Indiana Supreme Court upholds murder conviction for Jay County woman in 5-year-old son’s death

The details in this story are disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

JAY COUNTY, Ind. (WPTA) - The Indiana Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the murder conviction and life without parole sentence for Jay County woman Chelsea Crossland in the killing of her 5-year-old son in 2022.

Crossland was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for one count of murder in August 2023.

In late April, the Supreme Court upheld that conviction after Crossland appealed, saying they found the trial court acted appropriately and noted “overwhelming” evidence of her guilt.

The Court says Crossland claimed that she was denied an impartial jury because of pretrial publicity on her case, arguing that her constitutional right to present a complete defense was violated.

Indiana State Police shared in 2022 that they were investigating the death of 5-year-old Christian Crossland after he was found unresponsive in his Portland home on March 24. Chelsea Crossland was then arrested in the case a few days later.

According to court documents, evidence in the case showed Christian was confined to his mother’s room, was not allowed to interact with his four siblings, and was made to sleep on the closet floor.

The child was only allowed out to use the bathroom, and two siblings said they never saw their mother give him food and would try to sneak him food.

Evidence also showed that Crossland physically abused Christian, sometimes using a piece of wood and a belt.

Siblings allegedly told investigators their mother withheld food from him because he “didn’t know his ABCs”, “didn’t know like how to count to ten”, and that their mother “didn’t like him as much” as the other children, court documents say.

The abuse went on for nearly 74 days before his death, records show.

On the night the child died, documents say Crossland attempted to “feed” Christian shampoo. She then called her mother, and as she waited for her to arrive, she wrapped the child’s body in a blanket and put it in a trash bag.

Crossland’s mother arrived about two hours later and called an ambulance, and paramedics said they found the child “very emaciated.”

Crossland gave conflicting statements to paramedics and police, saying Christian fell and that she tried to revive him with CPR.

A pathologist who reviewed the child’s autopsy said there was no evidence that Christian had received CPR. The pathologist said the child weighed “a mere twenty pounds” and died from blunt-force injuries, starvation, and dehydration.

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