Murder Conviction Stands For Macomb County Grandma
MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ/AP) - The Michigan appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a Detroit-area woman who went to trial four times before a jury convicted her of first-degree murder in the drowning of her 4-year-old grandson.
A lawyer for 65-year-old Terry Borgia says her right to a fair trial was spoiled by improper closing remarks by a Macomb County prosecutor. The appeals court disagrees in a 3-0 opinion released Wednesday.
Borgia reportedly made incriminating statements to police, saying she "snapped," but did not make an outright confession that she drowned DeAngelo Tobia in 2010 at a Clinton Township apartment she shared with her adult daughter, Tonina, the boy's aunt.
A trial attorney said Borgia didn't drown her grandson and was actually covering for her daughter, who had a history of mental illness.
Borgia is serving a no-parole sentence. Three earlier trials ended in mistrials.
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