The Abuse Murder of 17-Month-Old Alissa B. Guernsey

 Kristy Sprunger knew she was unfit to care for her 17-month-old daughter, Alissa Guernsey, or her two older kids.  A mother with a history of drug and alcohol addiction, Alissa fell back into her old ways after her boyfriend and Alissa’s dad, Michael, was killed in a car crash.

Kristy entrusted her cousin, Christy Shaffer, and her husband, Matt, to take care of Alissa and her siblings as she attempted to cope with loss and grasp her addiction. Kristy planned for the kids to be with the Shaffers in La Grange County, Indiana, only for a short time.

Unfortunately, Alissa did not make it out of Christy’s home alive.

The abuse started soon after Christy took the kids.

The once bright-eyed, bubbly toddler became withdrawn, her face clearly showing sadness and misery. She cried constantly, as any child would who was getting kicked, slapped, and punched by an adult. Christy even went as far as to smash Alissa’s head into the wall and rip out her hair. 

Alissa had bald spots across her beautiful head and bruises from head to toe.

Christy took Alissa to a pediatrician, telling them the toddler’s hair was falling out of her head and the bruises were from her mother. She hoped people would think Alissa suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and that she had been born addicted to crystal methamphetamine.

Alissa endured four months of hell at Christy’s hands.

On March 28, 2009,  Christy, Alissa, and her two brothers drove in the car. At some point, Christy becomes enraged with Alissa. She removed the toddler from her car seat and beat her with her fists. She slammed Alissa’s head into the car seat until she fell unconscious.

Alissa slipped into a coma and died.

Christy placed Alissa back into her car seat, stopped by a McDonald’s drive-thru and the local movie store, and then returned home more than an hour later.

She took the kids inside the house, leaving Alissa’s lifeless body in the car for some time. Hours later, Christy called her brother. He rushed to her home and called 9-1-1. Paramedics rushed Alissa to the hospital. Doctors found that Alissa had open sores inside of her mouth, a broken arm, and bruises and cuts from head to toe.

Alissa was pronounced dead at 9:54 p.m. after doctors performed life-saving measures for more than 45 minutes.

Doctors determined Alissa had been dead for ‘several hours’ before she arrived at the hospital. Her cause of death was determined to be ‘prolonged abuse’, and her manner of death was homicide.

Shaffer was charged with neglect of a dependent and sentenced to serve 77 days in jail and placed on probation. In court, she told the judge Alissa was difficult to deal with. The judge blamed Alissa’s mother in part for the tragedy rather than the person in front of his face, the person who admitted she hurt the toddler.  He chastised Kristy because she used drugs and ‘gave’ her child to another person.

In 2013, Christy Shaffer was arrested for possession of methamphetamine. She faced up to 10 years behind bars after violating her probation. She served 3 years in prison.

Rest in Peace, Alissa.

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