Mistrial Declared In Microwave Baby Case

Judge: New Witnesses Support Claims By Mother Accused Of Killing Her Baby In Microwave

(AP)  A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of woman accused of killing her month-old daughter by burning her in a microwave, finding that new defense witnesses bolster her claim that she is innocent.

Judge John Kessler made the decision after hearing testimony privately from a juvenile who said he was at the apartment complex of defendant China Arnold on the night her infant died in August 2005. The judge did not give details about the juvenile's testimony.

Arnold, 27, showed little emotion when the judge announced his decision but appeared sad as she walked out of the courtroom and was returned to jail. Family members in the courtroom had no audible reaction but hugged one another in the hall as they were leaving.

Testimony was complete in the trial, and it had been on the verge of going to the jury. Kessler continued a gag order in the case, so neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys would comment.

The judge had also heard testimony from the father of the juvenile who said he was at the complex and was presented with affidavits from an adult witness. Prosecutors asked Kessler to reject the evidence, questioning its truthfulness, the judge said.

But Kessler said that the evidence is new and that the defense hasn't had a chance to investigate it.

Ordering the trial to move forward without considering the evidence would be instant grounds for reversal of any conviction, Kessler said.

Allowing the evidence during the final stages of the trial would deny prosecutors and defense attorneys a full opportunity to investigate it, he said. It could also affect how Arnold chose to confront other witnesses and influence her decision to testify or not, he said.

Kessler discharged the jury and ordered the case placed back on the court docket for further scheduling.

Police investigators believe Arnold killed the girl, Paris Talley, by putting her in a microwave at her Dayton home. Coroner's officials said the baby suffered high-heat internal injuries and had no external burns.

Arnold could face the death penalty if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, prosecution witnesses said Arnold admitted that killing the baby by putting her in the microwave, that the baby was small enough to fit into the oven and that a sample of DNA found on the ceiling of the appliance matched that of the child.

Defense witnesses said that Arnold told them she had nothing to do with the baby's death and didn't know how it happened and that she expressed shock at being told the child might have been burned in a microwave.

[rhs648]

Too horrible for me to comment!

[michellem99-2009]

What! They declared a mistrial..Dear God Allmighty that child..Are they CRAZY..

[michellem99-2009]

Dear, ye can''t not castrate a woman...She need her ties tied so she can''t bear children..castrate is a male thing.

[michellem99-2009]

Thank ye.. there are alot females that should have their tubes tied..I did as I am a legally blind lady on meds, A lady that gives up her child,abuage lady,a handicapped lady with the mind of a child.

[incog-nito]

She didn''t know how it could have happened? Did the baby just crawled in the microwave by itself and somehow reached outside to turn it on? That would be pure magic.

Somebody killed that baby.

[grammawhamma]

Maybe the juvenile confessed to doing it.

[michellem99-2009]

gramma I bought a new microwave oven..There is no way a small child could put a baby in it..Look at the adult,,that bloody mother...Gramma..

[michellem99-2009]

Gramma ye may find a turn table to play yer old records in pawn shops..I asked my friend..
If they set that woman free fix her so she can''t have any more kids..Do that..

[marymcq]

A mistrial? Give me a f**kin break!!! How horrible! Microwaves cook from the inside out, that poor baby had her insides cooked, they also said the baby''s DNA was on the ceiling of the microwave, I hope that doesn''t mean she exploded!! Oh my God!! She will surely rot in hell. Can I get an AMEN?

[houghston]

to mary mcq - AMEN!!!How horrible! So many people are trying to adopt. If she didn''t want the baby then put it up for adoption. Where were parents of this girl - a month old baby - she had time to think of what she was doing for a month. The same should happen to her to see how that baby suffered and be done with it. Why should I pay for a person like that to sit in jail.

[asmallrn]

"Defense witnesses said that Arnold told them she had nothing to do with the baby''s death and didn''t know how it happened and that she expressed shock at being told the child might have been burned in a microwave." Hmmmm....pleading ignorance. I agree with jerryomara. Praise GEEZ us!

[random_radar]

Obviously the baby was killed by microwaving, and that is a horrible thing. But the question is who did it. The reason there was a mistrial is because new evidence contradicts the police circumstantial case. Circumstantial cases are where no one really knows what happened but they convict the "most likely" person.

Unlike the ignorant, outraged, irrational people who have commented, I am interested in finding the guilty and not convicting the innocent. We read stories all the time about convictions being overturned after years or decades of innocent people rotting in prison unjustly.

The reason this happens is because of juries composed of the ignorant, prejudiced, irrational, inexcusable people who are commenting on this case without knowing or caring about the facts.

[lamendn]

A baby is dead. Cause of death/ internal burns attributed to being placed in a microwave. A microwave that has the baby''s DNA on the ceiling.
All translates to the murder of an innocent baby.
Who did such a horrible thing? Was it the truly the mother of this child or was it someone else? TBD via the trial. If mother, the mother should have to face the death penalty and it should be just as quick as the baby''s suffering. If not then proceed against the true guilty party in the same mannerism.

[kevzgrl]

I just KNEW it - the baby did it to herself, right? Either that, or it was Bush''s fault...

The root of this lies in the welfare system that still has not been fixed, and allows a poor (and I don''t mean that in the monetary sense) parent to CONTINUE having children and that they abuse and neglect. Where there is clear cut evidence of neglect/abuse as there had been prior to this baby being killed, the children should have been taken away and placed with people who would love and care for them, and the mother''s tubes should have been tied/cut/burned/plugged so she could not produce another baby that would face this kind of horror. You have to take a test and prove your skills and be licensed before you can have a gun or drive a car - why should it be any different when you are being entrusted with a helpless and totally defensless little baby. The Children''s Services, that had had a lot of prior contact with this mother, according to the newspaper reports and records here in Ohio, should have done more to prevent this.

[michellem99-2009]

The docs, They should fix them, man/woman so no babies..Not every one should breed. As a people we fix dogs/cats so no puppies/kittens. A woman tells her doc''I want my tubes ties.''.doc.*.what will the man think*..she ''I don''t care what he thinks am single with health issues.''.Doc *I won''t do it.*.This took place years ago. There is more to life than having a baby. I grew up in foster homes.

[libsrweak]

Posted by MichelleM99 at 02:26 PM : Feb 12, 2008
+ report abuse

**********

why lament??? is there an end to this atrocity??

we have a lot of ignorant people out there with full capability to produce "microwave ready" babies.

[michellem99-2009]

I was driving a point home that docs will not fix a woman..I was in my 20s in the 70s and my doc would not fix my tubes..The doc was worried about a man. I was not. She never helpped me.. THERE ARE LADIES WHO WANT THIS DONE AND DOC SHOULD DO IT. Had the doc fixed that woman than a baby would have been killed in that oven..

[keithle1]

BIRTH CONTROL. CONDOMS. EVER HEARD OF THEM?

Just because you''re a woman, doesn''t make you a good mother.

A lot of women need kids like they need a hole in the head. They can''t handle it. It''s too much for them.

BIRTH CONTROL. CONDOMS. TRY THEM. LEARN ABOUT THEM.
THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY.