Stillwater woman convicted of neglecting her three children

    (Stillwater, Okla.) — A Payne County jury took only 90 minutes to convict a 27-year-old Stillwater woman of neglecting her three young children, who were found living in shockingly deplorable conditions in a feces-filled trailer where they lived with their mother, her husband, grandmother and multiple animals, according to trial testimony last week.

    The jury, which was composed of six men and six women, recommended prison terms totaling 10 years for Lindsey Nichole Pratt — consisting of three years each for the neglect of her four-year-old girl and one-year-old boy plus four years for neglect of her 18-month-old baby.

    Payne County District Judge Phillip Corley ordered a background report on Pratt, who remains jailed pending her Aug. 23 sentencing.

    In her testimony, Pratt said she was born in Cushing, lived most of her life in Pawnee, and dropped out of school after the ninth grade.

    “I did not want to live in the house with Steven the way it was,” Pratt told the jury.

    Her husband, Steven Zackariah Kittle, 36, who remains jailed pending his Aug. 6 sentencing, had already pleaded guilty to neglecting all three children and sexually abusing the 4-year-old girl. Since he does not have a plea agreement with the prosecution, Kittle could be given as much as four life prison terms.

    Her mother-in-law, Robin Jean Kittle, 60, who pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of child neglect to avoid a trial this week, remains jailed pending her sentencing on Aug. 20.

    In her closing argument, prosecutor Debra Vincent emphasized that Pratt was the mother of all three children. She reminded the jury that Stillwater Police Detective Josh Carson “talked about how he could smell the home. He talked about that excrement on the floor,” and urged jurors to look at the photos of the children’s rooms.

    “She said Steven wouldn’t let her do things for her children. They weren’t being encouraged to learn and grow. Lindsey Pratt is not simple-minded. She is articulate. She is a master at blaming others.

    “She chose to confine her little children in that room. She chose ignorance and the impact those conditions were having on them. Lindsey Pratt’s children were neglected, and they suffered from that.”

    Her court-appointed defense attorney Royce Hobbs said in his closing argument, “Lindsey Pratt lived with two other adult people and three babies. The two women in the house were carrying the financial load. Steven didn’t work. On March 1 (2023) when the cops went in the house, she was not in the house.

    “Is Lindsey Pratt responsible for a child to be covered in feces when the cops knocked on the door? Is that her fault? She’d come home with $40 in her pocket and Steven would take it. Was she doing the best she could under the circumstances?

    “Nobody born on this earth has ever been a perfect parent,” the defense lawyer told the jury.

    According to an affidavit by Stillwater Police Sgt. Sherae LeJeune who assisted Detective Mary Kellison in the case, an investigation began in March of 2023 when the 4-year-old girl “disclosed the sexual assault to her grandparents during a visit, which prompted the intervention by DHS and law enforcement. The children would continue to be neglected had (the girl) not disclosed at the first opportunity.”