Mathis gets life, plus 32 years-She has never shown remorse for girl’s death, prosecutor says
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‘She was like a Jekyll and Hyde, becoming a different person when these rages came out,’ said special prosecutor Brian Holmgren in asking for the maximum sentence against the 41-year-old. ‘She deprived Cheyenne of her childhood by doping her up and ultimately killing her. She has never shown any remorse for her actions.’
Mathis was given automatic life sentences on both counts of first-degree murder for the death of Cheyenne, meaning she would have to serve 51 years on those counts before her first chance of parole.
In addition to the murder sentences, she was given 22 more years for the long-term abuse of Cheyenne, which included overmedication, food deprivation, beatings and strangulation. Then, 10 more years were tacked on for her beating and choking of Cheyenne’s older brothers, David and Ryan, both of whom testified against their former caregiver during trial.
In the end, Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley gave the shackled defendant life plus 32 at 100 percent, meaning no chance of parole for 83 years.
‘She blatantly went about a pattern of abuse when she knew the risk to human life was high,’ Stanley said in assessing sentence, agreeing with prosecutors that Mathis used her position of public trust to help commit the crime.
It was learned during sentencing that Cheyenne and her brothers were not the only ones abused by Mathis. Department of Children’s Services case worker Patsy Dunn revealed Mathis had her foster care license revoked in 1999, over five years prior to her murdering Cheyenne in June 2004.
The reason for the termination of foster care privileges was a report of abuse against a 5-year-old girl named Lauren, who testified against her former foster parent Wednesday.
‘She made sure we knew she didn’t love us like her own children,’ Lauren said, noting they were treated differently than her natural children, with a pair of twins who were at the home at the same time also being abused like she was.
Specifically, Lauren said they were deprived of food and that they were smacked, pushed down, cursed and struck with a belt. It was the use of corporal punishment, which is banned in foster homes, which led to Mathis’ foster care license being stripped.
Mathis, appearing disheveled and worse for wear in her orange jail jumpsuit following nearly two months behind bars, read in a monotone voice from a written statement without looking up at the judge.
In her statement, Mathis pointed out she had never been in trouble with the law before and had worked hard to make a good home for her family and foster children. She did not mention anything about the case itself, instead asking the court for leniency due to her past work.