Prosecutor: Gann told worker to lie

RUSSELLVILLE — Taylor Wells dropped off her 4-month-old daughter, Autumn, at Tiny Tigers Day Care in Red Bay before heading to work.

“I told Autumn I loved her and gave her a kiss and went on to work,” Wells testified Tuesday during the first day of the reckless manslaughter trial against Payton Nicole Gann, who worked at the day care.

That was the morning of March 9, 2022. It would be the last time Wells would see her baby alive.

“I got a call around 1:20 saying she’s not breathing and they’re on the way to the hospital,” she said.

Gann, 26, of Golden, Mississippi, is charged in the baby’s death.

Authorities said the baby was laid on her stomach on a boppy pillow, which is a pillow shaped similar to a horseshoe and is used while nursing. They said Gann told a worker to lie about what happened.

Wells testified Gann told her that day care worker Madison McCalpin put the infant in a swing and left her alone for about 10 minutes.

That also is what workers told authorities, but the following day McCalpin told police Autumn was face down on the pillow, Franklin County Assistant District Attorney Fallyn Pharr said during opening statements.

Pharr said McCalpin told police Autumn was laid down sometime around 11 a.m. She found the baby lifeless a couple of hours later.

“She saw a cold, pale face,” Pharr said.

Hospital officials said the infant’s body temperature was 90.4 degrees.

Pharr said Gann told McCalpin to say Autumn was in a swing when they found her body.

“For 24 hours, everyone was under the impression she was in a swing until Madison came forward,” Pharr said.

McCalpin originally was charged by a grand jury with one count each of reckless manslaughter, and false reporting to law enforcement. She reportedly was granted youthful offender status, so her case now is no longer public record.

Rodney Boyd, a now-retired Red Bay Police captain who worked the case, testified Tuesday. During the testimony prosecutors played a video and audio police camera recording from another officer of a phone call between Gann and McCalpin. Gann did not know she was being recorded, but McCalpin did.

McCalpin was heard saying, “Taylor, she needs to know what happened to Autumn” and “Will you ever tell her?” during the conversation.

“Well, yeah, but right now I don’t feel like that’s my best option,” Gann replied.

Gann also was charged with false reporting to law enforcement, but defense attorney Rebecca Green Thomason announced Tuesday they were pleading guilty to that charge.

“She lied,” Thomason said during opening statements. “She told a story. Madison lied. Everybody involved in this case lied at first.”

Tomlinson said an autopsy was performed but did not determine a cause of death. She added that Autumn had COVID at one point. During testimony, Wells said Autumn had recovered and was healthy when she dropped her off at the day care on the day of her death.

Reckless murder suspect Payton Nicole Gann, left, appears in court on Tuesday inside the Franklin County Courthouse in Russellville.

In other developments involving the case:

Franklin County Assistant District Attorney Joseph R. Rushing filed a motion not to prosecute Tiny Tigers Day Care owner Angelene Chamblee, 49, of Red Bay, so the case could be presented to a future grand jury.

The district attorney’s office has uncovered more evidence that may result in “additional and/or more serious charges” against Chamblee, according to a motion filed last week.

She was initially charged with two counts of second-degree forgery related to falsified employee records; and six counts of violating the Child Care Act pertaining to failing to keep records and make reports, failing to keep required health and safety training records for employees and verification of education records, allowing a 17-year-old aide to be improperly counted as a staff member, failing to require the day care to operate with the required child-to-staff ratio at all times in the 7 days to 24 month old classroom, and allowing the day care’s 7 days to 24 month old classroom to operate not fully staffed as required by law, according to the indictment.

One former employee pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness in the case, while another pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Both are misdemeanors.

Two others have been charged in the case.

Gann’s mother, Teia Gann, 43, of Vina pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness in exchange for a six-month suspended sentence, according to court records.

Hannah Grace Letson, 25, of Red Bay pleaded guilty last week to tampering with physical evidence in exchange for a 1-year suspended sentence, according to records.