Onondaga woman to stand trial in death of daughter, 16

MASON - An Onondaga Township woman was ordered to stand trial on murder and first-degree child abuse charges in connection with the death of her 16-year-old daughter after prosecutors dropped a torture charge against her.

Cari Ann Wright, 43, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on those charges Tuesday in 55th District Court.

Chief Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Lisa McCormick said her office determined it couldn't prove the elements of the torture charge.

Wright's daughter, Hannah Warner, was born with physical and mental disabilities and depended solely on her mother for care, an Ingham County Sheriff's detective testified in an earlier hearing while seeking charges against Wright. Medical examiners ruled that her November 2015 death was a homicide and said it was caused by neglect, he said.

At the time of her death, Hannah weighed 43 pounds, the investigator said. She had open sores on her back and buttocks and hadn't been to a doctor in 18 months, he said. Hannah couldn't communicate verbally and had been bedridden for most of her life, according to a transcript of the earlier hearing.

McCormick and Wright's attorney, Brian Laxton, said the dismissal of the torture charge was not the result of a plea bargain and that the case will proceed toward trial in Ingham County Circuit Court.

Laxton said the decision to waive the preliminary examination, which would have determined if there is enough evidence for Wright to stand trial, was strategic. He declined to discuss the allegations against her.

"It's a very tragic situation all the way around," he said.

State Children's Protective Services workers had been involved in the past regarding complaints that Hannah was not being properly cared for, the detective testified in the earlier hearing. But he added the family was not under state supervision at the time Hannah died. State Department of Health and Human services previously declined to discuss the case.