Criminal proceedings against a Gloucester couple whose young daughter was discovered confined in a modified crib, starving and covered in her own waste, are scheduled to begin next week.
Shannon Nicole Gore, 26, and Brian Scott Gore, 31, are each charged with two felonies, aggravated malicious wounding, and child abuse. The couple is scheduled to be tried together by a Gloucester Circuit Court jury in proceedings set to begin Tuesday and last through the week.
The Gores were arrested in April 2011 after Gloucester sheriff’s investigators searched their mobile home on Carrie Lane in connection with another matter. They discovered the emaciated child in a darkened room, trapped in what investigators described as an upside-down crib with a heavy board on top.
The girl, who appeared to be five or six years old, was immediately removed from the home and hospitalized. She has since been placed with a family in another locality. A one-month-old boy described as in good condition was also removed from the home and placed in protective care.
After questioning the Gores about the discovery, investigators returned to their home the next day and uncovered the remains of a young child buried beneath a shed in the yard. The couple was initially charged with murder in connection with that finding, but investigators were not able to produce evidence to support the charge and it was dismissed.
At the request of Shannon Gore’s counsel, Ronald L. Smith, the young girl may take the stand during next week’s proceedings against her parents. In a pre-trial motion filed by Smith and heard by Judge R. Bruce Long on Feb. 11, Smith said the jury could see the young girl’s “remarkable recovery” if she appeared in court.
Smith said, with the commonwealth claiming the girl sustained permanent injury as a result of starvation, “the jury must be allowed to see the child in her current state and be able to fairly evaluate the permanent nature of her injuries and overall recovery.”
He also said the girl’s recovery is mitigating for punishment. Gloucester Commonwealth’s Attorney Holly Smith and attorney Brian Decker, who was appointed to represent the child, both objected to having the young girl appear. In his objection, Decker said the child has “a very fragile state of mind.”
“Putting this child on display for a courtroom full of strangers, including the defendants, would cause increased stress, inconvenience and future psychological harm upon this child,” Decker wrote in his objection. He said having the child appear “could cause psychological trauma, the depth of which is hard to predict.”
Long initially denied the motion to have the child appear, but reversed his ruling a few days later. He said the right of confrontation was involved with the charges against the Gores. “The right to have the victim appear in court is constitutionally protected and outweighs any claim by the victim of a right to privacy,” Long wrote in explaining the reversal.
He further wrote, “I know all counsel will treat her with respect and the courtesy due a child of that age and circumstance,” if she is called as a witness.
Ron Smith and Brian Gore’s attorney, Timothy G. Clancy, also asked to meet with the girl’s adoptive mother to get her insight on the girl’s state. Long ruled he could not order the adoptive mother to speak with the attorneys.
The defense attorneys additionally requested the trial be moved outside the area due to pre-trial publicity, but Long said the court would make every effort to seat a local jury. The court has summoned 175 prospective jurors for the case.