Gainesville woman indicted on charges of murdering 3-month-old baby girl

An Ozark County grand jury has indicted Gainesville resident Sondra F. Clark, 41, with second-degree murder in connection to the 2015 death of a 3-month-old baby. 

Clark was arrested Nov. 14 in the case and is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond. She appeared in court for a plea hearing or trial setting before Circuit Judge Craig Carter during Ozark County Law Day, Nov. 23. She is scheduled to next appear in court before Judge Carter on Dec. 7.

According to the probable cause statement prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Sherman, the department received a phone call on Aug. 26, 2015, on the dispatch’s 911 line reporting that an infant, identified as M.P. in the court documents, was unresponsive. The child was pronounced dead that day, and an investigation into the death was opened by the sheriff’s department. The cause of the death was later determined as arrhythmia due to hypoxia, or an irregular heartbeat that lead to low levels of oxygen in the baby’s body tissues, causing changes in breathing and heart rate. 

The Ozark County Sheriff’s Department’s administration at the time, under the direction of former Sheriff Darrin Reed, determined through an interview with Clark that she was babysitting and taking care of the infant, having picked the baby up the night before and watching her that day. 

Clark reportedly told officers that while she was babysitting she was under the influence of drugs. A toxicology analysis confirmed that Clark was under the influence of a controlled substance at the time. 

Officers were told that Clark had the baby sleeping in the bed with her at some time during the night while she was under the influence of drugs. 

“While in a drug-induced state, Sondra rolled over while sleeping on the infant, which resulted in the unresponsiveness and ultimate death of the infant. The interviews that were conducted at the time under the 2015 Ozark County Sheriff Department Administration present an environment, from various statements, that Sondra was in the direct control of the deceased infant while consuming drugs…which resulted in a life-threatening environment. It was reported from others and Sondra that she had made a stop an undisclosed location after she took custody, care and control of [the infant] prior to returning to her residence in Udall,” the report says.

If convicted of the class A felony of second-degree murder, Clark will face 10 to 30 years in prison or life imprisonment. 

The grand jury indictment is an official charging procedure in which a jury of Ozark County residents hear preliminary evidence gathered by law enforcement and determine if charges should be brought against a defendant. It can used in place of a county prosecutor filing charges. The defendant who is indicted is still presumed innocent until he or she is found guilty through either a plea or trial conviction.