Judge finds former Palmetto man charged in toddler's death did have unsupervised visits with his daughter
A judge ruled that a former Palmetto man charged with the December 2015 death of his girlfriend's 15-month-old son did have unsupervised visits with his daughter violating conditions of his pretrial release.
John Stewart, 39, is charged with second-degree murder in Knowellan Kelly's death, but was out on bond under the supervised release program. In March, he was rearrested when a judge revoked his release after a pretrial release officer reported the violation to the court.
Stewart was in court Wednesday afternoon as his defense sought to have his bond reduce to the previous set bond of $50,000.
The violation did occur, Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas ruled late Wednesday, and bond would remain at the set $100,000.
Nicholas also clarified some confusion caused by how Stewart was booked into the Manatee County jail, and stated that Stewart only needed to post the $100,000 bond not the previous bond as well. The state was not seeking to file an additional criminal charge for the violation, Nicholas confirmed, so Stewart only needed to post the $100,000 bond set at his most recent first appearance hearing.
If Stewart is able to post bond, all the previous conditions of his release would remain the same, the judge added.
Stewart's defense had argued that the increased bond was more than he could afford.
During Wednesday's hearing, a former neighbor and co-worker of Stewart, Jeanette Funnen, detailed the allegations of the violations which she had reported to Stewart's pretrial release officer. The defense attempted to discredit Funnen claiming that it was retaliation after her romantic relationship with Stewart was ended. Other testimony, including hers, contradicted the allegations of a relationship and the judge found her sufficiently credible. when he ruled.
Knowellen died as a result of injures he sustained while left in Stewart's care on Dec. 11, 2015, while his mother was at work, according to the investigation.
The toddler died after suffering seizure and brain swelling. His injuries were the result being violently shaken and having his head slammed against a bed or other padded furniture, according to a medical examiner and doctors.
Stewart was first arrested on Jan. 13, 2016, and held on a $500,000 bond. His bond was reduced after two separate bond hearing, however and he allowed to post a $50,000 bond and enter into the Pretrial Release Program in August 2016, but ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with minors under the age of 16 including his own daughter.
This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Judge finds former Palmetto man charged in toddler's death did have unsupervised visits with his daughter."