Photo: Savanna Lafontaine-Greywind/Facebook
ForAshton Matheny, the next two weeks will be filled with emotion.
Starting Tuesday, jury selection will begin in thetrial of William Hoehn, 33, who is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Savanna’s death.
“I think about Savanna every day,”Matheny, 22, tells PEOPLE ahead of the trial. “I hope justice is served.”
He has also been busy raising his daughter, Haisley Jo, who survived the attack on her mother when she was taken from her womb.
“I have to be strong for Haisley,” says Matheny.
The spunky, happy one-year-old is learning to walk, shakes her head ‘no,’ and “has a lot of personality,” Matheny says. “She’s quiet a lot but when she’s comfortable around people she talks a lot and will let out a happy scream when she’s excited.”
Courtesy Ashton Matheny
Savanna was killed after her neighbor, Brooke Crews, lured the pregnant woman to the Fargo apartment she shared with Hoehn, her boyfriend, offering Savanna $20 to model a dress she claimed she was sewing, court records show.
In December 2017, Crews pleaded guilty to murdering Savanna. In February 2018, Crews was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
On Sept. 4, Hoehn pleaded guilty to two lesser charges: kidnapping and providing false information to authorities in their investigation of Savanna’s death, online court records show.
He pleaded not guilty to conspiring to murder Savanna, setting up his Tuesday trial.
Child Says ‘Mama’ When She Sees Savanna’s Photo
Matheny has been called as a witness and says he believes he will testify in the trial’s second week.
He says he’s feeling anxious but is trying to trust in the legal system.
“I’m leaving everything in the hands of the law,” he says. “There’s not much I can do. We have to just sit back and pray that things stay on our side.”
Matheny cares for Haisley Jo most of the time, though she spends time with her grandparents, Savanna’s parents, Joe and Norberta Greywind.
Peter Bohler
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On Monday, he dropped Haisley Jo off with them. “They said it was easier if she was there with them to comfort them,” he says.
“She’s started to get braver when she walks,” he says. “The most steps she took was 14 consecutive stops recently before she fell over.”
She has been talking since she was six- or seven-months-old: “Her first words were ‘Dada,’” he says.
The little girl also says “Mama” because she is often shown a photo of Savanna, says Matheny.
When Matheny isn’t taking care of Haisley Jo, he’s going to school at a local college for business administration. He says he is working hard because he wants to be a good role model for his daughter.
“I don’t want her to see me down and weak,” he says. “I just keep moving forward — for me and for her.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Haisley Jo andAshtonwith child-raising expenses.
source: people.com
