An Emmett, Idaho woman has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies after authorities found the body of her granddaughter who had vanished last Monday. Connie Smith, 54, was initially booked into the Ada County Jail on a first-degree murxder warrant. Now, she is charged with felony failure to notify a death and felony destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence.
Taryn Summers, Smith’s granddaughter, was just 8-years-old at the time of her death. Her body was discovered inside a black trash bag inside a car on Smith’s property Thursday, CBS2 reports.
Connie Smith First Reported the Disappearance of Taryn Summers Monday, Saying That She Had Punished Her Granddaughter for Misbehavior.
Smith reported her 8-year-old granddaughter missing on April 12. She told a deputy that Taryn defecated on the carpet and used her hands to rub the feces into the carpet, court documents claim. The Probable Cause Affidavit (PCA) said Smith, on the same day she reported Taryn’s disappearance, carried her sleeping granddaughter from her Lexus inside her home and into a bedroom where she was given a time-out as punishment.
Authorities have all but confirmed the identity of the body as that of Taryn Summers, blacking out a name on the PCA except for the first initial, “T.”
Two days after the reported disappearance, the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue arrived at the grandmother’s property to conduct a search of the outside of the home. Both live scent and cadaver dogs were used but nothing was found.
According to the PCA, a second search was conducted on the property the very next day when the young girl’s body was found inside a black trash bag. It had been placed on the floorboard in the second-row seating area of a vehicle. After an autopsy, officials said Summers had vomit on her shirt and in her hair, not feces.
The PCA also stated that the vehicle was registered to Connie Smith’s son, Eugene Summers. At the time of the first investigation, “the information provided to law enforcement was Connie did not know where the key (was) for the vehicle.”
On Monday, a judge set Smith’s bail at $800,000 and scheduled her preliminary hearing for May 3.
“In reviewing the probable cause affidavit, the alleged conduct is disturbing,” the judge said at the time. “Report that the child was missing. Ultimately the discovery of the deceased child on the property, I believe two days later. The potential penalty, depending on the conclusion of the investigation could be severe.”
Taryn, along with relatives Tristan Conner Sexton, 16, and Taylor Summers, 14, were all last seen in Emmett on separate dates, the Gem County Sheriff’s Office stated. Authorities added that all three children lived in the same home. Tristan vanished in September 2020, and Taylor disappeared in October.
According to the East Idaho News, Sheriff Donnie Wunder told reporters the older siblings have been located and are not in any danger. While law enforcement officials have made contact with Taylor, Tristan was recently contacted by other family members, he said.
“We do not believe that they were recently with Taryn,” Wunder said.
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Should Smith post the $800,000 bond she would she would be compelled to wear an ankle monitor to track her location and ensure that she does not leave the area, CBS2 reports.
This is such a sad and grisly case. We hope more comes to light about the details of Taryn’s death that will offer a step towards justice for the little girl.