Mary Bystricky, the Town of Paysonâs prosecutor and co-founder of Gila Countyâs Restorative Court program along with Judge Dorothy Little, will leave the town to join the Gila County Attorneyâs Office on Jan. 19.
Bystricky joined the townâs prosecutorial office in July 2015, shortly after former Town Attorney Hector Figueroa started.
âThe Town of Payson was very fortunate to hire Mary at a time when the legal department had fallen behind when Tim Wright had been elected superior court judge,â said Figueroa. âI convinced her to move here from the Valley for a mediocre salary.â
At the time Figueroa hired Bystricky, she had applied for a position with the Flagstaff attorneyâs office, but found it filled.
A year after three children drowned in Tonto Creek, a White Mountains couple has pleaded not guilty to charges of child abuse and manslaughter.
A grand jury indicted Daniel Grant Rawlings on three counts of reckless manslaughter and seven counts of child abuse, while his wife, Lacey Lynn Rawlings was indicted on seven counts of child abuse.
On Nov. 29, 2019, Daniel reportedly drove a large military-style truck around a road closed barricade with Lacey and seven children aboard into a flooded Tonto Creek, killing two of their children and a niece.
Daniel, Lacey and four other children survived while Willa, 6, Colby, 5, and Austin, 5, drowned.