From the Office of District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District
A Madison County jury has convicted Priscilla Ann Barnett, 57, of First Degree Murder, Murder During the Perpetration of Aggravated Child Abuse, and two counts of Aggravated Child Abuse.
On October 30, 2018, Emergency Medical Services along with deputies of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department were called to the 100 block of Cane Creek Road in Jackson, Tennessee in response to a call regarding an unresponsive 3-year-old child. Upon arrival, EMS and deputies found 3-year-old Serenity Yancey, the grandchild of Barnett, unresponsive and appearing to be severely malnourished.
Serenity was found to have passed away with the Medical Examiner finding after an autopsy that the cause of death was malnourishment, and the manner of death was homicide. Another 4-year-old child found in the home was also found to be severely malnourished, but she has recovered from the condition in which she was found.
After a two-day trial and deliberating for only 40 minutes, a jury convicted Barnett of all counts in the indictment and in doing so imposed a total $250,000 in fines.
On June 21, 2021, Judge Donald Allen sentenced Barnett to a total effective sentence of Life in Prison for the counts of First Degree Murder, Murder During the Perpetration of First Degree Murder, and two counts of Aggravated Child Abuse
At a separate, more recent proceeding, the mother of the children, Chasity Yancey, who was also charged, was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity based upon the findings of mental health experts. On November 23, 2021, she was placed with the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
“All homicides are tragic but when the victims are children the tragedy is amplified. Serenity had no chance to fulfill her life’s promise,” said District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District, “This case stands as a reminder that unfortunately child abuse still occurs all too frequently in our community.
“It also reminds us that while most victims who survive child abuse suffer for the rest of their lives, there are those whose lives are ended all too soon. We must do all we can as a community to protect those on the margins of life: the old and as in this case, the very young. Barnett will spend the rest of her life in prison where I hope she is reminded daily of the torture she inflicted on 3-year-old Serenity Yancey.”
The case was prosecuted at trial by Deputy District Attorney General Shaun Brown and Assistant District Attorney General Al Earls. The case was investigated by the Sergeant T.J. King of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department assisted by Special Agent Felicia Stacy of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
(PHOTO: District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District)
