KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Stephanie Porting has many fond memories of her 2-year-old daughter, Presley.
“She was a beautiful child,” Porting said. “She had a personality that was funny, and she was a very sweet, very soft, loving child. We were best friends.”
On February 7, 2017, the proud mom lost her little Presley. Gardner police said they were called to a home near Hickory and Kansas Streets to check out a report of a child not breathing. Investigators said Presley later died at the hospital. Prosecutors alleged the toddler was the victim of child abuse.
“I miss her just being here,” Porting said Friday. “I miss hearing her laugh. I miss hearing her trying to talk. She was an innocent victim and didn’t deserve this.”
Lindsey Thomasson, Presley’s father’s former fiancee, lived at the home with the child and her dad. On Friday, Thomasson pleaded no contest and a Johnson County judge found her guilty in the death of the toddler.
“It’s heartbreaking what she went through. My daughter just wanted to see her dad and her two younger sisters, and I truly, wholeheartedly thought she was safe,” Porting said. “And because of their issues or whatever was going on with them, my daughter was punished, and she did not deserve this.”
Porting said Presley died of “blunt force injuries to her head and abrasions on her torso.”
“I would like for Thomasson and whoever else is responsible to take accountability for their actions and let me know what happened,” the metro mom said. “Nothing is going to be sufficient enough. No time, no charges are going to be justice for Presley.”
Her daughter’s death has been extremely hard for Porting, who at the time and still today, was undergoing long-term treatment at a drug rehabilitation facility.
“I’m happy to say that I’m clean and sober today,” she said. “I didn’t put my hands on her, but my part in that was not being her mother. I should have stayed sober. I should have been there for her. She was angel. She brought so much light to my life, and unfortunately I didn’t realize it until it was too late.”
