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Baby Abuse, Child Abuse, Case Law, Criminal Justice, Gulfport, MS, Parental Abuse, Punishment
US Gulfport Woman Convicted of Critically Harming Newborn Twins; Will Serve Life in Prison
In March 2021, a Gulfport, Mississippi, jury convicted Molly Burton, 38, of two counts of first-degree murder in the near-fatal abuse of her newborn twin daughters, Cammy and Leah. Three days earlier, Circuit Judge Anthony Mozell found the evidence against Burton to be so compelling that he allowed the jury to be dismissed and determined that the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction. Judge Mozell subsequently sentenced Burton to life in prison without the possibility of release.Arguments at TrialFocused on Targeted Assaults
During the three-week trial, the prosecution argued that Burton targeted her newborn infants, Cammy and Leah, in a campaign to kill them. On June 4, 2016, Burton called 911 and said, “My baby’s not breathing. Please hurry.” When officers arrived, Cammy and Leah were choking on their own blood and mucus, and were cool to the touch. Resuscitation efforts failed, and the babies died.
Harrison County coroner Tom McMath testified that both babies had wounds to their heads, bruises on their abdomens, and other injuries. They had no signs of decay, indicating they had been dead for less than one hour when Burton called 911, suggesting they had been dead before she made that call. The baby’s father and another employee who worked with Burton at the Dollar Tree store testified that she had picked up the babies the day before they died and had appeared to be unreasonably angry and in pain.
To bolster their case, the prosecution retained pediatric pathologist Dr. Ellen J. Green of Cedrester, Michigan, who concluded that both babies died from “lacerations of the head, multiple fractures to the skull and body.” According to Green’s analysis, the babies had head injuries, internal bleeding, and multiple “spiral fractures” to their legs, which Green said happened roughly the same time, as technique. Spiral fractures happen when someone twists a bone, she said.
Three Dallas Obstetricians and Gynecologists testified that Burton concealed her pregnancy and tried to deadly harm the babies after giving birth. They said they looked at hospital records and found proof that Burton was pregnant at the time she was injured in an April 2016 car accident. Dr. John D. Reinke, testified that Burton was ten weeks pregnant when admitted to Singing River Hospital on April 23, 2016. He said that her due date was October 14, 2016. Burton’s babysitter, Jasmine Duncan, also noticed signs the defendant was pregnant.
The doctors also reviewed records indicating a strange reaction to a test for a possible sexually transmitted infection administered to Burton by Sonic Obstetrics and Gynecology. According to the records, following a vial having revealed Burton’s then-unknown pregnancy, Burton “asked if the blood test was her pregnancy blood test” and “reacted by saying ‘Oh! I won’t have a baby to gain anymore weight.’” When asked by Dr. Lily Weller of the University of Arkansas, for the prosecution at trial, “If (you) knew that you were pregnant from the time of the motor vehicle wreck and you had a miscarriage, why would you go to a fertility doctor to get pregnant, that would result in you gaining weight and making you heavier,” Burton failed to provide an adequate response.
One of Burton’s defense lawyers, James “Jamie” B. McCall, did not counter the conclusion of Green, who said she was “virtually certain” that Burton’s actions “showed that deliberate lethal force” had been used. McCall suggested Burton may have given birth to the twins at home after being injured in the car accident.
Burton’s mother, Shirley Worthy, who was in the courtroom during the jury’s deliberation, declined to comment other than saying “she didn’t do it.” Worthy continued by explaining that her daughter was “mentally ill” and “on medication for bipolar disorder, something she knew little about,” Stuart said.
Sentencing After Conviction
Following Burton’s conviction, Circuit Judge Anthony Mozell took into account the statement by one of the babies’ biological fathers, John Adcock III, who wrote a letter to the court in which he asked that “Molly be sentenced to life in the penitentiary” so “no other innocent child(ren) (would) be in her care.”
Beckelman said the length of the prison sentence “says something to the community about the severity of the crime.” While the sentence was unusual in Harrison County, it is common in surrounding counties, he acknowledged.
Courtesy of http://www.mcwhortertribune.com. Can you summarize the case of Molly Burton, who was convicted for the near-fatal abuse of her newborn twin daughters in Gulfport, MS?
“Penalizing Parents for Children’s Offenses: Is It Fair?”
Molly Burton, 38, of Gulfport, Mississippi, was convicted in March 2021 for the near-fatal abuse of her newborn twin daughters, Cammy and Leah, in June 2016. Both babies died of “lacerations of the head, multiple fractures to the skull, and body.” The babies’ father and a colleague testified that Burton appeared to be unreasonably angry and in pain when she brought the twins to work. Three Dallas Obstetricians and Gynecologists testified that Burton concealed her pregnancy and tried to deadly harm the babies after giving birth. Burton was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.
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