A woman and her boyfriend have been found guilty of murder and assault after they tortured and killed a 3-year-old girl in Napa, California.
Sara Lynn Krueger, and Ryan Scott Warner, both face life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, for the torture and killing of, Kayleigh Slusher, Krueger’s daughter. They also face 25 years to life for assault on a child – causing death.
Court documents say that Krueger and her boyfriend Warner were using crystal methamphetamine (meth) heavily during the months leading up to Kayleigh’s death on January 30, 2014.
Krueger’s friend, Allen Elpperson, said Krueger had smoked meth for years, but quit when she became pregnant with Kayleigh. Elpperson said that when he met Warner for the first time in January 2014, he had a bad feeling about her new boyfriend. Then weeks later, Kayleigh was dead.
Elpperson testified that when he started visiting the couple, he noticed numerous signs of drug abuse. Elpperson admitted to smoking meth with the pair occasionally but said that Krueger lost a lot of weight and looked “strung out.” He said Kayleigh would watch cartoons while they did drugs in another room.
“They both looked strung out like they’d been using,” he said.
According to court documents, when Warner moved in with Krueger, he started taking over some of the parenting duties – including discipline. Although Warner said that he would only spank Kayleigh, evidence showed bruises all over the girl’s body, including her chest, arms, and face.
Kayleigh also displayed signs of malnutrition And the cause of death was declared as “multiple blunt impact injuries to the head, torso, and extremities.”