EMMETT, Idaho — The grandmother of a Gem County girl reported missing in April 2021 and later found dead has pleaded guilty to two felony counts related to the death of eight-year-old Taryn Summers.
On Wednesday, Connie Ann Smith, 54, of Emmett entered guilty pleas to felony injury to a child and felony failure to report a death, Gem County Prosecuting Attorney Erick Thomson announced Wednesday.
Thomson said the prosecutors, Smith and Smith's defense attorney attended criminal mediation in the case last week, and that Wednesday's plea is a result of that mediation.
Smith's granddaughter, Taryn Summers, was reported missing April 12, 2021, from her home on Airport Road in Emmett. According to court documents, Smith told the Gem County Sheriff's Office that Taryn had run away.
One day after Taryn was reported missing, her remains were found inside a trash bag in a car that was registered to Smith's son - a car investigators said Smith had been driving the day she reported Taryn missing.
Smith turned herself in and was booked into Ada County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, but prosecutors decided not to pursue that charge.
Smith's sentencing for injury to a child and failure to report the death is scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 8. She remains in the Gem County Jail, where she is being held on $800,000 bond. Smith faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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