From Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — Another new trial date has been set for a Trussville woman who was charged with aggravated child abuse and attempted murder.
According to court documents, Kala Kameron Blakely’s trial date has been set for August 26, 2024, at 8:30 a.m.
Circuit Judge Kandice Pickett granted a continuance from the previous trial date which was April 15, 2024.
Related Story: UPDATE: Attorneys for Trussville woman charged with attempted murder say claims are ‘ridiculous’
Blakely has been indicted for attempted murder. The indictment placed online on Monday revealed that the grand jury returned two indictments against Kala Blakely of Trussville. One for aggravated child abuse and another for attempted murder.
A months-long investigation led to Blakely’s arrest, according to a police report and jail records.
Blakely was charged with aggravated child abuse of a non-family member. Blakely was taken into custody at 5 p.m. and booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 12 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. She is being held without bond.
Related Story: Trussville woman charged with attempted murder, child abuse free on bond
Blakely was arrested following a grand jury indictment, according to Trussville Police Chief Eric Rush.
“This investigation began months ago and it was an exhaustive investigation that involved interviewing multiple witnesses and medical professionals,” Rush said at the time of the arrest. “Our investigators turned the information over to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and they took the case to the grand jury.”
The Trussville Police Department began an investigation into a possible child neglect case on Jan. 21, 2021, after being contacted by Jefferson County DHR.
Investigators received information that a 12-year-old Spanish-speaking child may be the victim of neglect, at the hands of her adoptive mother, according to a statement released by the Trussville Police Department.
Related Story: UPDATE: Trussville man arrested for attempted murder released on bond
After a joint investigation involving the Trussville Police Department, DHR, Prescott House and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the child showed signs of physical abuse as well as neglect, police said.
According to Trussville police, the child was originally admitted into Children’s of Alabama and upon release, investigators found the adoptive mother refused to follow doctor’s orders, according to a statement from TPD. The child also suffered bruises, scratches and lacerations on her spine, legs, arms, and feet, and had lost a significant amount of weight.
“The details of this investigation are very disturbing to me,” Rush said. “Our detectives took this case and did an excellent job in protecting this child from further abuse.”
Birmingham attorney John Lentine who is representing Blakely called the charges ridiculous.
“Kala Blakely is nurse practitioner, a teacher, a missionary, and a loving and devoted mother of three who did not travel to Columbia to adopt a special needs child into her family just to bring that child home to try to kill that child,’’ Lentine said. “The accusation against her is ridiculous. Mrs. Blakely was not even afforded the right to defend herself at a preliminary hearing because the state hurriedly placed the case before a grand jury wherein they could control what evidence was presented and what evidence was not presented.”
Kala Blakely’s husband, Bartley Blakely, 42, was also arrested for attempted murder in compliance with the case with his wife. He is also awaiting trial.
Blakely formerly served as a UAB Assistant Professor, DNP, CRNP, NP-C, and is a two-time alumna of UAB School of Nursing and board certified by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, specializing in adult primary care, according to the school website. She operates Hometown Family Medicine in Moody.