A Mitchell woman accused of murdering a 5-year-old boy in June 2020 is set to appear before a judge Thursday after she was charged with assaulting a Davison County corrections officer in September.
Julia Lee Carter, now 23, has been held at the Davison County Jail since June 22, 2020, when she was arrested and charged with murder and child abuse in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy. Now, she's facing another felony after authorities say she assaulted a corrections officer during a cell check.
Court documents say that shortly after 10 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2021, two corrections officers entered Carter's cell at the Davison County Jail to conduct a search after they witnessed behavior on a security camera that they deemed suspicious.
In the process of the search, Carter was standing in a doorway, completely nude. Officers instructed her to sit inside her jail cell to avoid exposing herself to other inmates and jail staff that may have been moving around the facility. Carter allegedly refused.
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After repeating the order, officers say Carter said "f--- you," and "intentionally and forcefully spit" on the face of a corrections officer.
Carter was charged with assault by bodily fluids on a corrections officer in a county jail, a Class 6 felony, which is punishable by two years in prison, a $4,000 fine or both. She's set to appear before a judge at the Davison County Public Safety Center at 10:04 a.m. Thursday.
In her other criminal case, Carter could be sentenced to life in prison — the statutory minimum for a conviction of second-degree murder.
"Class B felony: life imprisonment in the state penitentiary. A lesser sentence may not be given for a Class B felony."
- South Dakota Codified Law §22-6-1
In September 2020, attorneys for Carter argued that the "highly emotional" nature of the case should be cause for the trial to see a change in venue . That motion was denied.
Though the court had granted a motion to conduct a psychiatric evaluation to determine Carter's mental fitness to stand trial, a judge has ordered she be tried before a jury beginning Dec. 9 — nearly 18 months after her original arrest.
