Judge pushes up trial date

By Eric Smith/Times Sentinel writer

Michael Stayer, 31, Zionsville, was formally charged with murder Wednesday, June 17 in the beating death of his ex-wife Beth Stayer, 34, Whitestown.

Stayer allegedly struck his wife repeatedly with a blunt object June 11 during a domestic dispute in his 2-year-old daughter’s bedroom. Beth Stayer, who was a nurse at Clarian North hospital, was pronounced dead the following afternoon at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The dispute occurred in the 6300 block of El Paso Street in Whitestown, where Beth Stayer had recently moved after the two divorced in May.

“Beth’s case is a horribly brutal case, and it really saddens us to see something like this happen to such a nice person,” Boone Prosecutor Todd Meyer said Wednesday after filing the murder charge. “My office is going to do everything it can to see justice is served in this case.”

Meyer asked Judge Steve David to move the jury trial up from its original Jan. 19, 2010, date. David tentatively set the trial for Oct. 19, pending agreement with Stayer’s attorney, who has not yet been named.

Stayer pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing Friday. He claims he was struck in the head by his ex-wife. The court granted Meyer’s request that Stayer’s head be shaved and monitored for any signs of injuries.

Stayer could face up to 96 years in prison if he is convicted of murder and an additional three separate battery charges.

Meyer said he could seek the death penalty for Stayer, but it is “way too early in the game to know” if this case will call for that.

“That’s something that my office is reviewing,” Meyer said.

The Boone Circuit Court released Tuesday a transcript of a June 12 probable cause hearing, providing testimony from officers at the scene and Jennifer Essex from the Department of Child Services.

Essex testified she spoke with the Stayers’ 5-year-old son.

“He heard thump — boom — crash and he heard mommy screaming,” she said. “He stated that he went upstairs and that there was red stuff coming out of everywhere and the red stuff was on everything.”

Essex said the child also “stated that dad had hit mommy” with both a hammer and another object. The child told Essex that Michael Stayer retrieved the object, possibly a tire iron, from the townhouse’s kitchen, took it upstairs, and then a short time later brought it back down and put it in his vehicle.

Zionsville Police Detective Chuck White testified he found traces of blood in Michael Stayer’s vehicle, and the tire iron set and jack assisted set appeared to be out of place — not in the typical storage location. The tools were found “underneath and at the rear of the driver’s seat almost in the foot section of the rear driver’s side passenger section,” White said.

When Essex asked the child whether he’d ever seen either of his parents strike the other, he said he was done talking.

According to police, Michael Stayer has never been arrested or convicted of a crime, and the couple had no reported instances of domestic violence.

Whitestown Police Detective James Fouch testified at the hearing that Michael Stayer called his brother, David Stayer, to the residence. Police believe a request was made to remove the truck and also some clothing for the children out of the residence. Fouch said David Stayer asked if the kids could be released to him (Fouch), and “was adamant about needing to get inside the home in order to retrieve clothing for the children. ...”

Fouch told the brother that Michael Stayer’s vehicle would be taken into police custody, and the children would be picked up by Child Protective Services. The two children remain in a foster home. A hearing is scheduled Friday morning in Circuit Court to determine their status.

The prosecution was given authority to seize Michael Stayer’s cell phone to access information, including text messages, voice mail and phone call times. The prosecutor also filed a motion to extract body samples, such as blood, and that motion was granted, Wednesday.

Michael Stayer’s omnibus hearing is set for July 31.

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