-Jarvis said prosecutors waited until relevant evidence was available before presenting the case. The New York Post quotes her saying the Commonwealth waited for evidence for the grand jury to consider; the Mid-Michigan Now report likewise says prosecutors waited until relevant evidence was available. These accounts describe the timing of the presentation, not the specific evidence considered. Kington-Jarvis said the child’s parents were consulted during the investigation and before the grand jury presentation. She also asked the public to keep Crowell’s parents and family in their thoughts and prayers as they grieve. The Mid-Michigan Now report quotes her describing the Madisonville Police Department’s investigation as “thorough and objective.”

The New York Post says Fazenbaker will not face a criminal trial over Crowell’s death. The grand jury’s no-indictment decision is the legal outcome reported; the sources do not describe any separate court ruling. The immediate consequence is that prosecutors did not secure an indictment through this grand jury presentation.