Three years into her life sentence for murdering a child, Lindsay Partin believes she can help prove her innocence thanks to a newly-discovered photograph.
In 2019, Partin was convicted of murdering Hannah Wesche, a three-year-old child she was babysitting for a neighbour. During the trial, it was put to the jury that Partin had shaken and hit the young child to death, then admitted her guilt before changing her story.
Fast forward three years and Lindsay Partin, now 40, has now given a series of interviews to The Metro and believes she could finally be able to prove her innocence using a recently-uncovered photo.
‘My words were misconstrued once before and it landed me here, so I am somewhat apprehensive,’ Partin admitted. ‘I want the world to know I am implicitly innocent. I would never hurt anyone, especially a child.’
Partin, a mother of two six and seven-year-olds, is currently serving her life sentence at a maximum-security women’s prison in Ohio, the Dayton Correctional Institution.
‘I love and miss my daughters so much it hurts,’ Partin said. ‘This is not how I envisioned motherhood.’
Having rejected a series of interview requests over the past three years, Partin has now decided to tell her version of events to the press in an attempt to clear her name.
There Were Warning Signs, Claims Partin
In 2017, Jason Wesche and his daughter Hannah moved into the house next door to Lindsay Partin and her partner Timothy J. Smith.
Hannah’s mother, Adrian Latham, had recently been sent to prison for heroin use and drug trafficking. Unfortunately, that drug use had a knock-on effect on Hannah, as she was born with a heroin addiction of her own.
Partin described that the toddler often wore crumpled clothes and sported stains from food or drink on her face. Jason Wesche was said to regularly wear dirty clothes and Partin believed the family were ‘struggling’ to get by.
Smith eventually offered Wesche a job at his construction company, and offered Partin as a babysitter for Hannah while the two men were at work. Lindsay has an associate’s degree in pre-childhood education but was frustrated at being handed yet another responsibility to go alongside her work and raising two young children of her own.
It didn’t take long for Hannah to win Lindsay over though, ‘It was easy to love her and take care of her,’ Partin says. ‘I wanted to give her stability, a place to come to and grow.’
‘I loved Hannah very much. She was mine, just like my two girls are. There was never a moment that she wasn’t part of the family.’
This babysitting agreement continued for the next eight months, with Partin watching Hannah every Monday to Friday unless her father had a day off. She was paid $35 per day for eight to 12 hours of work, although Partin claims Wesche was often late to provide that money.
Having spent so much time with Hannah, Lindsay claims she could spot the warning signs long before the tragic day itself. She even allegedly informed Wesche of severe headaches Hannah was experiencing. These headaches were put down to allergies by her father, who permitted Partin to treat the three-year-old with Tylenol.
In the week leading up to her death, Lindsay reports that Hannah had several incidents, including another severe headache, and two hard falls. Partin allegedly suggested that Wesche take his daughter to see a doctor for a possible concussion, although Jason told The Metro that Lindsay was ‘lying as usual’.
The Day Hannah Wesche Collapsed
Lindsay recalls that on the day of Hannah’s death, the toddler was dropped off by her father and collapsed not long after. She allegedly said the words ‘doughnut’ and ‘couch’ before falling forward and hitting her head less than two minutes after being left in Partin’s care.
‘I was scared, confused. I didn’t know what was happening. I thought it was just a fall and she would be fine,’ Partin explains, adding that she moved Hannah to the couch before calling Wesche and the police.
‘Something is wrong. I don’t know what is wrong. Hurry please,’ – Lindsay Partin’s words to the police during that call.
Paramedics were called out and Hannah was rushed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, while the eyes of the police immediately turned to Lindsay Partin or Jason Wesche. Both were questioned that very same day.
Lindsay was not allowed to visit the toddler in the hospital and was arrested the next day at 9 am. Partin claims that police officers then coerced a confession out of her, and she decided to ‘go along with it’ because she was distracted with her own daughter.
During this interrogation, Lindsay agreed when it was suggested that she hit, poked, and shook Hannah. She agreed again when they suggested Hannah was dropped, rather than the young girl falling on her own.
‘Because I thought they wanted those answers,’ Partin cries. ‘I feel like I never willingly answered them but just went with what their ideas were. I wanted the whole situation to go away.’
Ten days later, Hannah Wesche died from her injuries and Lindsay Partin was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and four counts of child endangerment.
Fingers Were Pointed at Lindsay
During the trial in 2019, Hannah’s grandfather made a damning statement, having spent every Sunday with the three-year-old during the final months of her life.
‘My granddaughter had bruises on her chest and when I asked her what happened, she said “babysitter”. And later she (Lindsay) confessed to the police that she had poked her in the chest,’ Latham claimed.
Despite the defence team trying to turn the tables on Jason Wesche, Lindsay Partin was found guilty on all charges seven days after the trial first started.
Lindsay recalls, ‘I was in shock. I never thought I would be convicted. Inside I was crumbling but I could hardly breathe or move. I remember looking back at my parents. My mom blew me a kiss and my dad raised his hand like, “I got you, I will fix it”.’
‘I didn’t hurt Hannah ever. That’s not who I am. I don’t deserve this.’
Lindsay Partin continues to blame Jason Wesche for the incident, although Hannah’s father has passed a number of polygraph tests in the years since.
There have been two appeals against Lindsay’s conviction to date, with more than $75,000 spent by her family on attorney fees, but she remains behind bars.
Partin Claims New Photograph Shows History of Bruises
Partin now hopes that a photograph taken on Hannah’s first birthday could prove her innocence, as it appears to show two dark bruises on the child’s collarbone, years before she ever met Lindsay.
‘In the beginning, I thought I would be out on appeal. So my girls have never come to visit. I wish every day I could see them and touch them,’ Lindsay told The Metro in an email. ‘I want them to know that Mommy thinks about them every minute of every day and I love them to the moon and back.’
‘I have to get out of here before my mother dies of a broken heart and my girls forget who I am.’
Partin admits that she still talks to her daughters and Hannah while alone in her cell.
‘I tell her I love her, and I loved taking care of her.
‘If I do get out, I want to advocate for innocent people.
‘This is a nightmare I would never wish on anyone.’