By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
After sitting in an Escambia County Detention Center cell for two years without bond, an area woman who is charged with murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the 2023 beating death of her infant child, has been released on bond.
Shelby Shyanne Comalander, now 26, is accused of helping her stepfather-boyfriend inflict fatal head injuries on her 2-month-old child, who authorities say received “a series” of beatings before finally succumbing to the abuse.
According to court documents provided by Circuit Clerk John R. Fountain, Circuit Judge Todd Stearns changed his mind in April and granted Comalander a $50,000 bond after a second request was filed by her court-appointed lawyer, Atmore attorney Shane Cooper.
Cooper had filed an identical motion in February seeking a bond for his client, but Stearns had denied that request. The local lawyer also filed a motion that was basically a demand for a speedy trial.
According to a “Consolidated Appearance Bond,” Flomaton-based Central Bail Bonding (CBB) guaranteed Comalander’s next court appearance after an unidentified individual paid a 10-percent fee ($5,000) to the company. A CCB representative signed the surety/bail bond form, and Comalander was freed.
Further, Stearns issued an order delaying Comalander’s prosecution, which was to begin May 13, until at least after the current session of jury trials.
“By agreement of the parties, the trial in this case is hereby continued and will not be set on the June Criminal Jury Term,” read the judge’s edict.
According to Escambia County Sherif’s Office investigative reports, county detectives and Alabama Department of Human Resources personnel conducted in April 2023 a joint investigation into the suspicious death of a 2-month-old child, who had “numerous bruises to the body and had suffered head trauma.”
Comalander was arrested, as was Larry William Jackson, who had been married to Comalander’s mother, Crystal Darlene Jackson, until the woman’s death a month prior to the baby’s murder. Sheriff’s reports referred to Jackson as “stepfather to Shelby Comalander and boyfriend of Shelby Comalander.”
According to separate but identical criminal complaints filed against the two, the baby’s head trauma developed from the adults “striking (the child) in the head and face area, which caused a skull fracture and brain bleed.” The baby, which had been born in January, “was not old enough or strong enough to control his head movements as he was being struck, which in turn is what caused the injuries and death.”
A search of jail records indicates that Jackson has also been released. The details of that release were not available by Tuesday’s press deadline.
Comalander and Jackson shared a home on Riley Road, just outside Atmore, at the time of their arrests. According to the “bond sheet,” Comalander now lives in McDavid, Fla. Jackson’s whereabouts were not immediately known.