COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A Colorado Springs couple will stand trial for murder and child abuse in the January death of a 4-year-old girl.
An El Paso County judge made that ruling Wednesday during a preliminary hearing for 23-year-old Chrystie Marie Hardy and 25-year-old Mark Alton Friend.
They are accused of causing the death of Hardy’s daughter, Madyson Bogard. She died at a Colorado Springs hospital Jan. 16.
An arrest affidavit indicated Madyson had arrived at the hospital a day earlier with a massive blood clot in the brain. The affidavit said Hardy initially told police the girl had fallen on some ice, but investigators said she had bruises on her arms, knees and forehead and signs of sexual abuse.
An arraignment hearing for Hardy and Friend is scheduled for Sept. 29.
