Mother Of 2-Month Old Who Died Sentenced To 2+ Yrs. In Prison

The Fond du Lac mother of a 2-month old child, who was convicted of first degree reckless homicide, received her sentence Tuesday (3/15/2022).

District Attorney Eric J. Toney announced that Judge Dale L. English sentenced Shauntina R. Fuller-Pankey to 796 days of initial prison confinement and 20 years of extended supervision, a 22 year bifurcated prison sentence.

The sentence stems from the death of her 2 month old child that occurred on Merrill Ave. back on June 25, 2018.

District Attorney Eric Toney stated “the death of an infant is heartbreaking and even more so when the child’s mother is responsible. There is never enough prison time to adequately value the life of a child and find justice. This outcome does not feel like justice but the case presented unique challenges, including proof issues, and it was crucial to the investigative team that we find some measure of justice for Rehloari. This conviction and sentence minimally does that by protecting the public and Rehloari’s sister from this defendant.”

In handing down the decision, Toney said a number of things played into the sentence.

The State faced significant challenges in proving this case because one of the lead investigators, former City of Fond du Lac Police Department Detective William Ledger, has significant Brady/Giglio issues leading the State to refuse to prosecute any future cases involving this former Detective.

The former detective’s issues led to in camera inspections by the courts and a special master being appointed to review his personal records and documents related to the criminal referral for his actions while he was a police officer. As the result, the Courts have ordered the disclosure of significant Brady/Giglio materials that had a direct impact on this prosecution to include:

1) Circumstances of the criminal referral related to mishandling of evidence and improper use of the TIME System,

2) Racial Bias,

3) Misogynistic content,

4) Mishandling of evidence,

5) Failure to turn over evidence/discovery directly related to this case, and

6) Other issues and circumstances related to the credibility of this former detective.

District Attorney Toney continued “Despite the Brady/Giglio issues of one former investigator, the City of Fond du Lac Police Department and their investigators worked tirelessly for years in an effort to obtain justice for this this little girl and I’m proud of their work and the prosecution team’s effort, which all helped secure this conviction and some measure of justice for our 2 ½ month old victim that would have been 3 years old.”

Fond du Lac Police Chief Aaron Goldstein said “Our criminal justice system is built on trust and our Police Officers are key piece of that system. Our community deserves the highest standards of integrity and trustworthiness from the officers that serve them and the Fond du Lac Police Department views the public’s trust as sacred. Our department is committed to upholding that trust along with our core values to build and maintain trust in our community through a culture of understanding, caring, compassion, and professionalism.  I am grateful that the District Attorney’s Office was able to provide accountability for this crime and justice for our 2 ½ month old baby that was killed by her mother.”

This case was prosecuted by District Attorney Eric Toney and Assistant District Attorney Kristin Menzl.