“What Does it Mean to Have a Sudden Urge to Beat a Child That’s Not Yours?”
“What Does it Mean to Have a Sudden Urge to Beat a Child That’s Not Yours?”
Fallon Lynn Friedley was born via emergency C-section on September 27th, 2018, to then 25-year-old mother Kristen Friedley Gant in Hollywood, Florida. She weighed 10 lbs 3 oz and was born 5 days past her due date at Memorial Regional Hospital. During this time, Kristen sat alone in the maternity ward, hooked up on a Pitocin drip, waiting for her little girl to arrive.
Her mother and sister were 700 miles away, racing against time to be with her. Fallon’s biological father had been screaming at Kristen over the phone so badly that it spiked her blood pressure. This was the last time the two spoke. At the time of our story, Fallon was 2 years old and living in Woodstock, Georgia.
A Bright Light in the World
Fallon was an outgoing toddler with blonde hair, blue eyes, and chubby cheeks. She had an expressive face and a bright smile that would light up any room. Fallon never met a stranger and loved talking to people. Her family described her as an absolute angel on earth; she was an active child that loved to sing and dance.
In October of 2020, when Fallon was just 2 years old, Kristen went on to marry Fallon’s stepfather, Cameron Gant. Although Fallon wasn’t his biological daughter, Cameron adored the little girl and treated her as if she was. Fallon even called him “Daddy.” Fallon was loved by all that knew her, including her mother, grandmother Cheryl, aunts Stephanie and Cindy, as well as her whole extended family.
Fallon loved animals, especially her kitten, Mr. Butters. She also had a favorite stuffed animal named Lovey that was always with her. Her love of creatures, both living and plush, was a trait that Fallon got from her mother. At the time of our story, Kristen was working as a veterinary technician at the Furkids Animal Rescue Shelter Sanctuary in Atlanta, which is Georgia’s largest no-cage, no-kill animal shelter and rescue organization.
The Search for Childcare
If you know anything about shelters down south, Kristen was doing the Lord’s work. Fallon was attending daycare while Kristen was working to save the lives of animals in need. That was until August of 2020, when the daycare closed due to financial reasons stemming from the pandemic. This put Kristen in a predicament, as she needed childcare for Fallon during the day while she worked.
Thankfully, Kristen’s close friend of 5 years, 29-year-old Kirsty Flood, was a stay-at-home mom. She too had a daughter named Harper, who was 3 years old at the time. She and Fallon were best friends. The two toddlers even went trick-or-treating together. Kirsty also had a newborn baby boy. Kirsty seemed like a loving, doting mother, and according to Kristen, she treated Fallon like one of her own.
It seemed that this arrangement was the answer to all of Kristen’s troubles. Unbeknownst to Kristen, however, her friend wasn’t what she appeared to be on the surface. Many of Kirsty’s friends thought of her exactly how Kristen did—as a kind, generous, loving mother. According to her friend Sher Travis, “Children are her whole world. She posts about her children every day. She’s an amazing mom. She would never hurt a child.”
A Dark and Hidden Past
However, Kirsty had her fair share of run-ins with the law. In fact, then 29-year-old Kirsty had been arrested five times before the age of 21. She racked up a laundry list of charges, including battery, alcohol/substance abuse, and possession.
February 2010: Arrested and charged with battery, underage possession, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and criminal trespass. Kirsty and two co-defendants were ordered to stay away from a 16-year-old girl. Bond was set at $2,500.
August 2010: Arrested and charged with domestic violence (DV). Bond was set at $10,000. The judge ordered Kirsty to refrain from drinking alcohol, consuming drugs without a prescription, and to submit to random drug and alcohol tests. She was barred from possessing any firearms, prohibited from contacting the victims, and ordered to undergo counseling.
November 2012: Arrested during a traffic stop for possession of Xanax without a prescription. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years of probation.
2013: Probation revoked after failing to meet conditions (drug screenings, court fees, and 150 hours of community service). She served 15 days in jail.
