INFANTICIDE (?): Virginia: Karen Murphy left her baby in a hot car

July 12, 2011
Virginia resident Karen Murphy's son died after being left in the family's car for seven hours.

She is being charged with felony murder and child neglect after she allegedly left her baby in her van for hours by accident. In this week's "Moms" segment, host Michel Martin discusses this case with regulars Dani Tucker and Jolene Ivey, as well as former Md. State Attorney Glenn Ivey and journalist Gene Weingarten.

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/12/137790387/leaving-kids-in-hot-cars-foul-or-forgivable

INFANTICIDE: VIRGINIA: Cecelia Burnette charged second degree murder

The murder trial of a Bedford mother gets underway in Bedford.

Cecelia Burnette is charged with 2nd degree murder and felony child abuse by a parent for the 2008 death of 8-month-old Marissa Burnette.

In the Commonwealth's opening statement, a prosecutor said the injuries that killed Marissa Burnette were as violent as those from a car accident or from falling from a multi-story building.

The prosecution stated in September 2008, Cecelia Burnette took her baby to the doctor.  The prosecution claims Cecelia left her baby with Josh Cheek, while Cecelia went to pick up a prescription.  Cheek was Celelia Burnette's boyfriend at the time.

The prosecution told the jury Cheek saw the baby's eyes roll back in her head and the baby began to shake violently.  The prosecutor stated Cheek called  Cecelia, who told him he was overreacting.  The prosecution stated it took Cecelia Burnette 45 minutes to get home.

The baby was taken to Bedford Memorial Hospital and transported to Roanoke Memorial, where the prosecution says a doctor suspected the baby had head trauma.

The prosecution says Cecelia Burnette gave both doctors and police conflicting statements about who was taking care of the baby and what may have caused the injuries.  The prosecutor also stated Cecelia called a Child Protective Services worker to make sure the worker wasn't going to stop by the home.

 http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/mar/15/8/mother-trial-babys-murder-bedford-ar-907093/

FILICIDE: Virginia: Cecelia Burnette did not intentionally kill her eight-month-old daughter.

Jeremy Mills

Bedford Co., VA - A Bedford County jury has decided Cecelia Burnette did not intentionally kill her eight-month-old daughter.
 Cecelia Burnette

The verdict Thursday sparked an immediate outcry of disappointment from the family of the baby's father.

It's taken three days of testimony to clear the young mother of murder charges. She had been accused of violently shaking her child to death back in September of 2008.

Burnette has continued to maintain her innocence, claiming her ex-boyfriend was responsible.

The jury's decision is not all good for Burnette because she will still serve a prison sentence. The jury found her guilty on a lesser charge of felony child abuse resulting in serious injury. And they've recommended an eight year sentence and a $75,000 fine.

That is some consolation to the family of Adam Davis, the biological father of baby Marissa. They were hoping for a murder conviction, and they cried in court after the verdict came down.

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(11:30 a.m. Thursday) Bedford Co., VA - Closing arguments are starting soon in the murder trial of Cecelia Burnette, the Bedford County mother accused of shaking her baby to death.

On Thursday morning, the defense brought up multiple witnesses who said Cecelia was a great mother to Marissa. The eight-month-old died in September 2008.

Several of the witnesses told the court they have children of their own, and they wouldn't hesitate for a second to have her babysit them.

The defense took a 10 minute recess before closing, but Burnette did not end up taking the stand.

The jury will likely deliver a verdict by late Thursday afternoon.

http://www.wset.com/Global/story.asp?S=14270213

INFANTICIDE: Virginia: Ashkea Johnson

By Brad Zinn/staff • bzinn@newsleader.com • December 9, 2010

STAUNTON — Jury selection in the murder trial of a Staunton teen accused of killing her baby last year is set to begin this morning in Staunton Circuit Court, and by Friday the 12-person jury is expected to begin deliberating the fate of 18-year-old Ashkea Johnson. Johnson is accused of smothering her infant daughter, 2 1/2-month-old Rosaleeia M. Johnson, the night of Nov. 15, 2009. The baby, found unconscious and not breathing, died four days later at Augusta Health in Fishersville after being taken off life support.
Johnson is charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
She confessed to police that she killed her child, and also admitted attempting to smother the baby a week before she was found unconscious, according to evidence presented at a March preliminary hearing and court transcripts,
Seventeen years old at the time of her baby's death, Johnson is being tried as an adult after the case was transferred from the juvenile court system.
In a rambling statement made to police in December 2009, Johnson initially claimed she found the baby with no pulse and tried to resuscitate her three times. After calling 911, Johnson told a Staunton police investigator that when rescue personnel arrived, "My sister handed it ... her to the fire department."
Questioned further, Johnson admitted she pressed a small, plastic disposable diaper bag over the baby's nose and mouth, transcripts show.
"I wasn't thinking straight," she told the investigator.
Johnson also confessed to trying to kill the baby a week before the Nov. 15 incident, and said she once dropped her child on purpose two weeks after she was born.
Johnson, who gave birth to her first child at the age of 14, told police she was confused and stressed, and tried to have her mother adopt her children to no avail.
Court records show Johnson has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial, but reports also note she suffers from bipolar disorder and started cutting herself in the sixth grade.
Earlier this week, a prosecution motion to prevent the defense from mentioning Johnson's mental state was denied, but Circuit Judge Humes J. Franklin Jr. cautioned both sides about broaching the issue. An earlier motion in August by the defense to have Johnson's confession thrown out was unsuccessful.
Johnson faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted in the killing.
http://www.newsleader.com/article/20101209/NEWS01/12090316