GUILTY OH - Paris Talley, 3 wks, dies of thermal injuries, Dayton, 30 Aug 2005

[paddy01]

Or she was in a blackout from being so intoxicated. Alcoholism and parenting are often a bad mix - with the children, of course, bearing the brunt of the damage.

ETA: There seems to be some legitimate question as to whether or not the child was put in a microwave. I wonder what the defense is claiming she died of.

Hi scm, I had heard about this case awhile back, up until today I've seen or heard nothing in the news. This story shocked me so, that my first thought was this woman has to be insane! It never occurred to me that perhaps she was intoxicated, that's a very good point. Do you know if she was an alcoholic or on drugs? I know that methamphetamines users are prone to this type of behavior. I'm not sure what defense is saying, but I'm going to be following this story now. I believe trial starts 1/28th.

 

[southcitymom]

Hi scm, I had heard about this case awhile back, up until today I've seen or heard nothing in the news. This story shocked me so, that my first thought was this woman has to be insane! It never occurred to me that perhaps she was intoxicated, that's a very good point. Do you know if she was an alcoholic or on drugs? I know that methamphetamines users are prone to this type of behavior. I'm not sure what defense is saying, but I'm going to be following this story now. I believe trial starts 1/28th.

Hi paddy,

I followed this for a while when it first came out, but this is the first I have thought of it in a few months. I do believe she had been drinking the night this happened - I do not recall her drug history.

I am very interested in what comes out at trial. If I remember correctly, there were other adults in the house (the father, a babysitter - also some kids) when this happened. I don't know what evidence they have that the mother did this or that the child was placed in a microwave and burned. Again, IIRC, the mother did not have a history of abusing her children or of mental illness. I need to re-read this thread and some of the articles.

I just recall feeling like there were a lot of questions and not very many answers.

Anyway you slice it, it is a heartbreaking case and a young child is dead and I would like to know how and why that happened.

 

[paddy01]

Scm, I'm going to try & catch up on this story. If it's like you say that father& other ppl in house, why in the world wouldn't someone stop her from doing such a thing, right there makes me start questioning. Off to play catch up.

 

[imthemom]

I really think she probably was intoxicated and maybe thought she was putting a bottle in the microwave and put her baby instead. She might not remember it but she will still have to accept responsibility. There was a case I seen on TV where a mother put her baby in the microwave thinking she was putting a bottle in but she had had a seizure and then afterward passed out and they found the baby in the microwave. I do believe she went to prison for this. If anyone remembers the name can you post it. Thanks.

 

[paddy01]

scm & imthemom, this could quite possibly be a terrible accident, especially since she had been intoxicated. China Arnold states that the only ones in apartment were herself, baby & three other children, ages 7,6,3. Her boyfriend arrived several hours later & noticed something wrong with baby. They took baby to hospital, where she was pronounced dead. This is where there are some discrepancies, hospital staff phone LE and said baby had burns (Sorry if this too graphic) to her body. (I listened to hospital staff conversation with LE that states this). But Coroners office reports no indications of external burns on child's body, upon further investigation coroner discovered severe internal heat injuries. These discrepancies really bothered me.

 

[Reannan]

I still don't feel right about this case. I think there is someting that we and possibly, LE are missing.

 

[southcitymom]

scm & imthemom, this could quite possibly be a terrible accident, especially since she had been intoxicated. China Arnold states that the only ones in apartment were herself, baby & three other children, ages 7,6,3. Her boyfriend arrived several hours later & noticed something wrong with baby. They took baby to hospital, where she was pronounced dead. This is where there are some discrepancies, hospital staff phone LE and said baby had burns (Sorry if this too graphic) to her body. (I listened to hospital staff conversation with LE that states this). But Coroners office reports no indications of external burns on child's body, upon further investigation coroner discovered severe internal heat injuries. These discrepancies really bothered me.

You and I are on the same page, paddy and imthemom. Something happened to the child, of course, but I'm not even convinced that the child was burned in a microwave. If the child was indeed put in the microwave, I think it was a drunken (perhaps blackout) thing. I'm not saying drunkeness would excuse causing the death of a child - just that it's a different factor than mental illness or violent rage.

