Rural Alaska

Barrow trial underway in death of 3-year-old from exposure

A Barrow jury of 12 will be asked to decide whether Esther Edwards-Gust, 30, of New Stuyahok was to blame in the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Miley, in Barrow in 2012.

The death gained national attention. Miley and her 1-year-old sister had been locked inside a room with an open window in Barrow the night of Feb. 2. The temperature that night was estimated at 30 below zero, and both girls were discovered extremely hypothermic the following afternoon.

Police said the children were locked in the room with the window open because they had wet their beds.

Edwards-Gust was a second-grade teacher in Barrow at the time and was living with Richard Tilden Jr. while finalizing a divorce from her husband.

Tilden, now 31, of Dillingham, had apparently been responsible for watching the girls during the day while Edwards-Gust was teaching. He woke up around 12:30 p.m. and called authorities after discovering the naked girls were cold, blue and not breathing.

He had been drinking heavily the night before. Police found two whiskey bottles on the floor. There was evidence of an assault on Miley. Both girls were rushed to the hospital in Barrow before being airlifted to Anchorage. Miley did not survive, but her younger sister did.

After a lengthy investigation, a grand jury indicted Tilden on second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Tilden and Edwards-Gust were both indicted for manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and second-degree assault. Edwards-Gust allegedly went briefly on the run after being indicted.

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In April 2013, Tilden pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and criminally negligent homicide. As part of the plea deal, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and 10 years of probation. Protesters took to the streets in Barrow, calling the sentence too light.

Edwards-Gust was released on $10,000 bail. She was arrested again later in 2012 for violating the conditions of her release when she was found passed out in New Stuyahok. The Office of Children's Services had been notified that a child reported her mother was passed out at home while taking care of her 2-year-old sister. The VPSO was able to awaken Edwards-Gust at 1 p.m. at her home. She had a blood-alcohol content of .034 percent, according to the trooper affidavit.

The state will prosecute Edwards-Gust on four charges: two counts of second-degree assault, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide. She is represented by attorney Rex Butler.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday, Sept. 3 in Barrow. The court has the trial scheduled for up to two weeks before Judge Michael Jeffery.

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