Whitestown Mother of Two Dead After Beating

I heard an interview this morning on the radio...when the 5 year old boy was questioned by authorities, the boy told what he had heard. "My dad and mom were fighting, and my mom was getting sicker and sicker, and then she was dead." Oh how my heart cries for this little boy...

By Chris Sikich, The Indianapolis Star
Posted: June 13, 2009

WHITESTOWN, Ind. -- A Whitestown nurse died a day after police said she was beaten bloody and unconscious with a hammer in her upscale townhome.

Her ex-husband will be charged with murder next week, authorities said.

Michael Stayer, 31, Zionsville, had called police to report he'd been beaten with a hammer by his wife, but paramedics and authorities found more than his injured hand. Beth Stayer, 32, was unresponsive in her 2-year-old child's bedroom in the new townhome they shared with her 5-year-old, police said.



The Stayers had divorced last month, said Whitestown Police Chief Dennis Anderson, although investigators weren't sure what led to the beating.

Beth Stayer, a nurse at Clarian North Medical Center in Carmel, died about 1 p.m. Friday in Methodist Hospital, police said. Several members of Beth Stayer's family from West Lafayette were with her at Methodist, but they declined to comment, according to police and a spokeswoman at Clarian.

Both children were inside the brick, three-story townhome in the 6300 block of El Paso Street during the beating, police said. Anderson wouldn't say whether the children saw the attack. They were placed with Child Protective Services.

She had bought the townhome in the upscale Anson community within the last two weeks, the police chief said.

Michael Stayer was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery and domestic battery, police said. He was held without bond in the Boone County Jail, Lebanon.

Neighbor Chase Stuart, 30, bought one of the other five units in Beth Stayer's building last month. Other than exchanging friendly waves when she moved in soon afterward, Stuart had never met Stayer.

After getting home from work Thursday night, Stuart was surprised to see about 15 police cars. He learned what had happened from a group of shocked neighbors gathered outside.

"You hear about domestic battery in the news every day, but when it happens in your neighborhood a few doors down, it really hits home," Stuart said.

Another neighbor, Bob Jordan, 47, is a pastor who moved in across the street from Beth Stayer last month. Jordan said he hopes the "tragic" event underscores the need for battered women to seek help.

Jordan said he sees domestic violence too much in his line of work and knows it's in every community.

"It's just sad to think about the pain and suffering," he said.


Rest in peace, dear Beth.

See original article from The Indianapolis Star here.