The Misery Machine - The Case of Elliaunna Plummer

Episode Date: November 24, 2023

This week, Drewby and Yergy head to Bedford, Indiana, to discuss the case of Elliaunna Plummer,  who was admitted to Riley Children's Hospital with a brain bleed, a broken collar bone, and facial bruising. According to her meth addicted mother, Cheyenne Hill, Elliaunna was "not a nice kid," and was going to be "the next Jeffrey Dahmer" one day. Mind you, little Elliaunna was just 20-months-old... Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Join Our Facebook Group: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime Source Material: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24000148-hill-pc-affidavit https://www.linkedin.com/in/calysta-herniter-38612a195 https://lawandcrime.com/crime/mother-allegedly-said-toddler-would-have-been-the-next-jeffrey-dahmer-made-her-eat-off-the-floor-because-she-is-free-range-and-called-the-girl-an-a-hole-after-she-died/ https://www.wbiw.com/2023/10/12/more-information-released-on-cheyenne-hills-michigan-arrest/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-werner-0926851b6 https://www.rileychildrens.org/find-a-doctor/physician/andrea-l-powers https://www.linkedin.com/in/calysta-herniter-38612a195?trk=public_profile_samename-profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-paul-563530a9

On November 23, 2022, at approximately 12.16 p.m., Detective Captain James Sloan of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department responded to a complaint at the IU Health Hospital located in Bedford, Indiana. Upon his arrival, he was met by Department of Child Services caseworker Emily Werner, who shared with him a shocking but all too common story on this channel. She told the detective that at approximately 11.01 a.m. that same day, a. A 20-month old girl named Eliana Margie Plummer, also known as Ellie, had been diagnosed with a brain bleed, a broken collarbone, and facial bruising. She was so bad off that she needed to be transported by helicopter to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis for more specialized care. And then, she shared with him the pictures that had been taken of the little girl prior

to her transport. Ellie's head was swollen and deformed, and bruising was visible on her forehead, both sides of her face and under her eyes. I wish we could say that the information we're about to present is surprising. Like in many of the cases we cover involving small children, not only were there signs of mistreatment, but a prior anonymous call to DCS as well regarding Ellie. Unfortunately, it's becoming far too common in cases such as these.

The first tip was received on November 17, 2022 at 126 p.m., just six days prior to the incident that brought Ellie to, to the emergency room. The caller reported smelling weed and what they described as a strong chemical drug-like smell coming from near the apartment where Ellie lived with her mother, Cheyenne Hill. The caller was concerned that Cheyenne might have been smoking crystal around Ellie and also shared with DCS the little girl had light bruises on her face, ones that appeared to be older and fading away. Allegedly, Cheyenne had told the collar that Ellie had fallen out of bed. The second tip was received on November 23, 2023 at 10.58 a.m., just minutes before Ellie was treated at

IU Health Bedford. Official documents list this call as an anonymous tip, but due to the time frame in the information provided, it's reasonable to assume that the call came from someone at the hospital. After this call, several other reports were made, including statements from friends, co-workers, neighbors, and Cheyenne herself. There is a veritable cast of care characters akin to the Canterbury tales that could have saved Ellie, but didn't. This does get confusing at times, so we'll try to keep things as clear as possible. According to the report, Ellie's injuries appeared non-accidental and were inconsistent with the explanation that Cheyenne had provided.

According to Cheyenne, Ellie had woken up at around 3.40 a.m. and was whining. It was then she noticed the swelling on her daughter's forehead, but didn't think it was serious enough to call for an ambulance. Cheyenne claimed that, as a mom, she would know if something was wrong with her baby, but later admitted that this was a failure on her part. The report also alleged an unreasonable delay, refusal, or failure on the part of Cheyenne to seek medical care for the little girl. Allegedly, rather than seeking medical care for Ellie, Cheyenne went to work and left her in the care of someone she had been staying with. The caller reported that Ellie had what appeared

to be three fingerprint marks on one side of her face and one on the other side. These injuries were consistent with someone grabbing and squeezing her face. According to the caller, Ellie was lethargic, half dead, and could barely hold her head up. Cheyenne claimed that Ellie went back to sleep and woke up at around 8 a.m. She was allegedly still sleeping, and Cheyenne could hear her snoring, which supposedly surprised her. Next, she chatted with her boyfriend Cameron Fleming for about 40 minutes before she was, she was before going back to check on her daughter. At this point, Ellie's skin was pale and her breathing was shallow.

