Kathryne Tillett v. State of Indiana

CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 24, 2026
Docket25S-CR-00231
StatusPublished
AuthorJustice Massa

This text of Kathryne Tillett v. State of Indiana (Kathryne Tillett v. State of Indiana) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kathryne Tillett v. State of Indiana, (Ind. 2026).

Opinion

FILED Apr 24 2026, 1:07 pm

CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court

IN THE

Indiana Supreme Court Supreme Court Case No. 25S-CR-231

Kathryne Tillett, Appellant-Defendant

–v–

State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff

Argued: December 4, 2025 | Decided: April 24, 2026

Appeal from the Floyd Circuit Court No. 22C01-2202-F1-212

The Honorable Justin B. Brown, Judge

On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals No. 24A-CR-01413

Opinion by Justice Massa Chief Justice Rush and Justices Slaughter and Molter concur. Justice Goff concurs in parts II and III and dissents in part I with separate opinion. Massa, Justice.

A state statute sets a deadline for filing a notice of insanity as a defense in a criminal case. A court may, however, upon a showing of good cause, allow a defendant to file a late notice.

The appellant in this case asks the Court to find the trial court abused its discretion by denying her belated insanity defense request. As she failed to provide good cause for her extensive delay, we decline to do so. We also reject her arguments that the evidence presented was unreliable and inadmissible under the Protected Person Statute and that her sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the crime and character of the offender. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court.

Facts and Procedural History Kathryne Tillett was charged with two counts of child molesting for alleged conduct with her two young children E.W. and I.B. In January 2022, then seven-year-old E.W. approached her first-grade teacher and asked her to write a note to her mother, Tillett. E.W. said, “I need you to tell my mom to quit hurting me.” Tr. Vol. III at 105–06. When asked what she meant, E.W. stated that “she hurts me down there.” Id. at 107. E.W. then explained “she puts her finger inside of me and makes me bleed.” Id. Her teacher was aware that E.W. had a younger sister, who was three years old at the time, so she asked whether her mother did the same thing to I.B. E.W. responded that Tillett “touches her too, but she doesn’t make her bleed.” Id. E.W. told her teacher that this was occurring on a daily basis before the children would take a bath or shower.

Tillett was arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation as Level 1 felonies. The trial court held a hearing and set the omnibus date (the procedural deadline for any pretrial proceedings) for April 26, 2022. On two occasions the trial court granted a continuance after Tillett’s counsel said that he was awaiting the results of a psychological evaluation.

Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 25S-CR-231 | April 24, 2026 Page 2 of 13 In February 2023, in Tillett’s related Child in Need of Services (CHINS) case, Dr. Amanda Pfeffer diagnosed Tillett with schizophrenia, stimulant use disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, and a personal history of childhood sexual abuse.

Then again, in April 2023, Dr. James Anderson filed a forensic evaluation which concluded that Tillett had a mental illness. He observed her engaging in behaviors typical of psychosis, in particular “she appeared to have a difficult time sustaining attention to [his] questions, as if distracted by internal stimuli.” Appellant’s Appendix Vol. II at 71. He diagnosed her with “Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder and Methamphetamine Use Disorder.” Id. at 72. He opined that she could understand the proceedings against her but was not “presently capable of assisting in the preparation of her defense.” Id. at 73. His report concluded that there was a good chance she could be restored to competency with treatment.

However, in July 2023, a different doctor, Dr. Heather Henderson, concluded that Tillett could assist and participate in her defense, had basic understanding of the court proceedings, and was “clearly competent to stand trial.” Id. at 86.

In September 2023, at a competency hearing, Tillett presented testimony of Drs. Anderson and Henderson. Dr. Anderson stated that Tillett had difficulty paying attention to her questions, and that she was distracted by “internal stimuli,” which can include “voices in the head” and “intrusive thoughts.” Id. at 46. Finding Tillett lacked the ability to understand the proceedings and to assist in the preparation of a defense, the trial court continued the trial date. Tillett was committed to the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction for competency restoration services.

In January 2024, the Superintendent of the Indiana Neurodiagnostic Institute and Advanced Treatment Center filed a letter based on a report by Dr. Anjum Ara, concluding Tillett had gained competency and “can

Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 25S-CR-231 | April 24, 2026 Page 3 of 13 now understand the court proceedings and assist in preparing her defense.” Id. at 108.

Based on this report, the court scheduled a final pretrial conference date and set a jury trial for April 15, 2024. However, on April 3, 2024, just twelve days before trial, Tillett’s counsel filed a Motion to Permit a Belated Notice of Insanity Defense arguing that though he had concerns about her mental state, “it was not until [Tillett] completed a psychological evaluation through a related CHINS case[s] that the reality of her severe mental health needs and their potential impact on this case began to take focus” and she only “completed that psychological evaluation through a provider selected by the [DCS] . . . on December 2, 2022, with the report completed on February 25, 2023.” Id. at 139–40.

Tillett’s counsel also notified the court that he served as her counsel on the CHINS cases and was “unable to have a logical, coherent conversation with [Tillett] at any point in 2023.” Id. at 140. He stated that even following her commitment and return to Floyd County Jail, Tillett “is still incapable of having a meaningful, substantive conversation about the facts, evidence, and legal issues in this case.” Id. at 140–41.

The trial court entered an order denying Tillett’s motion. The court mentioned “the lack of evidence presented regarding [Tillett’s] mental health history and diagnoses,” “the extremely belated timing of the request,” “the absence of an acceptable explanation for the timing,” and “the risks of [Tillett] again decompensating while in custody.” Id. at 202.

A jury found Tillett guilty of Level 1 felony molest of both children. At sentencing, the caseworker testified that during a clinical interview and assessment in Tillett’s CHINS case, Tillett was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and “other stimulant use disorder in remission.” Tr. Vol. VI at 16. The court sentenced Tillett to forty years for each offense to be served consecutively for an aggregate sentence of eighty years.

Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 25S-CR-231 | April 24, 2026 Page 4 of 13 In a split decision, a majority of the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, finding the trial court abused its discretion in denying Tillett’s motion to permit the belated notice of insanity defense. Tillett v. State, 255 N.E.3d 1235 (Ind. Ct. App. 2025). Chief Judge Altice dissented, finding no abuse of discretion and no showing of good cause. Id. at 1241 (Altice, C.J., dissenting). The State sought transfer, which we granted, thereby vacating the Court of Appeal’s decision. Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A).

Standard of Review We review a trial court’s decision to deny a belated motion to assert an insanity defense for an abuse of discretion. Zamani v. State, 33 N.E.3d 1130, 1135, 1141 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015), trans. denied.

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Kathryne Tillett v. State of Indiana, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kathryne-tillett-v-state-of-indiana-ind-2026.