SMITH COUNTY, Texas — Jurors listened to the opening statements in a case involving a Smith County woman who is accused of abusing her adopted twin sons who were 13 years old at the time.
Testimony began Tuesday for Cheryl Layne, a nurse practitioner. She is charged with four counts of injury to a child with the intent to cause bodily injury.
Whitehouse school counselor Debbie Craigen says she saw bruises on the boys and reported it to CPS. She said one of the boys told her, Cheryl kicked him in the stomach during a physical incident with their father, Tyler Police Department veteran Mark Layne.
"They said that they were fearful for their lives because they had been threatened," Craigen said.
Another person who took the stand was the Smith County detective Jennifer Stowell, who took the initial report from the twins. She told the court about an incident the twins shared with her.
The boys claimed they were putting together bunk beds, when Cheryl got upset about the room being a mess. She allegedly grabbed one twin and slammed him against the wall. Then grabbed an arrow used for archery and beat the children. The detective said the twins were fearful, shaken and nervous during the initial interview.
"He was afraid that his mother would kill him for making a report," Stockwell said.
Prosecutors showed the court several photos of bruises and other injuries the twins suffered. That incidents described in court Tuesday was just part of the long list of alleged abuse laid out in the arrest affidavit.