VIENNA — The Vichy area woman who was charged with murder in the second degree for the death of her 13-year-old handicapped daughter, Ashlyn Ellis, who was home alone and could not get out of the residence that burned in March 2019, last Friday plead guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

In Pulaski County last Friday, Tracy J. Ellis, 43, of Drury, MO, accepted the plea deal offered by Maries County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony “Tony” Skouby and pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, first degree, death of child, no sexual conduct. The felony charge of murder, second degree, was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

The class A felony carries a range of punishment of not less than 10 years to life in prison.

Circuit Judge William Hickle accepted the plea from Ellis and ordered a sentencing assessment report (SAR). A sentencing hearing for Ellis was scheduled for June 5, 2020.

Skouby said a murder charge is very technical and he’s not sure if a jury would have convicted Ellis as the prosecution had her leaving the child alone at the home, but it was the fire that killed Ashlyn. There were space heaters left running and several dogs in the home and there was no way to prove how the fire started. Skouby said a guilty plea from Ellis with no agreement of punishment was “a good victory” for the prosecution in this case. “Murder is hard to prove and we could not prove who started the fire.” He also thinks the jurors would have had a lot of sympathy for Ellis, who had lost her husband to drowning and there are other children in the family. Skouby said the children’s grandparents were fine with the plea agreement. He said he’s glad to put the case behind him.

The fire that took the life of Ashlyn Ellis, 13, was on March 17, 2019, at MCR 438, St. James. Three days after her daughter perished in the fire, Tracy Ellis was charged with the two class A felonies. She was allowed to attend Ashlyn’s funeral accompanied by a sheriff’s deputy.

Following the tragic fire and after charges were filed, Sheriff Chris Heitman said it was Ashlyn’s 16-year-old brother who called for help and said his sister, who was disabled and could not speak or walk, was trapped inside the burning mobile home. Vichy Volunteer Fire Department firemen responded quickly, but were unable to save the girl. There was a lot of damage to the structure.

At the time, the sheriff said he was going to wait until after the funeral to ask for the charges to be filed. But, after an autopsy was performed in Columbia he changed his mind. The sheriff said he believes the teenager was neglected as the autopsy indicated she had not been fed or given drink for 24 hours. There was soot in her trachea and her lungs. Her diaper contained excessive amounts of urine and feces. She was unable to get out of bed or out of the mobile home.

Arriving at the fire scene that day, a sheriff’s deputy, Greg Andrews, attempted to call out to the girl and did not receive a response. A bookcase and a dresser were against the window and any attempt was futile to rescue her due to the obstruction created from the furniture, heat and smoke. The firemen and Deputy Andrews observed a wooden gate with metal spring-loaded hasp only accessible from the outside of the bed that may have prevented Ashlyn from getting out.

During the investigation, officers discovered Tracy Ellis had left the residence, knowingly leaving Ashlyn unattended for several hours. She went to work and her son went fishing. The son told deputies he would have stayed with Ashlyn at the home but was not told his mother was leaving. Sheriff Heitman said Ashlyn could not take care of herself and certainly could not escape from a burning residence.