A Kemmerer resident charged with First Degree Murder and Child Abuse has waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Circuit Court, moving the trial process directly to District Court.

Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred said Cheri Marler, 51, will now be arraigned in Lincoln County’s District Court in Kemmerer in 2-3 weeks.

The charges against Marler stem from the death of a 5-year-old Annabelle, a Kemmerer girl who passed away in a Salt Lake City Hospital on Saturday, November 26. Annabelle was found unresponsive on November 25 after Marler called 911. Marler had been the caretaker of the child and her sibling since September. It was determined by investigators and medical personnel that the injuries that caused the child’s death were consistent with abuse. Marler eventually admitted to investigators that she had hit and kicked the child. Initially she claimed Annabelle’s injuries were caused by an accidental fall down the stairs and from falling off a swing set.

A candlelight vigil was held in Kemmerer’s Triangle Park on Monday, December 5 in honor of Annabelle.