A Burke County woman convicted of second-degree murder for a fatal 2012 DWI crash has continuously written letters to the victim’s father, the man said during a court hearing on Monday.
Childers
David Britt said he has felt harassed because April Cheri Childers sends him letters around the anniversary of his son’s death and his son’s birthday. Britt made the statements during a session of Catawba County Superior Court on Monday.
On April 13, 2012, Ashley Shane Britt died in a traffic crash on N.C. Highway 127 in Hickory when a car driven by Childers crossed the center line and collided with Britt’s vehicle. Britt was 37 when he died.
Ashley’s father David Britt said that even after moving to Wake County, Childers found his address and continued to write. He said he does not want to hear from Childers anymore.
“One of these letters is telling me how now she is a grandmother. She’s got five grandkids,†David Britt said to Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson. “She killed my son, sir. I will never have the opportunity to be a granddad. He was my only child.â€
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Judge Wilson told Childers to stop contacting the victim’s family.
On Sept. 17, 2013, Childers, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated felony serious injury by motor vehicle in the death of Ashley Britt, according to a previous Hickory Daily Record article.
Childers was previously convicted of driving while impaired on May 6, 1997 in Burke County, July 8, 2003 in Caldwell County and on May 10, 2006 in Catawba County, according to a previous Hickory Daily Record article.
David Britt said he was upset to be back in court because he thought this case was over with.
Childers was in court because she was requesting that the nearly $13,000 in restitution she was ordered to pay the family be made into a civil judgment. Childers said that she has not paid any of the money because she is not allowed on work release due to a medical condition.
Wilson ordered Childers to pay the family $12,701.40. The restitution was to cover the cost of the funeral, tombstone and graveyard plot, David Britt told the court.
“It’s not about the money to me,†Britt said. “It’s about the court ordered this. She needs to do what the court said.â€
Young drivers are already higher-risk than other age groups due to their inexperience, their likelihood of being distracted while driving, and the higher prevalence of dangerous behaviors like speeding or not wearing a seatbelt.
