MURRAY – Nearly a year after the grand jury indicted her on charges of murder and first-degree criminal child abuse in connection with the death of her 17-month-old daughter, Chyanne Niemeyer has still not been formally arraigned in Calloway Circuit Court because her competency to stand trial was brought into question, but the case took a gigantic step forward this morning after Judge Andrea Moore set the date for Niemeyer’s competency hearing in mid-December.
Niemeyer and her fiancé, Nathaniel Gibson, were arrested in October 2023 and charged with murder and first-degree criminal abuse of a child under 12 after her 17-month-old daughter died from severe burn injuries in the Murray-Calloway County Hospital emergency department.
The couple brought the girl to the emergency room after finding her non-responsive hours after the injuries were sustained, according to the uniform citation. Deeming the child’s injuries suspicious, hospital staff contacted the Murray Police Department.
Murray couple pleads not guilty to murder in toddler death
Niemeyer’s counsel requests additional evidence be collected
The defendants allegedly told Detective Justin Swope that the burns resulted from “scalding” hot bathwater. Both claimed they attempted to get the toddler out of the water but could not because of the temperature, but Swope noted in his report that neither Niemeyer nor Gibson had any redness on their hands or arms.
When it became evident to Niemeyer that her daughter’s skin was being profoundly injured, she removed the girl from the tub and treated her wounds by applying BENGAY, a pain-relieving ointment that, according to package instructions, should not be applied to damaged skin. Swope’s report also noted “strong medicine odor” coming from the child.
Niemeyer and Gibson were arraigned in Calloway District Court on Oct. 24, 2023, and District Judge Randall Hutchens set bail at $500,000 cash. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and first-degree criminal abuse of a child under 12 years old, and they waived their rights to a preliminary hearing, allowing the case to advance to the grand jury.
Last November, Niemeyer’s attorney, Directing Attorney for the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy Murray Trial Office Cheri Riedel, filed a motion requesting specific evidence be presented to the grand jury, namely a 2011 psychiatric evaluation, which characterized Niemeyer as having “extremely low intellectual and adaptive functioning” abilities, and documentation regarding unsafe conditions in Niemeyer’s apartment, where the incident occurred.
At the time, the case had already advanced from district court to the grand jury, but without an indictment, the case was not yet under the purview of the circuit court. Calloway Circuit Judge Andrea Moore advised the parties that she could not rule on the motion because she did not have jurisdiction over the case. However, Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust told the court that his office would abide by the defense’s request.
On Nov. 17, the grand jury returned indictments for both Niemeyer and Gibson. Later that month, Riedel filed a notice of incompetency. Based on information received and her own personal interactions with Niemeyer, Riedel stated Niemeyer lacked the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings and was not able to rationally participate in her own defense.
On Dec. 4, 2023, both Niemeyer and Gibson were scheduled for arraignment in circuit court. Gibson’s arraignment proceeded as usual. Niemeyer’s arraignment, on the other hand, could not proceed because her competency to stand trial was brought into question. Both cases were set for status hearings on Jan. 22.
“This is going to be a long process,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust after the December hearing. “So, Jan. 22nd, we’ll be, honestly, checking to see how we’re doing with discovery and just trying to track things to make sure that everything’s moving, but it is going to be a slow process. I wish we could fast track it and do it as quickly as possible, but it’s going to take time.”
According to Foust, his office requested that an evaluation from the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center (KCPC) be performed in addition to any evaluations sourced by the defense. That, in and of itself, has prolonged the process because of KCPC’s well-documented backlog of competency evaluations.
In December 2022, the average wait time of 179 days translated to 302 defendants across the state waiting for evaluations before their cases could continue, according to Lexington television station LEX18.
“The KCPC backlog is substantial,” Foust acknowledged in December. “I don’t want to tell you it’s 12 months. It could well be, but I don’t know for certain. It’s substantial; I know that. So, that’s not going to be a fast-track process. We’re gonna try to get it done as quickly as possible, but they are so backlogged. I know a couple of months ago we were told that it was an eight-month backlog. Where it is now, I don’t know.”
While it did not take 12 months, Niemeyer has been on the Calloway Circuit Court docket five times since then – Jan. 22, March 18, June 17, Aug. 19 and today. The same is true for Gibson; because he and Niemeyer are co-defendants, his case is stalled until hers can progress.
There was little movement in Niemeyer’s case beyond specific discovery requests until June, when Riedel advised the court that KCPC completed its evaluation and that the defense had engaged its own expert to evaluate Niemeyer. By the August hearing, the private evaluation had been conducted, but the expert had not completed their report; and the case was, once again, continued.
“I would like to let the court know that our expert is finishing up her report, and I will be filing that report under seal and serving a copy of the Commonwealth,” Riedel told Moore in August. “We’re still challenging her competency, and we believe that, in this report, our expert will support that.”
Today, both sides advised Moore that they are ready to proceed with Niemeyer’s competency hearing. The judge proposed a mid-December date at 2:30 pm.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James Burkeen said he thought that was a good date but noted his reservations about starting the hearing so late in the afternoon. “I know these doctors talk a lot. We may be here a little late.”
“That’s fine,” Moore said. “I’m willing to stay a little late if we have to in that case.”
Niemeyer’s competency hearing is scheduled at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Such proceedings are not open to the public. Both Niemeyer and Gibson will be in court on Monday, Jan. 6, at 8:30 a.m.
Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