Even more recently, Kirsty had found herself in hot water at her apartment complex. Court records indicated that in September of 2020, she had been served with an eviction notice for non-payment and was in the process of being evicted. Kirsty was also running an unlicensed daycare out of her apartment and was given a lease violation for doing so. Additionally, she had been suspected of slashing her upstairs neighbor’s tires after a falling out, though there was never enough evidence to charge her. Ironically, Kirsty had watched that neighbor’s children prior to their falling out at her illegal daycare.
The Tragic Sleepover
December 9th, 2020, was just like any normal day. Kristen dropped Fallon off at Kirsty’s apartment and headed to work. Kirsty, her boyfriend Jeffrey Meyers, and her children all resided in Unit 507 of the Edgewater at Sandy Springs Apartments.
That afternoon, Kirsty sent a text to Kristen asking if Fallon could spend the night. Having known Kirsty for some time and trusting her with her young daughter, Kristen agreed, knowing that Fallon would have a blast having her very first slumber party with her best friend.
That afternoon, Kirsty took Fallon, her daughter, and her new baby to a nearby park to play. Around that time, the two mothers spoke, and Kirsty let Kristen know that her phone was dying. At around 6:30 p.m., the two mothers texted. Kirsty told Kristen that Fallon had eaten supper and had been put to bed. When Kristen asked to FaceTime with her daughter, Kirsty said to give her a minute.
Not long after, Kristen received another call. This time, Kirsty was in hysterics: Fallon wasn’t moving. She told Kristen that earlier that afternoon, Fallon had fallen and hit her head on a slide at the park.
At 8:44 p.m., Kirsty called 911. Emergency services quickly made their way to her apartment on Monterey Parkway in response to a call of a toddler who was not breathing. Paramedics found Fallon unresponsive and began administering life-saving measures. She was rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite.
Sadly, there was nothing that doctors could do to save her. Fallon Lynn Friedley was pronounced dead at 1:18 a.m. the following morning.
The Investigation and Horrifying Discoveries
This story is already tragic enough—a 2-year-old girl attends her first-ever sleepover with her best friend and has a terrible accident on the playground that costs her her life. Except, none of Fallon’s injuries were consistent with falling and hitting her head on a slide.
At the autopsy, it was discovered that while under Kirsty’s supervision, little Fallon had suffered severe injuries that led to her death. These injuries included a skull fracture and lacerations to multiple organs, including her spleen, liver, and colon. After further examination, Fallon had bleeding and injuries consistent with SA (sexual assault). Her body was covered in bruises. The medical examiner was right: none of these injuries were consistent with a playground accident.
Fallon’s death was ruled a homicide, and police launched an investigation. Investigators obtained search warrants for Kirsty’s apartment as well as her cell phone. What they found shocked them. During the time that Fallon would have been in Kirsty’s care, she conducted the following internet searches on her iPhone:
“Mental health.”
“What type of people enjoy abusing other people’s children?”
“I hit my child and I feel guilty.”
“What does it mean to have a sudden urge to beat a child that’s not yours?”
Arrests and Legal Proceedings
On Friday, December 11th, 2020, Kirsty Flood was arrested and booked into the Fulton County Jail. She was charged with malice homicide, two counts of felony homicide, aggravated battery, and first-degree cruelty to children. Additional charges of aggravated sexual battery, false statement, and tampering with evidence were later added. She was not given bond.
(Note on Charges: In the state of Georgia, anytime a person commits a felony act that results in the death of another, it automatically becomes a count of felony homicide. Because Kirsty was accused of two felony acts resulting in death, it triggered two counts. Malice homicide is applied when a homicide is done with express or implied malice, showing “an abandoned and malignant heart.”)
On January 27th, 2021, a second arrest was made. 28-year-old Jeffrey Scott Meyers, Kirsty’s boyfriend, was charged with second-degree homicide, second-degree cruelty to children, tampering with evidence, and false statements. Although he first claimed to be at work, it was discovered that he was present at the apartment, witnessed the abuse inflicted upon Fallon, and did nothing to stop it.
