05/30/2026
So a child's life is worth 77 days? WTH!
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"Foster Mom Savagely Beats Baby Strapped In Her Car Seat
A Family Torn Apart
Alyssa Beth Guernsey was born on November 2nd, 2007, to parents Kelly Sprunger and Michael Guernsey in Columbia City, Indiana. From day one, she was her father's pride and joy and her mother's ""bitty bitty pretty."" In fact, mother and daughter even shared a birthday. Alyssa was a beautiful baby with blonde hair and brown eyes who loved to snuggle. But Alyssa wasn't just adored by her parents; she had two older siblings, six-year-old Lily and three-year-old Noah, who loved her just as much. Sadly, it wouldn't be long until this happy family was torn apart.
November of 2008 should have been a time for celebration for the Guernsey household, and it was at first. On the second, the family celebrated Kelly and Alyssa's birthdays. The now one-year-old Alyssa was already showing herself to be playful, cheerful, and sunny. But dark clouds were coming to block that light. A couple of weeks after her birthday, her father Michael's life was taken in a car crash on I-69 South in DeKalb County. His car was the only vehicle involved, and he was just 36 years old when he passed.
The whiplash between the joy of Alyssa's first birthday and the grief of Michael's untimely passing was difficult for the family to wrap their heads around. Without warning, Alyssa had lost her father before she could even talk. Noah and Lily were Michael's stepchildren, so while they grieved his loss, they still had their biological father, Samuel Cruz. Alyssa wasn't so lucky.
Yet, as much as she tried, Kelly struggled to fill Michael's shoes. After all, the accident didn't just rob her youngest of a father; it left Kelly without a partner, and she felt that loss deeply. Life had never been easy for Kelly before Alyssa's birth. She struggled on and off with addiction fueled by depression in the past. Kelly had even been incarcerated and temporarily lost custody of Noah and Lily. However, in the time leading up to Alyssa's death, Kelly worked to put that behind her and provide a stable life for her kids. Michael's abrupt death threatened to undermine all of that effort.
In the aftermath of his accident, Kelly had become her children's sole caretaker and provider. So much was expected of her so quickly, and all while she was still grieving the loss of Michael. It wasn't long until Indiana's Department of Child Services (DCS) came knocking. They were quick to suggest that Kelly's children be placed in foster care temporarily while she regained her footing. Kelly maintained she was able to care for her kids and that such measures wouldn't be necessary, but behind closed doors, it was clear she was on her last legs. She had fallen back into old habits and relied on addiction to deal with the stress of her situation.
The Move to the Schaefers
Kelly knew she was struggling and needed time to recover, but she also knew that she didn't want her kids placed in foster care. The idea of sending her children away to live with a stranger simply made it too uncomfortable for her to consider. When DCS pushed again for Kelly's children to be removed from the house, Kelly knew that she needed to come up with a compromise that would work for all parties. Her savior came in the form of her cousin, 29-year-old Christy Schaefer, and her husband, 34-year-old Matt Schaefer. Now, in the past when Kelly was in prison, Christy took in and watched her children. The mounting pressure from DCS forced Kelly to once again turn towards her cousin for help.
At first glance, this arrangement looked like the perfect solution. Kelly's children would get to spend quality time with their cousins while their mother got back on her feet. However, further examination would reveal that Alyssa and her siblings were being sent into a far from ideal environment. Christy and Matt Schaefer already had four kids, so when they took in Kelly's children, they now had seven children to look after. It's not unusual for parents to struggle with four children, so taking on three more would be difficult for anybody. Kelly's eldest daughter, Lily, was a double amputee and clearly had some unique needs of her own. Keep in mind, all of these children were pretty young, so it wasn't as if many of them could do much to help out with their cousins. The oldest was Haley Schaefer, who was 12 at the time, followed by nine-year-old Brayden, seven-year-old McKenna, and three-year-old Ashlyn.
The responsibility for caring for Kelly's children would rest solely on Christy and Matt's shoulders. In addition, the Schaefers weren't trained or certified foster parents. Their right to take in Kelly's children came solely from familial ties and a handshake agreement. However, both Schaefers were unemployed. The foster care checks would help matters a bit, but they would be in a very tight financial situation. Taking on additional children would come to represent a physical and mental burden that would result in the Schaefers resenting them.
Christy and Matt had to be aware of all the problems of bringing more children into their already crowded home. They also knew they weren't the only people who could have taken in the children within the family. Kelly's mother, Beth, told both her family and DCS that she was happy to look after her grandkids, but despite this, on December 8, 2008, Christy confirmed she wanted to house the children, and they moved in shortly thereafter. They lived in Topeka, Indiana, a tiny, peaceful town in the northern part of the state. They resided in a humble home located at 315 West Pine Street. It had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. With the Schaefers' usual household, it was already cramped, but now that it held nine people, it was downright crowded.
Christy likely greenlit this arrangement partially because she believed it would be only for a short time. Before taking in the children, she made sure to ask DCS for an estimate of how long the kids would stay with her. At first, this wouldn't have been an issue; with Kelly eager to get back on her feet, she'd likely regain custody of her kids quickly. However, things didn't go as planned. Kelly spiraled further into her narcotic use and began ghosting her social workers. The situation further deteriorated when she refused a drug screening, landed herself a neglect charge, and in the eyes of DCS, she had essentially abandoned her children. Consequently, Lily, Noah, and Alyssa were dubbed wards of the state and placed in the custody of Christy and Matt. A situation that had been unstable from the start had become permanent for the foreseeable future........READ MORE 👇👇👇
