OKMULGEE, Okla. — After nearly four hours of selection, a jury was chosen and seated for the first day of Haskell foster mother Kaytlin Fultz's trial.
Fultz's case began after a video was widely shared, showing a young girl standing in freezing temperatures, crying and saying she was cold. The little girl is seen wearing only her pajamas and socks.
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According to the investigation and court documents, that little girl was a foster child in the Fultz's care. Fultz faces one count of misdemeanor child neglect in Muscogee Creek Nation District Court.
WATCH: Muscogee Creek Nation calls four witnesses on day one of Fultz trial
The jury consists of six women and two men.
In opening statements, the Nation set the scene of the day, Feb. 18, when the video was taken. Attorney Matthew J. Hall said it was between 10 and 12 degrees, with snow on the ground, visible in the witness video.
Fultz's attorney, Carla Stinnett, argued there was more to the story than the short video clip showed and that it was taken out of context.
Stinnett explained that the method the Fultz's were using was a de-escalation method that the Oklahoma Department of Human Services taught her to reset the child, who she said had behavioral challenges. She said the child enjoyed doing her 'resets' outside, and it was the child that chose not to wear her shoes or a jacket. Though, Fultz monitored her from the door the entire time she was outside, her attorney said.
WATCH: Foster parents face child neglect charge over incident in Haskell
The nation called four witnesses to the stand.
First was Haskell Police Officer Clint Keel, who has been with the department for approximately ten years. Keel testified he was the responding officer to the initial 911 call.
Keel said it took him no more than five minutes to get from the police station to the Fultz's home once he was dispatched. When he got there, he first went to the back of the house where the child was reported to be, but Keel said no one was there.
He then knocked on the door and had a short visit with Fultz, Keel said. While inside, he said the foster mother explained her 'resetting' process, even showing him on a behavior chart inside their home.
Keel said he told her because of the weather conditions she needed to find another way. He testified he left feeling they had come to an understanding.
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Keel referred the case to the Muskogee County district attorney for further investigation.
After Keel, Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Investigator Anthony Thompson, neighbor and witness Rhet Wike, and Muscogee Creek Nation Police Investigator Breanna Fierro were called to the stand.
Before the day was through, Stinnett asked the judge to deliver a plea of not guilty, claiming the evidence the nation provided did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Fultz was guilty of anything.
Hall's rebuttal was that while she may be remorseful, Fultz still admits to placing the child outside in dangerous temperatures without the proper clothing on, which he said proves her neglect. He said, 'sometimes as parents, we have to do the unpopular thing.'
The judge denied a directed verdict and the trial will reconvene for day two inside the district courthouse.
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