San Fernando Valley : Woman Takes Plea Bargain in Beating Death of 2-Year-Old

A North Hollywood woman who sparked statewide criticism of child welfare laws when she was charged with beating to death her boyfriend’s 2-year-old son has accepted a prosecution offer that will shield her from a murder trial.

Eve Wingfield, 23, pleaded no contest to child abuse with the special allegation that the abuse resulted in Lance Helms’ death April 6. She faces up to 10 years in prison, but may be eligible for parole after serving about half that time. Superior Court Judge Michael Hoff scheduled sentencing for Jan. 10.

The deal was met with tears and outrage by the boy’s relatives and representatives of child welfare groups. “It’s overwhelming,” said the boy’s grandmother, Gail Helms. “This was not a case of child abuse. She killed Lance Helms.”

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Martin L. Herscovitz, who prosecuted the case, said the offer made sense because it may have been difficult to persuade a jury to convict Wingfield of murder. The case depended largely on circumstantial evidence surrounding the boy’s death from several blows to the abdomen, and there were no adult witnesses, he said.