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HARRISVILLE -- A mother accused of murder in her child's death will give up the right to parent her other children, the woman said in court on Thursday.
Adrienne Pavelka faces a child abuse and neglect petition after police arrested her on suspicion she participated in the alleged killing of her 2-year-old daughter, Jayde McDonnell, in July.
Appearing virtually in an Alcona County courtroom, Pavelka told the court she intends to sign papers terminating her parental rights to her two remaining daughters at a hearing next week.
The surviving daughters, aged about 4 years old and 9 months old, have been in temporary care since Jayde McDonnell died, allegedly after abuse and violence at the hands of Pavelka's boyfriend, Aaron Trout, in Alcona County.
According to police, Pavelka admitted she sought no medical care for the child for several days after Trout allegedly swung the child against a wall, causing devastating injuries that led to the child's death.
Pavelka's other daughters were not present when Jayde was fatally injured.
Trout and Pavelka have entered not guilty pleas in response to criminal charges related to the child's death.
Attorneys representing Children's Protective Services for the state extended the petition against Pavelka to include Gannon McDonnell, the biological father of Jayde McDonnell and the younger of Pavelka's other daughters.
The petition accuses McDonnell of knowing his daughters could be in danger but failing to protect them.
McDonnell declined to comment. His attorney could not be reached for comment.
CPS attorneys are not seeking to take away Gannon McDonnell's parental rights and are seeking reunification services, they said in court.
In a separate CPS hearing on Thursday, Trout, also appearing virtually from the Iosco County Jail, asked Judge Laura Frawley if he could visit with his children -- not Pavelka's daughters -- via videoconference.
Frawley denied permission for such a visit, at least until attorneys could discuss it further at an upcoming hearing.
Trout faces a petition, filed after Jayde McDonnell's death, seeking to terminate his parental rights.
A CPS case filed more than a year before the child's death alleges Trout neglected his three children but does not accuse him of abuse. He will next appear in court in the CPS case in December.
Trout and Pavelka are scheduled to be arraigned today in Harrisville's 23rd Circuit Court to continue toward trial on criminal charges of first-degree murder and child abuse.
Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.