Ex-Richmond woman gets 33 years for convictions stemming from 2-year-old boy's death

RICHMOND, Ind. — A former Richmond woman has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for convictions stemming from the death of a 2-year-old boy.

A Wayne Superior Court 1 jury in March found Pamela J. Barger — most recently of Carlisle in west-central Indiana — guilty of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison.

The jury also found the 65-year-old Barger guilty of two other neglect counts, both Level 6 felonies with maximum 30-month sentences. She was found not guilty of aggravated battery.

The former Richmond resident was sentenced Friday by Judge Gregory Horn.

Barger — who operated a babysitting service in her Richmond home — was accused of not promptly seeking medical attention for the child, who suffered a severe head injury while in her care in June 2019.

Physicians at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis said the blunt force trauma injury to the boy's head, which caused his death, was the result of abuse.

Barger maintained the child was injured when he tripped as she was changing his clothes.

Investigators said Barger called co-defendant Todd Michael Volker, now 57, after the victim lost consciousness, and that he tried to resuscitate the boy before taking him to Reid Hospital.

Phone records showed 51 minutes elapsed between Barger's call to Volker and the boy's arrival at the Richmond hospital.

Last year, Volker, most recently of Centerville, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.