Jury convicts Greenwood woman in 13-year-old murder

<strong>A</strong> Greenwood woman with a history of mental illness was convicted Friday of murdering her aunt more than 13 years ago.

Following a week-long trial, a jury convicted Stephanie Ann Bryant, 58, of murdering Stella Morgan, 83 at the time, in the days leading up to Christmas Eve 2006, at Morgan’s home in downtown Greenwood.

Biologically, Morgan was Bryant’s aunt, but those involved in the case say Morgan raised Bryant and Bryant called her “mom.” Bryant was charged with Morgan’s murder in late 2006, but was deemed incompetent to stand trial in early 2007. She was released from Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital, a psychiatric hospital on the west side of Indianapolis, in late 2018, after hospital officials said Bryant’s competency had been restored.

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Morgan died of blunt force trauma to her head after she was beat to death with a hammer, the lead detective on the case testified earlier this week.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour Friday before handing down the verdict: guilty but mentally ill.

Jurors were asked to consider four possible options, not guilty; not guilty by reason of mental illness; guilty but mentally ill; and guilty by Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew S. Roesener, who presided over the trial this week.

Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva and deputy prosecutor Megan Smither prosecuted the case for the state. Jennifer Wilson Reagan and John P. Wilson, of the Wilson and Wilson law firm in Whiteland, made up Bryant’s defense.

Bryant’s sentencing is set for Feb. 20. It was unclear Friday what her sentence might be. She will be evaluated for treatment options through the Indiana Department of Correction, Villanueva said.

<strong>‘She played Whack-A-Mole with her head’</strong>

Smither laid out the case for the jurors in the prosecution’s closing arguments. She said the state had proved Bryant killed Morgan, and had a mental illness.

“We aren’t hiding that she has mental issues,” Smither said.

The deputy prosecutor laid out what they believe happened the day Morgan was killed based on the evidence. Prosecutors believe Bryant dragged Morgan into the shed by her forearms and locked her inside. They believe Morgan attempted to escape the shed, based on where her blood was located, the condition of the bottom of her feet and the angle of her body when she was found.

Prosecutors theorized Bryant then entered the shed again and hit Morgan 15 times with the hammer. Their theory of what happened that night left no questions unanswered, Smither said.

“There is no question this was done knowingly or intentionally,” she said. “She played Whack-A-Mole with her head.”

Smither also argued Bryant’s deviation from her daily routine, which was laid out for jurors earlier in the week, proved she knew she had killed Bryant.

Prosecutors asked the jury to find her guilty.

<strong>‘She didn’t know she killed her … she didn’t’</strong>

John P. Wilson delivered closing arguments for the defense, conceding there is overwhelming evidence Bryant killed Morgan.

However, her mental health status at the time of the crime is unclear, he said.

“Was Stephanie Bryant mentally ill on Dec. 23 or Dec. 24?” Wilson said. “Clearly. No one believes that she wasn’t.”

Wilson laid out the evidence which showed Bryant had a mental illness, including expert testimony from Friday morning, and her stays in psychiatric hospitals.

However, Bryant maintains she did not remember what happened and she did not kill Morgan. Bryant’s lack of memory and adamant denial proves she was mentally ill at the time of the murder, Wilson argued.

“There was no scheme to deed in order to inherit money,” he said. “She was mentally ill.”

Wilson also told the jury they did not have to necessarily listen to the expert witnesses who said they do not believe Bryant was mentally ill at the time of the murder.

“She didn’t know she killed her mother. She didn’t,” he said.

The defense asked the jury to find her not guilty by reason of insanity.

<strong>No doubt she was ill</strong>

Two mental health experts who had evaluated Bryant late last year both testified Friday morning. They made it clear Bryant struggled with mental illness, and said she had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the result of mental health evaluations after Morgan’s death.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia symptoms include: hallucinations; delusions; and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that she was actively ill at the time,” a psychiatrist testified.

One of the questions jurors were asked to consider is whether Bryant’s mental illness made her aware that murdering her aunt was wrong. Both of Friday’s witnesses said they believed she appreciated the wrongfulness of her actions.

Pains were taken to clean up part of the crime scene, including hiding Morgan’s body in a shed on the property, putting the hammer used to kill her in a kitchen drawer, and putting the key to a padlock used to lock the shed back where it belonged, the psychiatrist said.

Bryant was also strategic when interviewed by police to not place herself at her mother’s house around the time of the crime, he testified.

“It is my opinion, Ms. Bryant appreciated the wrongfulness of her actions,” the psychiatrist said.

Jurors were given the chance to question both mental health professionals following their testimonies. A juror asked if the psychiatrists believed Bryant knew what she was doing when Morgan was killed.

“Based on the available evidence,” one of the psychiatrists said, “I think she appreciated the action at that time.”