Like many others here, there are things about this case that just don't add up to me. Maybe LE has more than we know and other things will come out at trial. As of now, I will say, I hope China doesn;t go to jail for life unless there's a lot more hard evidence.

 

[paddy01]

Her trial starts 1/28 and if convicted she could face DP. How in the world will they prove it was intentional act or accidental due to intoxication? Who did she leave the children with when she was out drinking? Had she been an abusive mother to the other children prior to this baby's death?Does anyone have any background on this woman? If so, please share. Sorry if I'm being a pain by asking so many questions.

 

[southcitymom]

Her trial starts 1/28 and if convicted she could face DP. How in the world will they prove it was intentional act or accidental due to intoxication? Who did she leave the children with when she was out drinking? Had she been an abusive mother to the other children prior to this baby's death?Does anyone have any background on this woman? If so, please share. Sorry if I'm being a pain by asking so many questions.

These last questions you asked have been key to me in this case as well. According to some of the articles in this thread, she did not have any history of abusing her children.

IIRC she left the children with a babysitter while she was out drinking.

 

[paddy01]

I still don't feel right about this case. I think there is someting that we and possibly, LE are missing.

Hi Reannan, Would you mind elaborating on what it is you don't feel right about, I too feel we're missing something.

 

[pixies]

There is no excuse. I don't care if she is a drunk. She BURNED HER CHILD. I don't care to know if she was "battered, drunken, stoned or just overall stupid" she should have the same done to her. She is a monster who deserves nothing less than death.
Make excuses for her behavior all you want be she is an evil vile woman who should not be allowed to live.
SHE COOKED HER BABY!! She does not deserve our pity.

 

[southcitymom]

There is no excuse. I don't care if she is a drunk. She BURNED HER CHILD. I don't care to know if she was "battered, drunken, stoned or just overall stupid" she should have the same done to her. She is a monster who deserves nothing less than death.
Make excuses for her behavior all you want be she is an evil vile woman who should not be allowed to live.
SHE COOKED HER BABY!! She does not deserve our pity.

Actually - no one seems very sure on these points - hence the disagreeing expert testimony and all the questions here. Not to mention the fact that as far as we know, there are real questions as to whether the mother did this. There was another adult and a grown babysitter and children old enough to harm an infant in the house in the hours leading up to the baby's death.

Additionally, it does matter to a Judge or a jury - the conditions surrounding a person harming their child. Is the person mentally ill, was the person in a blackout, did the person have a history of abusing children - all these things will come into play.

 

[Reannan]

Hi Reannan, Would you mind elaborating on what it is you don't feel right about, I too feel we're missing something.

Hi Paddy! This is a difficult case on many levels. In response to your question, I guess the first question in my mind is based on evidence. There are reports that there were no visible burn wounds on the baby. Per the autopsy report, the "burns" were all internal. There is fortunately, not a lot of documented information regarding forensic evidence from someone being microwaved to death. Would the burns be external AND internal.....or only visible internally? The only other proven case of death by microwave that I know of involved another infant, and that baby had blisters on the skin. There are some really rare medical conditions that can cause internal hyperthermia (overheating). Were these explored? How were they ruled out? There were other people in the apartment the night this happened. Why did no one else see or hear anything??? If I recall correctly, the mother was very upset over the death of her child, and for me, one of the most significant findings is the fact that she had, by all accounts, been a good mother to her other children. There was no evidence of a prior history of abuse. I do not think the actual autopsy results have ever been made public. If I were on the jury, I would be very interested in those results, and any testimony provided by other medical experts.

 

[Bobbisangel]

I remember seeing this mother of TV when the arrest was made. She was crying so hard and didn't act like the other mothers that I have seen that have murdered their babies. Usually they are stone faced and not crying a tear.

She said that the baby was crying and she changed her and tried to give her a bottle that she warmed in the micro. What does she mean that she tried to
give her a bottle? Would the baby not drink it? Maybe she had already been hurt before that and that is why she wouldn't drink the bottle. I wonder about the baby sitter too. It sounds like this mother came home and passed out and woke up long enough to change and try to feed the baby and then fell back to sleep with the baby on her chest. I wonder if she has had blackouts before?

