Photo: Henderson County Sheriff
The story that has everyone shocked.
By Beth El Fattal — Written on May 14, 2019
While social media was blowing up with tribute posts to fantastic mothers everywhere this weekend, one mother stood out as a failure and an attempted murderer. Krista Madden, 35, was arrested this weekend after a couple found her baby banged up but alive at the bottom of a 75-foot ravine a short three hours after Madden had reported her kidnapping. Madden originally claimed that she and her daughter had been kidnapped together, but facts of the story kept changing, leading police to look further into the case, with the suspicion that Madden herself may have been involved in some kind of foul play. Although there is no way to truly understand what would drive someone to this point, the facts of the case are about the closest we can get. Who is Krista Madden?
1. Last Thursday, Madden called 911 to report a kidnapping
She claimed that she and the baby were kidnapped together and that she had been lucky enough to escape with her life, but hadn't been able to save the child. She described her assailants as a male and female in black ski masks. She went as far as to say that the woman had black hair and the man was a redhead. She also told police that the would-be-kidnappers had taken her young daughter and drove off in her vehicle. Police were then able to ping her cellphone location, and the place where she had been and found the vehicle abandoned with no sign of the daughter, who was only seven weeks old. At this point, police have discounted this story as complete fiction.
2. Some details of the case just felt wrong
Those investigating the scene around the abandoned vehicle said that there was no evidence of any others being around the area. Finally, they received a break in the case, a 911 call from the couple who found the baby, Shaylie, in the ravine. The two had heard sounds of a baby crying and seen some dust of a car, which is unusual for their area. Their dog barked, as it usually did when someone was driving up, but the couple didn't see much action beyond that. They pieced together the idea that someone had driven up only to toss the baby like garbage. Mrs. Fowler had heard the faint baby cry, asked her husband to back the car up, and this was the point where she saw the car seat in the bottom of the ravine. The sight struck fear into their hearts, and her husband carefully climbed down to retrieve the innocent baby.
3. Shaylie is expected to fully recover.
The good news in this horrible story is that the baby is on the road to recovery. Luckily, she had been strapped into her car seat and was thrown free close to the bottom of the ravine, meaning that she wasn't unprotected for long. This may have saved her life. When the Fowlers found the body, they mentioned that she looked roughed up and bruised especially on her leg. However, she was immediately cared for by EMTs when they arrived and taken directly to a nearby hospital. Although banged up, her injuries could have been much worse.
4. Madden is being charged with attempted first degree murder
At this point, Madden's bond has been set at $750,000. She is being charged with attempted first degree murder. Her legal team hopes to get her released to a hospital to get her the mental support and help they believe that she needs. Her family and friends are stunned by this incident, as she has been a great mother to her older daughter. She is also a registered nurse anesthetist. It is thought that post partum depression or psychosis may have contributed to this incident. Police have all but ruled out any involvement of friends of family in the violence based on their testimonies. At this point, there are no other suspects.