China P. Arnold

Last updated
China P. Arnold
Born (1980-03-29) March 29, 1980 (age 44)
Dayton, Ohio
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty Life in prison without the possibility of parole
Details
VictimsParis Talley
DateAugust 30, 2005
Weapon Microwave

China Arnold (born March 29, 1980) [1] is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her 28-day old daughter, Paris, by heating her in a microwave oven. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Contents

Case

Murder of Paris Talley

China Arnold and her children lived with her boyfriend, Terrell Talley, in a housing complex in Dayton, Ohio. On August 30, 2005, there was an argument over Paris' paternity. They got in a fight and her anger turned into violence, after which 28-day-old Paris was placed in a microwave for two minutes. She then removed the baby and put her on the table. Paris had died within seconds due to the heat. [2] [3] Medical experts said the baby died after her temperature reached 107–108 °F (41.7–42.2 °C). She had no external burns but did suffer high-heat internal injuries. [4]

Finding Paris cold and stiff with burn marks on her body the next day, her parents took her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. [5] Arnold told investigators that she had been intoxicated. [6] John Paul Rion, the attorney who represented Arnold at her first trial, said she was intoxicated to the point of blacking out when the child died. [4] Arnold had been convicted of abduction in 2000 and forgery in 2002. [7]

Arrests

Arnold was arrested and subsequently released due to a lack of evidence. She was rearrested in November 2006. [3]

Trials

While in jail awaiting trial, Arnold became sexually involved with her cellmate, Linda Williams, who later testified that Arnold confessed her guilt to her. [5]

First trial

Shortly after Arnold's first trial began in February 2008, [4] Talley said his son had told him that he pulled Paris' lifeless body out of the microwave after a neighbor's boyfriend had put her inside, [8] and the judge declared a mistrial. [9]

Second trial

During the second trial, the mother of the child said to have placed the baby in the microwave testified that her significant other was not at the housing complex when Paris died[ relevant? ], and Arnold was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 8, 2008. She was incarcerated at the Dayton Correctional Institution. [10]

On November 5, 2010, the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals reversed Arnold's conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct, and stated that the court erred by not allowing material witnesses to testify in her defense. [11]

Third trial

On May 13, 2011, a jury found Arnold guilty of aggravated murder. Her attorney had argued that the evidence pointed as much to Talley as it did her, but failed to convince the jury. [12] On May 20, Arnold was again sentenced to life in prison without parole, with both the jury and judge rejecting the death penalty option. Her attorney said they would appeal the decision. [13]

In September 2013, Arnold's lawyer requested a new trial in the Second District Court of Appeals, claiming multiple errors were made in her case. [4] In December 2013, the 2nd District Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. [14] An appeal regarding her life sentence was made citing constitutional questions about double jeopardy, asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reverse the 2nd District Court of Appeals decision and send the case back to the trial court "for re-sentencing", but in May 2014, the Court decided not to take up the appeal. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ "Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Offender Page Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine 3 March 2010
  2. ↑ "Mother Jailed Over Microwave Baby" news.sky.com
  3. 1 2 "Cops Suspect Microwave Was Murder Weapon". CBS News . November 28, 2006.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lohr, David (September 19, 2013). "China Arnold, Mom Convicted For Cooking Baby In Microwave, Wants New Trial". Huffington Post . Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  5. 1 2 Sumter, Angelica M. (May 15, 2019). "China Arnold: Mother killed her 3-week-old baby, Paris Talley, by cooking her in the microwave". The Criminal Journal. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Drunken mom microwaved one-month-old baby" New York Daily News 3 March 2010 Archived February 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Mother arraigned in baby's microwave death" The Associated Press via nbcnews.com 3 March 2010
  8. ↑ "DDN: New Witness Tells Father Who Put Child In Microwave" WHIOTV.com 3 March 2010 Archived January 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "China Arnold Stands Trial Again in Microwave Baby Death Case" Dayton Daily News 3 March 2010 Archived February 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Life for microwave baby killer BBC, September 9, 2008
  11. ↑ "Appeals Court Grants New Trial for China Arnold" WDTN 14 May 2011 Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "Jury Convicts Ohio Mom in Baby's Microwave Death" The Associated Press via Yahoo! 14 May 2011 Archived May 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ "Jury Recommends Life Without Parole for China Arnold" Dayton Daily News 20 May 2011
  14. ↑ State v. Arnold, 2N.E.3d1009 ( Ohio Ct. App. 2013-12-06).
  15. ↑ "Ohio Supreme Court won't hear China Arnold appeal". Dayton Daily News . May 14, 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
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