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Tennessee grand jury deliberates on Algonquin mother’s case

The outcome of Friday’s deliberations by a Tennessee grand jury regarding an Algonquin mother who police say abandoned her disabled adult daughter at a bar in the state will be made public on Monday, authorities said.

Eva Cameron, of Algonquin, told Tennessee authorities last month that she could not, and would not, care for her daughter, Lynn Cameron, 19, whom she had left at a bar in Caryville, Tenn., on June 28.

Lynn Cameron suffers from profound mental deficits and couldn’t give her name to Tennessee authorities, who were able to identify her only after the case was publicized in the media. Lynn Cameron was initially taken into the custody by the state of Tennessee, but was later released to the state of Illinois, where she is now living in a state-funded residential home.

Tennessee Assistant District Attorney General Scarlett Ellis said the Campbell County grand jury deliberated on 20 to 30 cases from 9 a.m. to almost 3 p.m. Friday. The grand jury documents will be filed on Monday, she said.

“The grand jury has completed their work for today, and the report as to what cases they looked at and the outcome of those cases won’t be available until Monday,” Ellis said Friday afternoon. “They could have indicted (Eva Cameron), they could have chosen not to indict her, or they could have needed more information and took no action. It’s one of these three things.”

Eva Cameron did not return a call seeking comment.

The grand jury was asked to examine whether Cameron should be charged under two different statutes: willful neglect and exploitation of an impaired adult, and flagrant nonsupport of a child, Ellis said.

Each is a felony offense that, without a prior felony conviction, can be subject to a sentence of one to two years, including probation, Ellis said.

The Algonquin Police Department had been looking into whether charges should be brought against Eva Cameron in Illinois. Police weren’t immediately available for comment late Friday.

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