The jury trial for a woman who is charged with killing her relative more than 13 years ago started Tuesday morning in a Johnson County courtroom.
Stephanie Ann Bryant, 58, was was deemed mentally incompetent to face trial after the crime on or around Christmas Eve 2006, and spent more than a decade at a psychiatric hospital in Indianapolis. She was released 14 months ago.
Bryant is accused of killing Stella Morgan, 83 at the time, on either Dec. 23 or Dec. 24 at the home Morgan was renting in downtown Greenwood, according to court documents.
Bryant was charged with Morgan’s murder on Dec. 29, 2006.
A mental evaluation was ordered in early 2007 to determine if Bryant was competent to stand trial. Then Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Mark Loyd ordered the examination after observing that Bryant had difficulty answering fairly simple questions, Loyd said in newspaper archives.
In March 2017, she was found incompetent to stand trial. She was transported to Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital, a psychiatric hospital on the west side of Indianapolis, court documents said.
Bryant was treated at the hospital beginning in April 2007 until late October 2018, when hospital officials sent a letter to the court saying, “competency had been restored.” Within a day, she was transported to the Johnson County jail, where she has been for more than a year. Jail workers are instructed to distribute medication to retain Bryant’s competency, according to court documents.
Her trial started Tuesday morning at the Circuit Court, with Judge Andrew S. Roesener presiding. Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva is prosecuting the case. Bryant is represented by Jennifer Wilson Reagan and John P. Wilson, of the Wilson and Wilson law firm in Whiteland.
On Dec. 24, 2006, Greenwood police conducted a welfare check on Morgan at her home at 1 E. Main St. Officers saw blood on the back stairs of the home and marks on the ground that gave the appearance something had been dragged through the yard, court documents said.
Officers investigated further, looking into a shed on the property where they found Morgan dead inside, according to court documents.
An autopsy was performed by Dr. Joye Carter, with police officers and then Johnson County Coroner David Lutz present. There were multiple bruises and dried blood on Morgan. Morgan died of blunt force trauma, which caused multiple open skull fractures and total destruction of the frontal lobes of her brain, court documents said.
Witnesses, including relatives, neighbors and friends of Morgan, told police that Bryant, who had been staying with Morgan, was constantly asking her for money, according to court documents.
Morgan told friends her utility and food bills were going up with Bryant staying there. A relative told police Morgan was planning to ask Bryant to find a new place to stay, court documents said.
Police found Bryant with blood on her clothing early Christmas morning at Union Station in downtown Indianapolis. Bryant told police after her arrest she wanted to attend Morgan’s funeral and they needed to find who killed her, court documents said.
