The Tennessean
Tuesday, 01/16/07
Father says daughter accused of giving her son meth was set up
By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF
Staff Writer
The father of a Warren County woman accused of letting her child ingest methamphetamine defended his daughter Monday, claiming the woman was set up.
Helen Bonner of Morrison was arrested Friday on charges of child abuse and neglect after the woman and her 21-month-old son tested positive for meth, authorities said. Bonner had taken her child to the hospital after he became ill.
Bonner's father believes someone intentionally spiked her beverage with methamphetamine in an effort to take her child away.
"She told me, 'Daddy, why would I give my child meth? That would be stupid,' " Jimmy Bonner said. "If she did that, I would prosecute her myself. I know my daughter, and she wouldn't do that."
Helen Bonner, 38, was being held on $50,000 bond in the Warren County Jail, her father said.
Jimmy Bonner said police were told of the theory that the meth was put in Helen Bonner's drink but didn't appear interested in pursuing the charge. The woman was arrested a couple of years ago on meth charges and underwent treatment, her father said.
Herb Rowland, chief investigator for the Warren County Sheriff's Department, said much of the staff was off Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and could not provide additional information about the case.
The boy was not seriously injured and is in the custody of Jimmy Bonner.
"I will not let anybody stand out there and paint my daughter as a villain," Jimmy Bonner said. "It was not intended for the child. Now she has to pay the ultimate price for someone else's stupidity. What it boils down to — I know it was a set-up deal. Someone set her up to try to kill her by putting something in her drink or to get her thrown in jail."
Tuesday, 01/16/07
Father says daughter accused of giving her son meth was set up
By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF
Staff Writer
The father of a Warren County woman accused of letting her child ingest methamphetamine defended his daughter Monday, claiming the woman was set up.
Helen Bonner of Morrison was arrested Friday on charges of child abuse and neglect after the woman and her 21-month-old son tested positive for meth, authorities said. Bonner had taken her child to the hospital after he became ill.
Bonner's father believes someone intentionally spiked her beverage with methamphetamine in an effort to take her child away.
"She told me, 'Daddy, why would I give my child meth? That would be stupid,' " Jimmy Bonner said. "If she did that, I would prosecute her myself. I know my daughter, and she wouldn't do that."
Helen Bonner, 38, was being held on $50,000 bond in the Warren County Jail, her father said.
Jimmy Bonner said police were told of the theory that the meth was put in Helen Bonner's drink but didn't appear interested in pursuing the charge. The woman was arrested a couple of years ago on meth charges and underwent treatment, her father said.
Herb Rowland, chief investigator for the Warren County Sheriff's Department, said much of the staff was off Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and could not provide additional information about the case.
The boy was not seriously injured and is in the custody of Jimmy Bonner.
"I will not let anybody stand out there and paint my daughter as a villain," Jimmy Bonner said. "It was not intended for the child. Now she has to pay the ultimate price for someone else's stupidity. What it boils down to — I know it was a set-up deal. Someone set her up to try to kill her by putting something in her drink or to get her thrown in jail."