Her hands and feet were tensing up. Cheyenne claimed she called her name out and poured water into her mouth, but Ellie did not respond. Next she flicked water under her face and Ellie allegedly responded with a moaning or grunting sound. Cheyenne opened up her eyes and noticed they did not dilate, but according to her, this seemed normal otherwise. She claimed she tried to get her daughter to respond or wake up until 9.30 when she ultimately left for work. Yes, she left her there. She shared that prior to leaving, she smoked some weed to try to calm down because she said she was worried and freaking out, but apparently not bad enough

to rush Ellie to the hospital. Next, Cheyne's boyfriend had some information to share with the authorities. Claim the day prior, Ellie's forehead was so swollen that she looked like a clingon from Star Trek. These were his words, not ours. Cameron claimed that Ellie had this injury for about 8 to 10 days, which somewhat aligns with the original DCS call placed on November 17th, except the anonymous caller claimed that Ellie only had light bruising. So what happened during that time to cause the extensive injuries to this little girl that required an emergency airlift to Riley Children's Hospital? Well, Cheyenne allegedly told Cameron that Ellie had fallen and hit her head on the end table,

but none of that adds up. You don't end up with a brain bleed, broken collarbone, and facial bruising by falling and balking your head on the table. And Cameron should have known better. Why, you may ask? Cameron knew that Cheyenne was a screwed up individual from the moment they became involved. According to Cameron, Cheyenne had a rather disturbing way of feeding her daughter, who remember isn't even too yet. She'd simply throw her food all over the floor and force her to eat. She referred to this as free roaming, but I think she meant free grazing, but also, I think we can all agree that Cheyenne isn't very bright. But that wasn't all. On October 7th, Cheyenne's

sent a text message to Cameron that read, and these are all her words, Ellie was effing terrible last night when we came back. I wouldn't stop crying. I wanted to throw her. On October 13th, she texted, let me get this asshole to bed. Later, when Cheyenne made it to work that morning, she said some pretty bizarre things to her coworkers that no doubt caught them off guard.

According to co-worker Evelyn Nunes, Cheyenne asked her, and I quote, Did you ever have a problem with your baby not wanting to wake up, while my baby won't wake up? She shared the same story with another coworker named Donna Fortner before nonchalantly continuing with her work. According to Evelyn, Cheyenne had told her she had a child that was born with a brain tumor that occasionally bled. Eventually, Cheyenne received a text from Cameron telling her she needed to come home to bring Ellie to the hospital. But these weren't the only bizarre and telling statements that Cheyenne had made to her coworkers. On November 11, Cheyenne told her coworker Sherry Davidson that Ellie was sick and that she may get a phone call to take her to the hospital.

She shared with her the story about Ellie having a brain tumor, but that story quickly changed. That same day, she told Sherry that Ellie fell off of her bed and hit her head on the hardwood floor, which caused her brain bleed. On November 18th, Cheyenne told Evelyn Nunes that Ellie had broken her collarbone and blamed the incident on an unnamed man that she lived with and claimed that this man didn't like Ellie. On November 21st, she told Donna Fortner that Ellie used to be beautiful, but now, in her own words, she was ugly. The following day, she shared with Donna that Cameron wouldn't mind marrying her if she didn't have a baby. Next to come forward was babysitter Michelle Barrow. Michelle had babysat Ellie on November 15th, 16th, and 17th from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. During that time, she noticed what she referred to as a goose egg on Ellie's forehead that

Cheyenne explained away as the result of Ellie falling from her bed. Cheyenne likes to use this excuse a lot. When Michelle told her she needed to take the little girl to the emergency room, Cheyenne claimed that she had contacted Ellie's pediatrician and was told the swelling should go down in a few days. But when Michelle babysat Ellie again on November 22nd, the swelling had only gotten worse. And this wasn't the first time that Michelle had witnessed such bruising on the little girl. When questioned about the bruises prior, Cheyenne claimed that Ellie had got her head stuck in the futon while upside down. As you'll recall from our Alexei Treviso episode, this is called entrapment or wedging and it's lethal to babies. In addition, Michelle's fiancé Kevin Cliff also

came forward to report what he'd observed on November 15th. He described the bruise on Ellie's forehead is being so pronounced that it caused swelling in the little girl's eyes and lips. He recalled that when he and Michelle told Cheyenne that she needed to take Ellie to the hospital, she said, and I quote, under no circumstances are you to call an ambulance or take her in yourself. I will make the decisions. That is my child. Next was Jeremiah Zulman, who was friends with Cameron and also lived in his building. He came forward to share that Ellie had two black eyes and her hair was

falling out. This was on November 15th, but he didn't come forward to the police or DCS. He shared this information with a friend via text message. I'm sure you're beginning to see a pattern here. Another neighbor named Carol Zulman, no relation was mentioned in the affidavit, came forward on December 9th and was interviewed by Detective Andrea Barnett. She shared that on November 1st, she observed what she thought was chocolate all over Ellie's face, but upon further inspection, realized it was bruising. When she questioned Cheyenne, she was told that Ellie randomly jumps off things and falls onto the floor. Cheyenne also claimed that Ellie pulled at her own ears and hair so much that she caused bruising and hair loss.