On June 26th, 2021, Kirsty’s mother, Karen Flood, was arrested and charged with one count of influencing a witness. Shortly after Kirsty’s arrest, Karen began coaching her granddaughter, Harper, not to say anything bad about her mother. Harper will likely have to testify against both her grandmother and her mother, as she witnessed the injuries inflicted upon her best friend.
Around the same time, the state of Georgia filed a motion to submit surveillance video into evidence. A camera had initially been located behind a sofa in Kirsty and Jeffrey’s living room. In the footage, both Jeffrey and Harper could be seen while Kirsty inflicted the fatal injuries on Fallon.
Kirsty remains in the Fulton County Jail. Her trial has faced multiple postponements. She is reportedly being represented by attorney Priscilla Upshaw, who is a guardian ad litem and child attorney for the Cobb County Juvenile Court, a detail that has deeply concerned those following the case given her professional dedication to defending children.
The Aftermath and Honoring Fallon
In the wake of Fallon’s death, Kristen and Cameron appeared on the Dr. Phil show to discuss the case. A GoFundMe was launched by Kristen’s colleagues at the Furkids Animal Rescue Shelter to cover funeral costs. They felt that as Kristen spent her days working hard to save the lives of at-risk animals, she didn’t deserve this kind of tragedy.
Fallon’s funeral was held on December 17th, 2020, at the Poole Funeral Home Chapel in Woodstock, Georgia. The service was live-streamed so that all who wanted to pay tribute could attend. The officiant reminded attendees that while Fallon was here for only a brief time, she was a great blessing and made an immeasurable impact on the lives of those who loved her.
Fallon was laid to rest in a pink casket at the Rolling Hills Memory Gardens beneath a small granite headstone etched with flowers, giraffes, and the inscription: “Too beautiful for this world.”
Exactly one year to the day that Fallon was laid to rest, on December 18th, 2021, Kristen and Cameron welcomed a little boy named Asher into the world. He was born 4 weeks early, an early Christmas present from his sister.
Kristen believes Fallon visits her in the form of a ladybug:
“The day after she passed, a ladybug came to me and didn’t leave me for a few hours. One found me in Gatlinburg in freezing weather with 40+ mph winds on the top of a mountain on the 14th floor of a hotel. So, I know when I see them, it is her visiting me.”
A Mother’s Grief and Reflection
As the third anniversary of Fallon’s murder approached, Kristen shared a heartbreaking reflection on the Justice for Fallon Facebook page:
“There is a delicate balance between life and death. Life and death are worlds apart, yet one cannot exist without the other… As the third anniversary of Fallon’s murder creeps closer, I am forced to reflect on the days before it happened. I remember what a sweet time it was. A time before tragedy, a time where I belonged to a large group of people who thought that wouldn’t happen to me. That only happens on the news or in the movies.
I often think if I could go back to that time, I would kick myself. I was stressed about everyday things like work, money, and bills. I was so wrapped up in the whirlwind of life that I didn’t stop to smell the roses. The stresses that consumed me on December 9th meant absolutely nothing to me the morning of the 10th.
If only I had known that the morning of December 9th, 2020, would be the last time I would hug my daughter, I would have hugged her tighter. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never let her go… Don’t be like me, living with regrets after tragedy struck. Put your phone down, live in the moment, and be present.
Fallon, thank you for being my guardian angel. Thank you for choosing me to be your mom. No matter how short our time together on Earth, becoming a mother, your mother, was the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you now. I love you still. Always have, always will.”
Conclusion
Fallon’s case differs from many covered in true crime because she was well-loved and fiercely taken care of by her family. We often teach our children not to talk to strangers, but evidence clearly shows that children are more likely to be abused or killed by someone they know and trust. Kristen knew Kirsty for five whole years.
This case leaves us with a difficult question: How do we strike a balance between instilling a sense of trust in our children in a world where you clearly can’t trust anyone, not even the people tasked to watch your kids while you work hard to provide for them?
