The story of Shanesha Taylor could have had a happy ending.We’ve told you about her before. After Taylor was charged with two counts of felony abuse for leaving her two children in the car while she went for a job interview, she was given a second chance. Her plight (and her tear-stained mugshot) tugged at the heartstrings of the Internet, and donations came pouring in. When all was said and done, around $114,000 was raised to help her and her children.
Prosecutors in her case took notice. They offered her a deal. She could avoid going to jail, and the charges would be essentially dropped, if she just put part of that money into a trust fund for her kids.
Earlier this month, she missed the dealine for creating that fund. She now faces an early December trial, for which she is unbelievably also soliciting donations from the public to help with her defense. Her previous lawyers have reportedly quit, citing a breakdown in both communication and trust between them and their client. There are also reports that Taylor had not paid her attorneys. As a result, she has been assigned a public defender.
Reverend Jarrett Maupin, a local civil rights leader and former supporter of Taylor’s, has raised several concerns over where all of that money has gone. After he worked to arrange jobs for Taylor that she never showed up to take, he has told reporters about a tip his office received on where some of that money might have gone. As he told ABC15 reporters:
Taylor, not surprisingly, has stated that she has not spoken to Maupin since July. She also states that such allegations are“libel or slander”.
Taylor may end up needing even more legal help, as now some donors from the original fund are considering a lawsuit against Taylor to get their donations back. While she did release her monthly budget, which showed expenses of $4,172.50, there are several line items which have raised some eyebrows for a family where the breadwinner is not working.
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