DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A mother was convicted Friday of killing her month-old daughter by burning her in a microwave oven, with jurors rejecting a defense attorney’s claims there was evidence that someone else was responsible.
China Arnold, 28, of Dayton, showed no reaction when the verdict was announced and then lowered her head, looking down at the defense table. Relatives in the courtroom cried and covered their faces with their hands. They later left the courthouse without commenting.
Arnold was found guilty of aggravated murder and could face the death penalty when sentenced. The jury was scheduled to return Tuesday to begin a sentencing hearing.
Arnold was accused of killing daughter Paris Talley in 2005. A judge declared a mistrial in February, and the retrial began Aug. 18. Jury deliberations started Thursday following closing arguments.
Attorneys on both sides remained under a court order Friday barring them from speaking publicly about the case.
Prosecutors said Arnold intentionally put her baby in the microwave oven and cooked the child to death after a fight with her boyfriend.
Arnolds’ cellmate testified that Arnold confessed to putting the baby in the microwave and turned it on because she was worried her boyfriend would leave her if he found out the child wasn’t his.
The baby’s DNA was found inside the microwave in Arnold’s apartment, prosecutors said.
Marcella Fierro, a forensic pathologist, testified the girl likely died after being burned in the microwave oven for more than two minutes. Dr. William Matre, who saw the baby at the emergency room, told jurors he was surprised that Arnold seemed not to know the baby was burned because the burns were so obvious.
Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion told the jury that Arnold couldn’t remember what happened and was probably too drunk that night to have put the infant in the oven. Another forensic pathologist testified that Arnold had a blood-alcohol level of nearly four times the legal driving limit — a level that would have made it difficult for her to commit the crime.
Rion also argued there was evidence that someone else was responsible said police targeted Arnold from the beginning and made it their objective to build a case against her.
He cited testimony from an 8-year-old boy who said he saw another boy walk into the kitchen of a nearby apartment with the baby, heard the microwave go on, and then later saw the burned baby in the microwave.
Judge John Kessler declared a mistrial Feb. 11 after he privately heard testimony from the juvenile.
In rebuttal, however, the 8-year-old’s mother testified Wednesday that they lived some distance away and they were not at Arnold’s apartment complex when the baby died. Her former live-in boyfriend also testified that he was certain the boy was not at the location.
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