GUILTY TX - Emma Thompson, 4, dies with STD, skull fracture, Spring, 27 June 2009

[believe09]

I would like to know why evidence that he was banned from being around children is barred from the trial. It certainly seems to be part of a large pattern with him. Why is this being kept out? If this guy, by some miracle, gets off, I don't know what I will do.

We will do what we do, Belinda. We will keep track of him until he does it again. Because he will. He likes to rape and beat children-It seems to have been adequately documented.

I am also intrigued that his priors seem to be going poof for this trial, but the DA would have to be hog tied not to be able to make this one stick. The defense has done a good job to date of blowing smoke and keeping his history of abuse of children out. I am praying that is the end of their good luck. I feel for a defense attorney who has to work with a client that is going to do this again and again and again until he is finally stopped. He beats small defenseless children and rapes them. He is unsympathetic and distasteful to put it mildly. He fled the scene of the crime with his child who he was barred from seeing. Please God that baby was checked out and is in a safe place. Because if he gets out, he will head for her I am confident.

 

[ohiogirl]

As hard as it is going to be for the jurors to see Emma's autopsy photos, I hope they are not kept out. IMO, they will go a long way to show that Young's and Coe's stories that she fell, or whatever, are lies.

 

[nurselady]

Still find it hard to believe...They cannot charge him with the murder of this child..

 

[Paintr]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7200347.html

Prosecutors this morning said Lucas Coe raped 4-year-old Emma Thompson shortly before her June 2009 death from abdominal trauma that included a severed pancreas.

"The defendant shoved an object or his male sexual organ into that poor child and ripped her apart," Assistant Harris County District Attorney Tina Ansari told jurors during her opening statements.

Shouting as she pointed at Coe, Ansari told jurors they would convict him of super-aggravated sexual assault of a child, "You will say to Lucas Coe, 'You did this! You are guilty! You are guilty! You are guilty!'"

 

[Paintr]

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7667204

"It's going to be the state's position that this monster, as she's sick and dying, this monster is sexually assaulting her at that time," said defense attorney William Van Buren. "Although prior to that, all the time that he was around her in May, all the times leading up to June 8, there's no evidence of sexual assault."

Prosecutors put on their first witness - a nurse who saw Emma the day she died. They will also be presenting to the jury a number of gruesome autopsy photos. Prosecution witnesses who will be called to testify in this case include Emma Thompson's older half-sister, as well as her pediatrician.

 

[Bipolar Express]

Ugh...this case angers me soooo much. Dont they get that this guy has a pattern of hurting children? Did I understand the article correctly that Emma's mom lied about that creep being there? She needs to spend the rest of her life in prison for murder too, in my opinion.....

 

[2goldfish]

what I want to know is whether there is something like jury nullification but backwards. I know jury nullification is essentially where the jury has the power to override the law if they deem fit ...but can they sentence more strongly for an example?


cause I know if I was on that jury (which thank heavens I will never be on any jury, between reading here and knowing about jury nullification, prosecuters dont like that :biglaugh: ) I would absolutely refuse to serve. they could jail me all they wanted. there is no way my soul could survive hearing emma's terrible story and viewing AUTOPSY PHOTOS OF A POOR ANGEL THAT DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER grrr and the best that can be done for her in the way of justice is sexual assault??????

 

[believe09]

what I want to know is whether there is something like jury nullification but backwards. I know jury nullification is essentially where the jury has the power to override the law if they deem fit ...but can they sentence more strongly for an example?


cause I know if I was on that jury (which thank heavens I will never be on any jury, between reading here and knowing about jury nullification, prosecuters dont like that :biglaugh: ) I would absolutely refuse to serve. they could jail me all they wanted. there is no way my soul could survive hearing emma's terrible story and viewing AUTOPSY PHOTOS OF A POOR ANGEL THAT DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER grrr and the best that can be done for her in the way of justice is sexual assault??????

Funny you should mention that...we had a similar situation arise in the Tawni Lee Mazzone case.

Here's what benefits the defendant...IIRC, the jury does not know the penaltys going into deliberation-what is discussed are the options for sentencing and what the criteria is for each option.

In Tawni Lee Mazzone's case, the jury did not know of a prior agreement with County Prosecutors that indicated the perp could never face another charge associated with her case so he was essentially being tried for a probation violation and jumping bond. They stuck around to watch sentencing and were HORRIFIED that he received 19 months, no shortening of time allowed. IIRC.

I am seeing a similar theme her with Abby's sentence and Coe's trial.

Justice should win out in this case.

