Microwave tot killer gets life
Source: Agencies |
May 22, 2011, Sunday
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AN American woman convicted of killing her month-old baby daughter in a microwave oven was on Friday spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman sentenced China Arnold, 31, of Dayton, Ohio, who psychologists testified showed no signs of serious mental illness. Arnold declined to make a statement during her sentencing.
Arnold was convicted last week of aggravated murder by the same jury that recommended her punishment. Jurors deliberated for about six hours on Thursday and Friday.
Prosecutors say Arnold intentionally put 28-day-old Paris Talley in a microwave and turned it on after a fight with her boyfriend. The couple had argued over whether the boyfriend was the infant's biological father.
Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion argued that the evidence pointed as much to the boyfriend as it did to the child's mother, who Rion said was drunk at the time.
After Friday's hearing, Rion said he would appeal. The prosecutor's office had no immediate comment.
Medical experts testified the baby died quickly after her temperature reached between 107 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. They said she probably was in the microwave for more than two minutes.
"She died because she was overheated," said Dr Marcella Fierro, retired chief medical examiner for Virginia. "She was cooked."
It was Arnold's third trial in her daughter's 2005 death. Her first trial ended in a mistrial when new witnesses surfaced just before closing arguments. Her second trial ended in a guilty verdict and a life sentence. But an appeals court overturned the conviction when it found prosecutorial misconduct and said the trial judge erred in not allowing a relevant witness to testify.
The sentencing phase was delayed earlier this week to allow time for a mental exam of Arnold. Two psychologists testified on Thursday that Arnold was of average intelligence and showed no signs of serious mental illness.
(AP)
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman sentenced China Arnold, 31, of Dayton, Ohio, who psychologists testified showed no signs of serious mental illness. Arnold declined to make a statement during her sentencing.
Arnold was convicted last week of aggravated murder by the same jury that recommended her punishment. Jurors deliberated for about six hours on Thursday and Friday.
Prosecutors say Arnold intentionally put 28-day-old Paris Talley in a microwave and turned it on after a fight with her boyfriend. The couple had argued over whether the boyfriend was the infant's biological father.
Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion argued that the evidence pointed as much to the boyfriend as it did to the child's mother, who Rion said was drunk at the time.
After Friday's hearing, Rion said he would appeal. The prosecutor's office had no immediate comment.
Medical experts testified the baby died quickly after her temperature reached between 107 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. They said she probably was in the microwave for more than two minutes.
"She died because she was overheated," said Dr Marcella Fierro, retired chief medical examiner for Virginia. "She was cooked."
It was Arnold's third trial in her daughter's 2005 death. Her first trial ended in a mistrial when new witnesses surfaced just before closing arguments. Her second trial ended in a guilty verdict and a life sentence. But an appeals court overturned the conviction when it found prosecutorial misconduct and said the trial judge erred in not allowing a relevant witness to testify.
The sentencing phase was delayed earlier this week to allow time for a mental exam of Arnold. Two psychologists testified on Thursday that Arnold was of average intelligence and showed no signs of serious mental illness.
(AP)
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