Murder of Alissa Guernsey

In November 2008, Alissa Guernsey enjoyed her 1st birthday. The glad infant always had a smile on her face. Soon after her first birthday, her father, Michael, was killed in a car accident. Kelli Sprunger, Alissa’s mama, had a record of drug and alcohol abuse and shortly returned to her old lifestyle after the death of her husband. She requested her cousin, Christy Shaffer, to take care of Alissa realizing that she could not. Christy and her husband Matt resided in La Grange County, IN. They accepted Alisa and her three brothers and sisters. Quickly, the sharp and happy one-year-old became a personal punching bag for Christy. Her glad face no longer emitted happiness but instead, reflections of the pain she suffered each day.

Christy hit the baby any time she liked to, but she also kicked her, slapped her, pinched her, and smashed her skull into the wall and other items. In January 2009, Alisa had bald spots from Christy ripping out her hair. She was wounded from head to toe. She took Alisa to doctors during this time, saying them the girl’s hair was falling out and that she was bruised from being tickled. She expected people to think Alisa had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and that she was born addicted to meth.  

Alisa suffered more than four months of everyday abuse from Christy. On March 28, 2009, Christy was going with Alissa strapped into her car seat. Two of Alisa’s siblings were also in the car. At some point, Christy pulled Alissa out of the car seat and started beating her. She picked the baby by the head and banged her into the car seat until she was lifeless and slipped into a coma. She then died of the pains. Christy left the baby back in the car seat, went to the available McDonald’s drive-thru and ordered food for the other kids, and rented a film from the local movie store before going back home. 

She brought all of the kids out of the car, eventually returning for Alisa’s dead body. Several hours later, she phoned her brother. He hurried to the home and phoned 9-1-1. Alisa was brought to the hospital where doctors attempted unsuccessfully for 45-minutes to save the girl. She was declared dead at 9:54 p.m. Doctors concluded that she’d been dead for hours before coming to the hospital and that her death was caused by lengthy abuse. She had a damaged arm. She had empty sores inside her mouth. She was covered in scrapes from head to toe. The M.E. declared the death a murder. 

After a short inquiry, Shafer was charged with neglect of a dependent and convicted to 77 days in prison. She said the court the baby was hard to handle. The judge accused the mother when he sentenced Shaffer. The judge criticized Sprunger for her drug use and accused her, in part, for her daughter’s loss.

She was imprisoned again for meth charges in 2013. She serves 3 years for the meth crime.

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