A Markham judge sentenced Melody Townsend to two years of probation in her 1-year-old daughter's 2017 death.

Two years of probation is the sentence those stations reported from court records. FOX 32 named Judge Tiana S. Blakely and did not print how the case was resolved. CBS Chicago reported a jury found her guilty in January of endangerment and of concealing a homicide. Oct. 24 and Oct. 28 are not the same last day. The sentence those stations printed does not name anyone else as charged in the killing.

NBC Chicago, FOX 32 Chicago, CBS Chicago, and ABC7 reported that Melody Townsend was sentenced on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, to two years of probation in the 2017 death of her 1-year-old daughter in Markham. NBC Chicago, in a story by Izzy Stroobandt published Oct. 29 and updated at 5:29 p.m., reported the sentence is for concealing a homicidal death and endangering a child in circumstances involving death, and that it started Oct. 28 and is set to end on the same date in 2028. FOX 32 reported 24 months of probation, that the term began Wednesday, and that it is scheduled to end Oct. 24, 2028. Two years and 24 months are the same length. Oct. 28, 2028, which is the date NBC Chicago's sentence produces, and Oct. 24, 2028, which FOX 32 printed, are not the same day. FOX 32 reported the court records list concealing a homicidal death and endangering a child under circumstances involving death, and that they identify Judge Tiana S. Blakely. NBC Chicago, CBS Chicago, and ABC7 did not print the judge's name. Under circumstances, which FOX 32 printed, and in circumstances, which NBC Chicago printed, are not the same preposition. CBS Chicago reported the charges as child endangerment and concealing a homicide. ABC7 reported two years of probation and did not print the count names in the sentencing paragraph. Concealing a homicidal death and concealing a homicide are not the same count name. NBC Chicago reported the records also list DNA indexing, mental health evaluation and treatment, and a domestic violence program. CBS Chicago and ABC7 reported domestic violence counseling and a mental health evaluation and treatment, and did not print DNA indexing. A program and counseling are not the same word. FOX 32's account of the records did not print those conditions. A later sentence in that story, from activist Lisette Guillen, said the mother was asked to get some counseling. Counseling in a quotation and a condition in the court-record paragraph are not the same listing.

How the conviction was reached is in one of the four stories. CBS Chicago, by Adam Harrington and Natalie McMillan, published Oct. 29 at 10:36 a.m. CDT, reported that in January of this year a jury found Townsend guilty of endangerment and concealing a homicide. January of this year, in an Oct. 29, 2026 story, is January 2026. NBC Chicago, FOX 32, and ABC7 reported the Wednesday sentence and did not print a plea or a jury. A jury finding CBS Chicago reported, and a sentence the other stations printed without that finding, are not the same account of the adjudication. CBS Chicago also reported that in 2023 Markham police announced an arrest in Los Angeles for child endangerment, concealing a homicide, and aiding a fugitive. The Wednesday sentence, as NBC Chicago and FOX 32 listed the offenses, does not include aiding a fugitive. An arrest announcement and a sentencing entry are not the same charging list. NBC Chicago reported she was sentenced more than three years after she was arrested in California and brought back to Illinois. ABC7 reported she was arrested in California and extradited to Illinois. Brought back and extradited are not the same verb. CBS Chicago reported detectives looked for five years before the Los Angeles arrest. Five years of a search, and more than three years between an arrest and a sentence, are not the same interval.

The 2017 death is dated in two of the stories and described without a date in the others. The daughter is not named here. FOX 32 and CBS Chicago reported firefighters were called July 3, 2017, to a vacant house in Markham. FOX 32 printed 15481 Hamlin St. CBS Chicago and NBC Chicago printed the 15400 block of Hamlin Avenue. A street number and a block are not the same address, and Street and Avenue are not the same word. NBC Chicago reported a July morning in 2017 and did not print July 3. ABC7 reported 2017 and did not print the month or the block. FOX 32 reported the Cook County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and noted physical trauma unrelated to the fire. NBC Chicago reported an autopsy later confirmed the child died before the fire was set. ABC7 reported investigators believe the child died days before the fire. Unrelated to the fire, before the fire, and days before the fire are not the same finding. CBS Chicago reported the death was ruled a homicide after the child was found in the attic of the burned house. NBC Chicago reported no parent came forward after the fire. FOX 32 reported that for about two years the child was unidentified, and that DNA testing later identified her as Townsend's daughter. CBS Chicago reported the grandparents reported their daughter and the child's mother missing, that the person who killed the child has not been located, and that Markham police have not said publicly whether the child's father was involved and that he has not been seen since 2017. The father is not named in that story. NBC Chicago reported that police said in 2020 they were looking at other possible suspects, and that six years later the killer had still not been brought to justice. A person not located, and other possible suspects in a 2020 account, are not a charge against a named second defendant.

What happened the day after the sentence is the activists' news conference, not a new court order. FOX 32 reported Andrew Holmes and Lisette Guillen held an 11 a.m. news conference Thursday outside the Markham courthouse. CBS Chicago reported advocates were to gather Thursday at the Markham Cook County Courthouse to ask for an explanation of the sentence and an update on the homicide investigation. An 11 a.m. conference FOX 32 reported as held, and a gathering CBS Chicago reported as planned, are not the same tense. FOX 32 reported Holmes and Guillen said in a statement that they believe the sentence does not reflect the seriousness of the case, and that they want an explanation and a public update. FOX 32 quoted Holmes: "The sentence that you gave her, whether she has mental [issues] or not, you knew that was your child. You knew that was your baby. That baby was placed in a plastic bag, thrown in a house and set on fire." The bracket is FOX 32's. FOX 32 quoted Guillen: "What happened is, when it hit this end stage, mother only received two years of probation and was asked to get some counseling. Now, the issue is, is that there's still another person out there. There's still another person that helped with this murder." NBC Chicago reported Holmes told the station in 2020 that he had helped identify the child by going door to door with a composite from the medical examiner's office, and that he was told Townsend and the child's father vanished three weeks after the fire. A 2020 interview and a Thursday news conference are not the same event. The sentence is two years of probation on the counts the stations named. It is not a sentence for a second person none of these stories has named. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.