The paternal grandparents of a young child who died at the hands of severe child abuse said this morning they are afraid no one will ever be held responsible for their granddaughter’s death.

The Hamilton County District Attorney’s office tried to do just that when they prosecuted Brian Rutherford, the ex-boyfriend of victim Sierra Carpenter’s mother, this past fall, accusing him of first-degree murder and child abuse.

A jury acquitted him of all charges, casting an even greater cloud of suspicion on mother Traci Carpenter who stands accused of the lesser crime of aggravated child neglect. Traci testified during the trial that she was a “neglectful” mother, had often poked Sierra on the forehead and had done drugs in her daughter’s presence.

Traci Carpenter appeared in court this morning, but her case has been passed until March.

“We want her held responsible for this baby’s death,” said Janice Carpenter, Sierra’s grandmother.

But Janice Carpenter said closed-door discussions had revealed to her and her husband that Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Leslie Longshore does not expect the case to ever go to trial and that Traci could walk away with probation for a crime that carries 15 to 25 years.

Traci Carpenter’s defense attorney Lee Davis told the judge this morning that both parties had agreed to delay the case until March so further negotiations regarding the resolution of the case could be made.

Ms. Longshore said at the time of Mr. Rutherford’s acquittal that she still believed Mr. Rutherford killed the child and that she had no plans to upgrade Traci’s charges.

Expert testimony revealed that repeated poking of a child as young as Sierra can lead to severe head trauma. Sierra died of blunt-force trauma to the head, the autopsy showed.

For more details, see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.