Court Hears Motive On Why Mother Allegedly Put Her Baby In A Microwave Oven
Posted February 5, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Why would anyone commit one of the most heinous acts in recent memory? The incredible answer may have emerged in a Dayton, Ohio courtroom on Monday. The case is one we first told you about in November 2006. It involves a woman named China Arnold (left), who’s accused of putting her baby in a microwave oven and hitting the ‘on’ button.
The child was rushed to hospital in August 2005, but was already dead when it arrived. An autopsy revealed the little girl had succumbed to high body temperature but with no signs of exposure to any heat source, experts were baffled by the reasons. It took them months to discover the horrifying truth – someone had apparently put the child in a microwave oven.
Weeks later, 26-year-old China Arnold, the baby’s mother, was charged with aggravated murder. More than two years have passed since that awful day but there’s never been any reason given why someone would allegedly commit such an unthinkable act – until now.
A court has heard testimony from Arnold’s husband, who claims his wife told him in a phone conversation that his carousing with other women was the reason she supposedly did it. “She told me if I wouldn’t be out cheating, my baby would still be alive,” Terrell Talley testified.
But the defence got the husband to admit that both were drinking heavily that day and that other people had access to the infant. According to the witness, the couple had been fighting over whether Talley was really the father. They’d quaffed down nearly a pint of booze before going out to a local amusement park, leaving the baby with the defendant’s sister.
When they returned, still very intoxicated, the fight broke out again and this time Talley admits slapping Arnold and shoving her to the ground after she bit him on the lip. He left the apartment, returning to find his wife passed out on the couch and the child lying at her feet.
He then went to sleep and when he awoke, he noticed the strange red mark on the unresponsive baby’s face. They rushed the girl to the ER, but it was already too late.
Arnold has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. She could face the death penalty if she’s convicted.
