Truth at last for a little girl lost

For nearly 13 years, the case languished. Now her mother and ex-stepfather are charged in the killing.

By DUANE BOURNE
Published December 4, 2004

	Vicki Anne Schober Grossberndt
	Jesse James Schober
	Megan Pratt

BROOKSVILLE - It was a bizarre case from the beginning.

Nearly 13 years ago, a 3-year-old girl with piercing blue eyes and chubby cheeks quietly vanished from her home in woods west of Brooksville, where she lived with her parents.

Just as strangely, no one seemed to notice that Megan Lee Ann Pratt was gone until her grandmother started asking questions - 10 years later.

Sarah Mowery had been told by Megan's mother and stepfather that the little girl had died in a car wreck.

But Mowery could find no death certificate, no gravestone, and no hope of anyone being held accountable.

Until this week. A deal between prosecutors and the mother could end years of tortuous investigation and solve a 13-year-old mystery.

But not without a cost.

"Clearly we thought it was a good agreement," said Hernando Sgt. Doug Campbell, who traveled as far as Wisconsin investigating the murder. "But if I would have to give my personal feeling, I would not have minded if she stayed in jail for the rest of her life."

Initially charged with first-degree murder, Vicki Ann Schober Grossberndt was allowed to enter a no contest plea to child abuse. She also agreed to testify against her ex-husband.

"She has maintained," Campbell said, "that Jesse was the one who inflicted the injuries that caused (Megan's) death."

On a night in 1991, Megan was sitting in her high chair eating and playing with her food like a typical toddler, according to accounts compiled by investigators.

Megan's behavior infuriated her stepfather, Jesse James Schober, who allegedly struck her on the head, prompting an argument with his wife, investigators said.

Schober then gave Megan a bath. When the child began splashing around in the water, he allegedly rammed her head against the side of the bathtub. The blow knocked her unconscious, sheriff's reports said.

The next day, investigators say, Megan was discovered dead in a bedroom.

Following up, Hernando investigators questioned Schober and Grossberndt, both 36. The two gave conflicting accounts of what happened. Someone who knew the couple told investigators that Megan was dead and buried in the woods.

Schober later put Megan's body into a sleeping bag, placed it in a hole and set the body afire, according to the Hernando Sheriff's Office reports.

Detectives believe the child was killed around April 1991.

Later that same year, the Schobers were evicted from their Hernando County mobile home. They left Florida and eventually divorced.

Megan's mother remarried, had another child and moved to Wisconsin. Jesse Schober was living in Elgin, S.C. when he was arrested.

Megan's disappearance, however, generated no official notice until Mowery, of Aynor, S.C., took her suspicions to the Sheriff's Office in 2002.

Following up, Hernando investigators questioned Schober and Grossberndt, both 36. The two gave conflicting accounts of what happened. Someone who knew the couple told investigators that Megan was dead and buried in the woods.

After a lengthy search the body was not found; no charges were filed.

Without a body, Megan's disappearance was handed to the cold case unit. Investigators, led by Detective Michael Nelson, pledged to find justice for Megan.

But lacking crucial physical evidence of a crime, investigators took months to build a case through interviews with those who knew the Schobers, and social workers who had contact with the family, sheriff's officials said.

A year later - on Aug. 20, 2003 - Schober and Grossberndt were arrested and extradited to Brooksville.

Prosecutors said they never received any evidence connecting Grossberndt to the alleged beating.

"Despite denying culpability in the child's death, she acknowledged that she was responsible," Assistant State Attorney Anthony Tatti said. "She had an obligation to protect the child and did not."

As part of her deal with prosecutors, Grossberndt pleaded no contest to aggravated child abuse and was sentenced to six years in prison. She gets credit for the 471 days she has spent in the Hernando County Jail.

Tatti said he could not comment on whether a plea deal has been offered to Schober, who is being held on murder charges in Hernando County Jail. He is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 17.

"This case is not over until the father's case is over," Tatti said.

In addition to wanting Megan's tormentors punished, investigators say they also want to give her the kind of final resting place she deserves.

"As far as searching, we are not going to do further searching until there are new revelations," Campbell said. "As far as giving up hope, no.

"The hope is that one day we will find her and give her a proper burial."

Duane Bourne can be reached at 352 754-6114 or dbourne@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 4, 2004, 00:47:21]