Before the conversation with Carol ended, Cheyenne allegedly looked down at Ellie and said, One day, she's going to kill somebody. But what was she talking about? Let's flash back to November 23. After Ellie was transferred to Riley Children's Hospital, she was seen by IU Child Protection Program nurse practitioner Andrea Powers. Ms. Powers reported that no accidental history provided would account for Ellie's traumatic and likely fatal injuries.

This was CA and medical neglect, but that's not all. On November 25th, Indiana Donor Network Family Services Rep. Aaron Lane made a note in her report that Cheyenne referred to Ellie, not a nice kid, and stated that she believed that Ellie would have been the next Jeffrey Dahmer. Because something wasn't right with her. Remember, Ellie is a 20-month-old little girl. On November 26, 2022, Eliana Plummer was pronounced dead at 435 p.m. According to Deputy Coroner, Callista Hernitner, the little girl was malnourished and approximately 10 pounds underweight. November 29th, an autopsy was performed by Dr. Amanda Paul, who works as a pathologist.

Aside from the clear malnourishment, Ellie had a laceration to her upper and lower frenulum, a right acute clavicle fracture, and multiple subgalial hemorrhages. Dr. Paul concluded that the manner of death was homicide. The cause of death was blunt forced trauma to the head. She also surmised that the injuries would have occurred after November 21, 2022. In December 7th, Cheyenne took a polygraph test that was performed by Indiana State Police Sergeant polygraph examiner Jason Sample. Some of the questions that were asked were, did you physically injured that girl's head?

Are you the person who physically injured that girl's head? And do you know for sure who physically injured that girl's head? Cheyenne answered no to all of these questions. According to Sargent Sample, Cheyenne's polygraph results indicated deception, meaning that in his opinion, she was not being truthful. In a post-polygraph interview, Cheyenne went on to tell Detective Captain James Sloan of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department that she failed the test because she felt like she failed Ellie.

No, Cheyenne. You failed her because you're a liar and a bad mom, in my opinion. When Detective Captain Sloan asked her why she went into work that morning rather than taking her daughter, who was dying, to the hospital, Cheyenne claimed that she had to provide for her daughter and that she was about to be homeless. When he questioned her about referring to Ellie as being the next Jeffrey Dahmer, Cheyenne just laughed and then proceeded to call Ellie, who was now dead, and asked her. On May 31st, 2023, Detective Captain Sloan submitted an affidavit for probable cause for the arrest of Cheyenne Hill.

The affidavit listed the charges as neglect of a dependent, support, and medical care, which is a level one felony in the state of Indiana. It is unclear as to why Cheyenne was not charged with homicide given everything we know about the case. case. A warrant was subsequently issued for her arrest, but months would go by before Shian was brought to justice. In September 16th, 2023, Shian was arrested in Forsyth Township, Michigan, after police pulled her over after an investigation into the theft of firewood from a campground. Allegedly, the Forsyth Township Torres Park Campground caught the crime on video surveillance and was able to provide the police with a description of Shian's vehicle. Shian, who was now 33 years

was arrested and lodged at the Marquette County Jail. She waived her extradition rights and was transported to Lawrence County on September 25th, where she was booked into the Lawrence County Jail. As this case is still developing, we will keep an eye out for updates as they become available. Ellie's funeral was held on Monday, December 5th, 2022 at Cresthaven Funeral Home. Her service was officiated by Pastor Darren Bolin. Ellie's obituaries shared little clues about her short life, other than she was born, born on March 25th, 2021 to parent Cheyenne Hill and Aaron Plummer in Louville, Kentucky,

and that she attended Blackwell Pentecostal Church with her mother. At the time of her death, she was just four months shy of her second birthday. One message that we always try to make clear in our episodes is that if you see something, say something. Up until the incident that landed Port Ellie in the hospital on November 23, 22, only one report had been made to DCS. In that report, the anonymous caller, only stressed the suspected drug use, not that they felt that Ellie was in any immediate danger. Several friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers knew that Ellie was being abused, yet no one came forward until after she was too far gone to be helped.

If just one person took it upon themselves to stand up to shine and call 911, Ellie might still be here today, but she's not. And this right here, this is why it's so important these stories are shared. So many people don't believe that a parent is capable of doing this to their child, and so many refuse to act when they see the warning signs. Until that changes, poor kids like Ellie will just be another statistic.