An Indianapolis mother charged with neglect after her 2-year-old son shot himself with her handgun is temporarily losing custody of her 9-year-old daughter.
Keiara Bickett, 28, broke down in court Friday, Sept. 5, as a judge issued a no-contact order preventing her from seeing her daughter. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office charged Bickett with neglect of a dependent resulting in death after her son, Javarius Bickett, fatally shot himself in the head on June 19.
According to police reports, officers responded to a CVS parking lot in the 2300 block of East 46th Street near Keystone Avenue just before 3 p.m. After a 911 call placed by Keiara, emergency responders found Javarius severely injured. He was taken to Riley Hospital and later pronounced dead, according to local NBC affiliate WTHR.
Court documents indicate Keiara’s 8-year-old daughter was in the front seat during the incident. She will stay with her grandmother until Keiara’s next court hearing on Sept. 22, when the judge will review the no-contact order with input from the Indiana Department of Child Services. Keiara has said she plans to hire an attorney before that hearing and must also find a separate place to live, as she currently resides with her mother.
In an interview with police, Keiara explained she was driving with her children when Javarius, initially in a car seat, was not buckled in. After stopping at a gas station and later at CVS, she checked her phone while trying to park. Court documents state she then heard a gunshot and found Javarius on the front passenger floorboard. She called 911 immediately.
Keiara told authorities she owns a 9mm Glock Model 26 Gen 5 handgun, usually kept in a zipped purse or stored at home. On the day of the incident, the purse was reportedly on the front passenger seat, between her other child and Javarius. Detectives recovered the handgun with a fired cartridge, along with a bullet in the backseat and a strike mark on the passenger side.
Keiara’s mother, Melissa Etheridge, continues to grieve for her grandson. Holding a framed photo of Javarius, she told reporters, “It was an absolute accident. She may have been negligent for not having the gun in a safe place, but she would never harm any of her children. She loves her kids to death. It’s tearing me up. It’s tearing her daughter up.”
Keiara faces a Level 1 felony, carrying a possible 20-to-40-year prison sentence if convicted. Etheridge added, “Everybody’s painting a picture of her that she’s an evil person. She is a great mother. She takes care of her children. She does not do anything that would ever harm her children. She takes very good care of them. They have everything they want, everything they need.”