How do they know it was the mother or even a micro? I would hate to see her go to prison for something that someone else did but if she did hurt the baby then that is where she belongs.

 

[imthemom]

Hi Paddy! This is a difficult case on many levels. In response to your question, I guess the first question in my mind is based on evidence. There are reports that there were no visible burn wounds on the baby. Per the autopsy report, the "burns" were all internal. There is fortunately, not a lot of documented information regarding forensic evidence from someone being microwaved to death. Would the burns be external AND internal.....or only visible internally? The only other proven case of death by microwave that I know of involved another infant, and that baby had blisters on the skin. There are some really rare medical conditions that can cause internal hyperthermia (overheating). Were these explored? How were they ruled out? There were other people in the apartment the night this happened. Why did no one else see or hear anything??? If I recall correctly, the mother was very upset over the death of her child, and for me, one of the most significant findings is the fact that she had, by all accounts, been a good mother to her other children. There was no evidence of a prior history of abuse. I do not think the actual autopsy results have ever been made public. If I were on the jury, I would be very interested in those results, and any testimony provided by other medical experts.

Reannan, I was thinking of this case also. The baby had visible burns. I seen a pic of her in the hospital she was red and bandaged on her face and hand. This makes me wondering why this baby had no outside burns. The baby in the other case did not die. So for this baby to have died from being in the microwave she would have had to be in there longer than the other one, which would mean she should have burns. We definitely know the other baby was put in the microwave but this one is not certain as no one has confessed or seen it happen.

 

[paddy01]

Hi everybody, thanks Reannan, ITA, that this is difficult on so many levels. I have done nothing but think about what everybody has said, & re-reading every post to see what we might be missing, while doing so I have had a very disturbing thought, thanks to Bobbisangel post#174, the part "What do you mean she was trying to give baby bottle", "Would the baby not drink it". Perhaps the baby did drink it, and it was extremely
hot from being boiled in the microwave! Is it possible that the bottle caused the internal burns? We all know you can not tell how hot the contents of bottle is unless you test it. Arnold stated herself she was out drinking, would she have thought to test it? I think I"m starting to sound nuts...Please don't laugh at me, I'm sensitive.

 

[SewingDeb]

Ohhh....unfortunately, that makes a lot of sense. They warn not to microwave baby bottles because of the hot spots that may be there even if you check the temperature.

She was drinking heavily that night, after all.

This brings up another question. There were lots of people there. Did one of the children heat up a bottle for the baby?

 

[paddy01]

Ohhh....unfortunately, that makes a lot of sense. They warn not to microwave baby bottles because of the hot spots that may be there even if you check the temperature.

She was drinking heavily that night, after all.

This brings up another question. There were lots of people there. Did one of the children heat up a bottle for the baby?

Hi SewingDeb, Thank you for not thinking I went off the deep end there! I almost didn't post my thoughts for fear someone out there would think,
this person has a very vivid imagination..And, a SCARY one at that.

 

[southcitymom]

Hi everybody, thanks Reannan, ITA, that this is difficult on so many levels. I have done nothing but think about what everybody has said, & re-reading every post to see what we might be missing, while doing so I have had a very disturbing thought, thanks to Bobbisangel post#174, the part "What do you mean she was trying to give baby bottle", "Would the baby not drink it". Perhaps the baby did drink it, and it was extremely
hot from being boiled in the microwave! Is it possible that the bottle caused the internal burns? We all know you can not tell how hot the contents of bottle is unless you test it. Arnold stated herself she was out drinking, would she have thought to test it? I think I"m starting to sound nuts...Please don't laugh at me, I'm sensitive.

You're not starting to sound nuts at all - these are questions I have asked too and some of them have been discussed on this thread. I think I am just in the place where I don't feel like there is enough information. I surely want to think LE investigated every possible angle of what could have happened.

I think only the trial will bring out much of the information we seek.

 

[SewingDeb]

You're welcome, paddy. You don't sound nuts at all. Theories are explored all the time on this forum.