WV WV - Aliayah Lunsford, 3, Lewis Co., 24 Sep 2011 #14 *Guilty*

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

Thanks again for the tweets and article's!

:tyou:
 
How awful. It's bad enough that they witnessed their mother murder their sister, but to have to keep it secret had to be torturous. Lena has destroyed more than one precious child. Those poor babies. How could she? How could she leave Aliayah out there all alone?
 
https://twitter.com/CarrieHodousek/status/986337933400727553

Carrie Hodousek
‏

@CarrieHodousek
5h5 hours ago

Lena tells the agent in the audio recording this has “been like a blur to me” and that she’s been “really panicked.”

Lena said “when I didn’t find her (Aliayah) in the house, I should’ve known something was really, really wrong.”
 
[...]

On Tuesday, the second day of Lunsford’s murder trial, five members of law enforcement from local, state, and federal agencies testified about the early phase of the investigation.

FBI special agent Fred Aldridge told the court it seemed highly unlikely a kidnapper could have removed Aliayah from her bed, considering two of her siblings were sleeping nearby in the same room. Noting that the screen door to their Bendale home made significant noise when it was opened or closed, Aldridge suggested someone would have been heard breaking in — and there were no signs a break-in had occurred.

Weston police chief Josh Thomas also testified, mostly reading Lena Lunsford’s statement about the events of Sept. 23, 2011 and the following day when she called 911 to report her daughter missing.

Christopher Smith of the West Virginia state police testified about the protocol of searching homes in missing children cases.

[...]

Following the conclusion of the second day of the trial, Judge Jacob E. Reger told the jury that the prosecution was “flying through the witness list” and he did not expect the trial to last the projected two weeks.

http://wvmetronews.com/2018/04/17/l...-aliayahs-disappearance/#.WtZiiOxIaJo.twitter
 
[...]

Though Flanigan has whittled down her case significantly, and the trial probably will end by next Tuesday or Wednesday, she still has a long way to go.

Especially to get a conviction on the most serious count against Conaway, 35, now of Florida: Murder of a child by parent by failure to provide necessities.

A conviction on that charge would carry a term of life in prison, with jurors to determine mercy (parole eligibility in 15 years) or no mercy (no parole eligibility). It’s expected Flanigan would ask for a second trial on sentencing, likely immediately after the return of the verdict.

However, the language of the statute will make it a case of threading the needle to get a guilty verdict on that charge for Flanigan and case agents Loudin, FBI Special Agent Fred Aldridge, and Lewis County Sheriff’s Cpl. E.E. Carpenter (who inherited the case from Mike Posey, a sheriff’s sergeant who since has left the department).

The statute, §61-8D-2, reads: “If any parent, guardian or custodian shall maliciously and intentionally cause the death of a child under his or her care, custody or control by his or her failure or refusal to supply such child with necessary food, clothing, shelter or medical care, then such parent, guardian or custodian shall be guilty of murder in the first degree.”

Just about any veteran prosecutor will say that proving malicious intent is one of the toughest bars to reach in a criminal case, and in this case, the state has the added burden of proving it was malicious intent to cause Aliayah’s death.

Yet if the jury comes back with a guilty verdict on this charge, it seems as though Dyer would have a long way to go to try to persuade jurors that his client, a 35-year-old who lived in Bendale then but Florida now, is deserving of parole eligibility.

And the state also has other counts pending against Lunsford Conaway that don’t have nearly as high of a bar to prove: Death of a child by parent by child abuse, which carries up to 40 years in prison; child abuse resulting in injury, which carries 1-5 years; and concealment of a dead body, which also carries 1-5 years.

[...]

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/...cle_93ca28e5-03b7-5d5b-9a57-61cdf2b26b03.html
 
In the recent pictures of Lena, I'm still stuck by how much Aliayah looked like her. The other girls were fairer with light hair and eyes. Her Mama should have adored the sweet little girl who looked so much like her.

And even when defense attorney Tom Dyer appeared to be making headway Tuesday during a cross-examination that probed the state’s lack of a body and thus its inability to cite a cause of death, that was derailed by State Police Sgt. Shannon Loudin.

Even if Aliayah choked to death on her own vomit, as Dyer had asserted might have been possible, considering that she’d been ill with a virus, Lunsford Conaway could have and should have called 911, Loudin posited.

That would have been better than “stuffing her in a laundry basket and throwing her out in the woods like a dog,” Loudin said.

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/...cle_93ca28e5-03b7-5d5b-9a57-61cdf2b26b03.html
Click to expand...
 
Wednesday, April 18th:
*Trial continues (Day 3) (@ 9am ET) - WV - Aliayah Lunsford (3) (Sept. 24, 2011; not found) - Lena Marie Lunsford Conaway (34), "mom" indicted (3-6-17) on 4 counts: Murder of a child by parent by failure to provide necessities, which carries a life sentence; death of a child by parent by child abuse, which carries up to 40 years in prison; child abuse resulting in injury, which carries 1-5 years; and concealment of a dead body, which also carries 1-5 years. Pled not guilty. Jurors consist of 12 women, 2 men & 2 women alternates. No trial hearing on 4/30. Trial should last about 2 weeks.
 
This case is just so sad :(. Those poor girls, keeping that secret for so long for their monster mother.
 
Thank you for all the updates! I can help with Tweets today if needed.
 
liltexans said:
https://twitter.com/CarrieHodousek/status/986337933400727553

Carrie Hodousek
‏

@CarrieHodousek
5h5 hours ago

Lena tells the agent in the audio recording this has “been like a blur to me” and that she’s been “really panicked.”

Lena said “when I didn’t find her (Aliayah) in the house, I should’ve known something was really, really wrong.”
Click to expand...

She is really setting up her alibi here and I didn't do anything to Aliyah! I am not liking her one bit.

Still trying to get through the old threads, there are several of them!
 
How awful for the little girl who finally told to have to testify against her "mom". I can't even imagine it.
 
MicheleT said:
How awful for the little girl who finally told to have to testify against her "mom". I can't even imagine it.
Click to expand...

I know, so sad :(. God bless the adoptive family, too.
 
Apparently the jury is still listening to Lena's police interviews after Aliayah's "disappearance":
https://twitter.com/AllanTaylorWVU/status/986617301385564162
Trial Day 3: Lena Lunsford, in taped interview with state police crimes against children unit, says "a hundred scenarios went through my head" as to 3-year-old Aliayah's vanishing. "I child just don't go missing."
https://twitter.com/AllanTaylorWVU/status/986617301385564162
Lena Lunsford suggests Aliayah might have opened the home's door to a stranger, but it would've been "out of character" for the child to go outside and wander off.
 
https://twitter.com/AllanTaylorWVU/status/986664259387043848

Allan Taylor
‏

@AllanTaylorWVU
30m30 minutes ago

Murder trial day 3: Ralph Lunsford saw his two daughters (then 9 & 11) and ex-wife Lena within hours of 3-year-old step-daughter Aliayah vanishing. He said Lena wouldn't take his questions and the daughters acted “like they were programmed or something.”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is DeKalb County John Doe (2022)?

Members online

... and 144 more.
Total: 3,609 (members: 145, guests: 3,464)

Online statistics

Members online
145
Guests online
3,464
Total visitors
3,609
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
603,123
Messages
18,152,620
Members
231,657
Latest member
Joybird99
Back
Top