VIENNA — Tracy M. Ellis, 43, of MRC 438, St. James, was wearing the Maries County Jail’s orange jumpsuit for her arraignment last Thursday in Judge Kerry Rowden’s court. She appeared to be calm and waived the reading of the charges against her. Three days after the home fire that claimed the life of her 14-year-old daughter, Ashlyn Ellis, Tracy Ellis was charged with two class A felonies of second degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.

At the arraignment, Judge Rowden said he would set bond on April 1 when she was back in his court for a counsel status hearing and bond setting. Judge Rowden said if she applies for a public defender then posts bond, she won’t be able to use the public defender.

He said she will be allowed to attend her daughter’s funeral. Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Scott John volunteered to take her to the funeral and bring her back to jail. She was in handcuffs when she signed the waiver of reading the charges in open court.

Ellis remains in the Maries County Jail following the incident last weekend when her single wide mobile home burned while Ashlyn was there alone and apparently trapped in her bed. 

Sheriff Chris Heitman said it was Ashlyn’s 16-year-old brother who called for help and said his sister, who was disabled and could not speak or walk, was trapped inside the burning mobile home. Vichy Volunteer Fire Department firemen responded quickly, Heitman said, but they were unable to save the girl. Heitman said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. He said there was a lot of damage to the structure. 

Initially, Heitman said his plan was to file charges against Ellis after the funeral. However, an autopsy performed in Columbia last Tuesday changed his mind. The sheriff said he believes the teenager was neglected as the autopsy indicated she had not been fed or given drink for 24 hours. There was soot in her trachea and her lungs. Her diaper contained excessive amounts of urine and feces. She was unable to get out of her bed or the burning home.

Heitman said when Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Andrews arrived on the scene of the fire last Sunday,  he was told the handicapped girl was still inside the residence. Deputy Andrews attempted to call out to the girl from along the north side of the mobile home, but did not receive a response. A bookcase and a dresser were against the window and any attempt was fruitless to rescue her due to the obstruction created from furniture, heat and smoke, the probable cause statement said.

St. James Fire Department firemen, Zane Hunter and Scott Mcwhorter, along with Vichy Fire firefighter Logan Prigge, were the first to make entry into the mobile home. They said they had to utilize a halogen bar to get to the girls’ remains from a closed and latched gate affixed to the bed she was lying on. Deputy Andrews observed the bed and noted it contained a front gate with wooden boards affixed. The wooden gate was installed with a metal spring-loaded hasp, only accessible from the outside of the bed, preventing the girl from getting out. The boards and the gate were taken off in order to remove the girl’s remains. Maries County Coroner David Martin pronounced her dead at 12:25 on March 17.

In field interviews conducted at the scene by Deputy Andrews, Sheriff Heitman, and Lt. John, it was discovered Tracy Ellis, mother and caretaker, had left the residence, knowingly leaving Ashlyn unattended for several hours. She went to work while her son went fishing. The son told deputies he would have stayed with Ashlyn at the home but was not told his mother was leaving. Sheriff Heitman said Ashlyn could not take care of herself and certainly could not escape from a burning residence.

Ellis told the deputies that Ashlyn could not walk and could not speak. She was required to be fed pureed food and she could not feed herself. She told the sheriff “She would scream like some sort of zombie. It was horrible,” the probable cause statement said. Heitman and a deputy attended the autopsy. 

The investigation also discovered a 2017 incident about a lack of supervision of Ashlyn from the Department of Family Services and a traffic fine for failure to secure a person under 16 years of age. 

Ashlyn Ellis has two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister. Their father died about five years ago. Heitman said the two children are currently living with their grandparents.