johnson city woman imprisoned for child abuse

A Johnson City, TN woman learned Friday that she will face eleven years in prison after a Hamblen County, TN jury convicted her of attempted aggravated child abuse early last week. Erica Lynn Wyma-Kyle, 29 years old, appeared before Judge John Dugger Friday afternoon where she learned her fate.

Wyma-Kyle was convicted in the Criminal Court of Hamblen County on July 24, 2007 by a jury of her peers of attempted aggravated child abuse, a class B felony, which carries a range of 8-12 years. She was originally charged with Aggravated Child Abuse, a violation of TCA 39-15-402, stemming from an incident in 2003 at her residence on Lincoln Avenue in Morristown, Hamblen County.

On 11-22-03 East Tennessee Children's Hospital in Knoxville, TN reported to the Morristown Police Department that a 25 month old child had been transported to their hospital from the Morristown-Hamblen Hospital Emergency Room for treatment. Upon arrival at East Tennessee Children's Hospital, the child was unresponsive and appeared to have been abused. Cpl. Vicki Arnold of the Morristown Police Department, investigator on the case, learned through her investigation that the mother, Erica Lynn Wyma-Kyle, had shaken the baby and thrown the baby, resulting in permanent injury to the child.

Cpl. Arnold presented the case against Wyma-Kyle to the Hamblen County Grand Jury November 1, 2004. A true bill was returned, and on November 10, 2004 Wyma-Kyle was picked up and arrested.

"I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this case," stated Cpl. Arnold. "I feel that the sentence is definitely justified based on the severity of the crime. It took a long time to prosecute this matter; however, with the effort of all agencies involved we were able to present an effective case. In many instances law enforcement officers must act on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves; in this case, a 25 month old child."