And for the record, I think the defense attorney got it so very wrong. I think that there was evidence of prior sexual assault (handprints around her waist and genital herpes on genitals and mouth) but beyond that I think when he beat her essentially to death he saw an opportunity at a "coup de grace", and raped her. JMVHO. The rape followed the beating.

 

[believe09]

The prosecutors have up until the trial to change the charge unless there is new, more compelling evidence presented. I had hopes until then.

I am disappointed in ADA Barnett. Really disappointed. I spoke with her after Abby's trial and tried to offer her words of support. But I am wondering, really wondering how well founded my faith in her was.

 

[SunnieRN]

Please continue here. Coe's trial is starting. His attorney says there is no direct evidence to connect him to little Emma's death. Let's see what the jury has to say about that!

Thread 1


Salem

I would ask the court and the state of Texas to please tell us who killed little Emma if it was not Coe. The child certainly did not perpetrate the injuries to herself. The good people of Texas and these United States are awaiting an answer!

 

[Paintr]

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7667794

The first day of testimony got underway with two nurses and a crime scene investigator, as the prosecution tries to prove that Lucas Coe sexually assaulted four-year-old Emma Thompson.

snip...


Defense attorney William Van Buren said, "Emma Thompson was not sexually assaulted, period."

Two nurses took the stand Tuesday morning. One of them was Karolyn Swann, the charge nurse at Memorial Hermann: The Woodlands. She was on duty at the hospital on June 27, 2009 -- the night Emma was brought to the ER and died. Swann told the prosecution the preschooler was bruised and unconscious. But defense, on cross, asked if medical treatment could have caused Emma's bruises.

The defense asked, "It's not uncommon for there to be bruising even serious injuries from CPR?"

Swann responded, "No."

more at link...

 

[2goldfish]

I know they're doing a job that has to be done for the justice system to work but I dont see how some defense attorneys manage to sleep at night. I really do not.

 

[Paintr]

http://www.39online.com/news/local/kiah-coe-trial-story,0,499165.story

Van Buren pointed to an examination by Texas Children's Hospital on June 18 that, he says, found no evidence Emma was being abused. The examination came on the heels of Emma's pediatrician contacting Child Protective Services. According to the prosecution, Emma's doctor believed she was in danger.

If convicted, Coe could face 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

After opening statements, the prosecution began calling witnesses. The defense expects to have its turn either Friday or early next week.

 

[LCoastMom]

:banghead: :furious: :banghead: :furious: :banghead: :furious: :banghead:

From fhc's link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7198047.html
"Coe's defense attorney William Van Buren insists there was no sexual assault of Emma. The vaginal tear, Van Buren says, could have been caused by anything.

"The bottom line is ... there is no direct evidence," Van Buren said, adding that Coe's DNA was not found on the little girl. "There could be other ways for vaginal tears to occur, other possibilities."" - IN A FOUR YEAR OLD!! EXCUSE ME??? What, like Emma slipped, tripped and fell on his you-know-what accidentially on purpose?? :doh:

:snooty: I'm not buying this load of craptastic garbage! I would like to give Mr. Van Buren an anatomy lesson......

AND

"That night, Young came home to find her daughter, who had been left with Coe, nearly unconscious. She carried Emma from the house to the car to take her to the hospital, claiming then and in testimony later that she believed her daughter to be the victim of a fall in the bathroom.

But instead of waiting with Emma's two older sisters for word from the hospital, witnesses say Coe ran to a neighbor, asking her to watch the girls. He also asked the neighbor to take him and his own young daughter to a nearby Jack-in-the-Box where his sister, who lived 20 miles away, was going to pick them up". - hmmmmmm. Would an innocent person do this???? :liar:

If there was no DNA from Coe anywhere did Abby take the time to cleanse little Emma, while she bleached the bathroom, before putting her into the car for the trip down to the corner?

As sick as this little one must have been, wouldn't it have been normal for Coe to have been holding Emma, thereby leaving trace on her skin or clothing?

Obviously Coe's mother who had custody of his daughter didn't do squat to save his own little girl either, as she too was sexually assaulted, makes me wonder does the defense contend these two little girls hurt each other? :furious:

Quote believe09

The prosecutors have up until the trial to change the charge unless there is new, more compelling evidence presented. I had hopes until then.

I am disappointed in ADA Barnett. Really disappointed. I spoke with her after Abby's trial and tried to offer her words of support. But I am wondering, really wondering how well founded my faith in her was.

From what I studied up after Shaniya died, (an aid for ER docs) rape is one of the hardest assaults to prove because the tissue is so pliable, heals quickly and because other things can cause similar looking injuries (to say a torn hymen) Obviously Emma didn't have time to heal, and the rape was but one of her many injuries, but she did not cause her own internal injuries severe enough to cause organ lacerations or skull fx - unless she threw herself onto say, a moving car - wouldn't murder by torture have been easier to prove?

