- A stepfather has pleaded guilty to child endangerment in the case of a 3-year-old girl who was found dead on softball field, while the mother pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in Delaware court.
- The couple was arrested in Pennsylvania in October 2020, more than a year after the child’s body was found.
- Both were originally indicted on felony charges of child abuse, child endangerment and hindering prosecution involving Emma’s death.
The stepfather of a 3-year-old girl whose burned remains were found on a softball field several years ago has pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges, according to a plea agreement unsealed Friday by a Delaware judge.
Brandon Haas, 41, pleaded guilty in March to one felony count and three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. None of the offenses carries mandatory prison time, although the felony count carries a maximum sentence of five years behind bars. Probation is the presumptive sentence for each of the four counts.
The plea agreement was unsealed one day after Haas’ wife, Kristie Haas, pleaded guilty to murder by abuse or neglect in the 2019 death of her daughter Emma Grace Cole. Kristie Haas also pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Kristie Haas, 31, is scheduled to be sentenced July 10, the date her trial was to begin. Sentencing for Brandon Haas, who has been cooperating with prosecutors, is expected to be held sometime in the fall.
The plea agreement was sealed following a partial gag order imposed in June 2021 restricting what attorneys can say about the case, which has drawn widespread media attention.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ADDS MORE THAN $120 MILLION TO DELAWARE GOVERNOR’S PROPOSED BUDGET
The child’s body was found in September 2019 by a person walking a dog through Smyrna-Clayton Little Lass Fields, a softball park near Smyrna Middle School in central Delaware. At the time, Emma lived with her parents and three siblings less than a…
