Scott City woman to remain free until April trial

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Scott City woman accused of leading her daughter under a train that severed the girl's arm will remain free until trial, a Butler County judge ruled Tuesday.

Scott County assistant prosecutor Dana Weis had sought to return Glenda Ross, 35, to jail for violating the conditions set when she was released in December. In Tuesday's hearing, Weis withdrew the request, and Circuit Judge Mark Richardson ordered Ross to have no unsupervised contact with children.

"He wanted to make it abundantly clear that she can sit in jail or she cannot supervise children," Weis said after the brief hearing.

After conferring with Weis and public defender Jacob Zimmerman, Richardson ordered a trial on April 26. Both attorneys said they expect a one-day trial.

Ross faces three felony counts of child endangerment for the train accident. On the afternoon of Oct. 30, Ross was watching her two daughters, Mikayla and Cierra Morrow and a friend of the girls at her home on Second Street in Scott City. Ross and her boyfriend took the girls for a walk and they attempted to go under a train that was idle as it waited for a second train to pass in the opposite direction.

As Mikayla Morrow crossed under, the train began to move, severing her arm.

Ross' former husband, Timothy Morrow, declined to discuss the case when contacted Sunday at his home.

When she was initially released Dec. 5, Ross was ordered to have no contact with children. An evaluation was ordered to determine if she could see her own children.

Scott City police officer Joseph Hahn, in a statement filed on Dec. 19, reported that he had learned that Ross was driving a child to St. Louis for medical treatment.

In the sworn affidavit, Hahn said he contacted the child's grandmother, Betty Richards of Jackson, who confirmed that Ross was alone with the child "and explained she was fearful" for the child's welfare.

Since that trip to St. Louis, Ross has been ticketed twice by the Missouri State Highway Patrol for driving without insurance. Charges in both cases were filed Monday in Cape Girardeau County. One ticket also included a charge that Ross was driving without a seat belt.

The condition denying Ross unsupervised contact with children won't create any hardship for her, Zimmerman said after Richardson's ruling. Ross lives in Scott City in a household that includes her father, brother and sister-in-law and their children.

Under Richardson's ruling Tuesday, Ross cannot babysit those children or drive them anywhere without a second adult present.

Mikayla and Cierra Morrow were with their mother for visitation when the Mikayla was injured. The ruling Tuesday allows visitation, Zimmerman said, as long as another adult is present.

If convicted at trial, Ross faces up to 21 years in state prison.