BBM & BTW not a single answer to two very strong (but polite) letters! I agree with you 110%.

 

[Paintr]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7201204.html

Sitting in a black suit, blue shirt and a tie, Coe, 28, quietly watched Ansari tell jurors that an emergency room nurse will testify that the pre-schooler had a "giant tear to her vagina, not a baby tear, but a giant tear."

Ansari also said Coe, Emma and her mother, Coe's girlfriend, Abigail Young, had genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease.

Weeks before Emma's death, a doctor who discovered the child had genital herpes notified Texas Child Protective Services.

The state agency's investigation was stymied by Abigail Young's lies, Ansari said.

 

[Paintr]

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/prosecutor-says-texas-girl-4-raped-before-death-916901.html

Testimony was scheduled to resume Wednesday in the Houston aggravated sexual assault trial of Lucas Coe.

An autopsy found that Emma Thompson had a severed pancreas and fractured skull.

Prosecutor Tina Ansari, during opening statements Tuesday, said medical personnel will testify that the child also had a torn vagina.

 

[believe09]

http://www.39online.com/news/local/kiah-coe-trial-story,0,499165.story

Van Buren pointed to an examination by Texas Children's Hospital on June 18 that, he says, found no evidence Emma was being abused. The examination came on the heels of Emma's pediatrician contacting Child Protective Services. According to the prosecution, Emma's doctor believed she was in danger.

If convicted, Coe could face 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

After opening statements, the prosecution began calling witnesses. The defense expects to have its turn either Friday or early next week.

Good the defense opened the door for Abby to take the stand. A nurse who claimed there were no strange males living in her household, much less a child rapist who was barred from having contact with children. Who happened to carry herpes.

ETA-just read the rest of the thread...good to see that the prosecutor got in Abby's lies.

 

[believe09]

I am going to maintain then that the defense is going to cast their net to include the other children in the house and Abby as perpetrators of the crime.

Let's do a risk analysis:

Abby-the mud is going to stick some because she did such a good job of cleaning up the crime scene and waiting long enough that her daughter could not be revived from her injuries. Clearly the defense is implying that it is reasonable to assume a severed pancreas and fractured skull, as well as a giant tear are the fruit of prolonged CPR.

UH huh.

The other children-well one was a 4 year old and at least one is going to testify to how badly Coe treated Emma when no one was around who could stick up for her. I doubt that attempting to throw mud at either child will garner sympathy for Coe-it will simply make the defense look stone cold.

 

[Paintr]

This is an old article. I just wanted to show Coe's previous history. This jury won't see these.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6555444.html

Awaiting trial
CPS investigated Coe as a possible perpetrator three times — in 2005, 2006 and 2007 — all involving the son of another girlfriend. He has been indicted on charges of injuring that child; the case has yet to come to trial in Montgomery County. The indictment accuses Coe of striking the boy on the head and body with his hand in July 2007, according to prosecutor Frank Barnett.

In January 2005, CPS first investigated injuries to a Magnolia boy, then 5, which included two black eyes, bruising on one cheek, a bruise on his back and a light bruise on one of his buttocks, said CPS spokeswoman Gwen Carter. Coe was living with the boy and his mother.

When CPS discovered the boy's injuries, he was removed from the home.

“What we found was his injuries were not consistent with the explanation given” for how they occurred, Carter said. The case was closed in August 2005 when the mother reported her relationship with Coe had ended.

Same boy, three times
Coe came to CPS' attention again in 2006 when more injuries on the same boy were reported.

This time, the child had bruises to his face, ears, shoulders and chest, as well as a busted lip. He told caseworkers another child at school hurt him and he had fallen, but he also said Coe had twisted his ears. Coe and the child's mother denied bruising the boy, Carter said.

CPS concluded no abuse occurred and closed the case.

“Looking at it, I think there's some follow-up that should have been done,” Carter said of the case. “Just reading this, I think there's some things the caseworker should have gone more in depth with, knowing the history.”

Coe appears for the third time in March 2007 when the agency investigated a complaint of physical and emotional abuse to the same boy, then 7. Again, more bruises.

CPS discovered the boy living with Coe, along with a 2-year-old girl that Coe had fathered with the boy's mother. The agency took custody of both children, who later went to live with grandparents.

more at link...

 

[ohiogirl]

I wonder time and time again, what is wrong with these women who let men into their lives that continually abuse their children, and then they lie for them.
I wonder, but I guess I really know, it's just very frustrating to see these cases over and over.
Never mind.