HANCOCK COUNTY — The Greenfield man who was serving 20 years of probation after the death of his 4-month-old daughter in a hot car in 2012 had his probation restraints terminated this month.
Joshua Stryzinski is now free to go anywhere he chooses without permission from the court.
The decision was granted by a special judge, Kit Crane of Henry County Circuit Court. Crane is the same judge who was appointed to handle the sentencing in the case in 2013.
The decision by Crane to terminate the probation came over the objection of prosecutors, who argued the probation terms should not be changed.
Stryzinski had been placed on 10 years of formal probation and an additional 10 years of informal probation as part of a plea agreement in November of 2013 after the death of his daughter, Chloe Stryzinski. Chloe died after she was left in the back seat of a car by her father on a sweltering day in July 2012.
Stryzinski, who was 19 at the time of the child’s death, was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and was originally facing anywhere from 20 to 50 years in prison before he was sentenced to probation by Crane.
At the time of the sentencing, Crane told Stryzinski there was “no worse punishment” than what he was already enduring, saying prison time would serve no purpose.
Stryzinski’s attorney, James Voyles of Indianapolis, filed a motion on June 24 of this year asking the Judge to terminate his client’s probation. The motion said that since the time of the sentencing, Stryzinski had zero violations and had moved forward with his life.
Court documents state Stryzinski has paid the balance of his probation fees; married Chloe’s mother in 2015; and had a son in 2016. Voyles stated in the documents his client had a job opportunity in another state but couldn’t take it due to the terms of his probation.
Chief deputy prosecutor Marie Castetter said the state objected to any kind of modification to the sentence due to the fact the defendant’s guilty plea involved the death of a child.
Castetter suggested Stryzinski’s probation could be transferred out of state.
However, last week, Crane signed an order granting the motion for early termination of probation. Castetter said the judge’s decision is final and the state cannot appeal.
