One day after charges were formally filed against Melody Townsend in connection with the death of her child in 2017, she faced a Cook County judge via Zoom for the first time.
Townsend faces felony child endangerment charges in addition to concealing and aiding a fugitive, according to Markham officials.
Judge Luciano Panici granted her a $20,000 bond with special conditions, including electronic monitoring. Townsend is also not allowed to leave the state of Illinois.
"This is disrespect to this case and disrespect to this child," said community activist Andrew Holmes.
Holmes, who was in court for the proceeding, was outraged by the decision.
"This is wrong. She should have had no bond," he told NBC 5. "The mother knew, and she hid it for six years."
Holmes is credited with helping investigators find Townsend after she and the child's father, who so far has not been named, disappeared out of state immediately after investigators found Ana Marie Townsend's body.
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In the summer of 2017, firefighters responded to a fire at a vacant home on Hamlin Avenue in south suburban Markham. After it was declared arson, investigators found the baby's remains in a plastic bag in the attic.
"This baby needed some help, so we walked the streets and did what we had to do to try to speak for this baby because this baby couldn’t speak for herself," said Holmes, referring to his actions in the aftermath of the grim discovery.
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Through canvassing the community, Holmes was connected to the child's grandparents. He turned his information over to detectives who eventually tracked her down in California.
In bond court Friday, prosecutors allege Townsend left her 12-month-old daughter with the child's father in the hotel they were living in while she went to work in July 2017.
"When [she] returned," according to prosecutors, "she walked into the hotel room and observed [the victim] on the bed. The [victim] appeared to not be breathing, and had aspirated." They go on to say, "Melody took a shower and when she exited the shower, the child's father had [the victim] in a car seat."
"Melody did not try to render aide, did not call 911, did not ask [the child's father] where he was going and did not attempt to stop [him]. This was the last time [she] saw the [baby]," said Kathryn Morrissey, a deputy supervisor with the Cook County State’s Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors then allege Townsend and the child's father lied about the whereabouts of Ana Marie before ultimately cutting ties with their family and moving out of state.
An autopsy later revealed the child did not die in the fire and suffered previous injuries.
"No soot was identified on the child’s airway, which supports that the victim was dead at the time of the fire," said Morrissey.
"There were four well-healed fractures on the left ribs, as well as healed fractures to both the femur and the tibia," she continued.
The case remained unsolved for years until a significant break this week. Townsend was arrested in California and brought back to Illinois Tuesday to face charges.
Markham's police chief said the department will continue working to find the girl’s killer.
