China Arnold

Case record: China Arnold

People

• China Arnold (born March 29, 1980, in Dayton, Ohio) was a defendant in a murder case involving her 28-day-old daughter, Paris Talley.
• Paris Talley was China Arnold’s daughter. She was 28 days old when she was killed.
• Terrell Talley was China Arnold’s boyfriend. Prosecutors said that China Arnold placed Paris into the microwave after an argument with Talley over the baby’s paternity.
• Dr. Marcella Fierro was the medical examiner who testified. She said: "she was cooked."
• Doyle Burke was a retired Dayton detective who testified about items found when investigators searched Arnold’s apartment.
• Dr. William Matre was an emergency room physician who testified.
• Judge Mary Wiseman sentenced Arnold to life in prison.
• Assistant County Prosecutor David Franceschelli spoke about the jury’s decision not to recommend death.
• Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion represented China Arnold.
• Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman presided over the sentencing following the verdict.
• Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. commented on the appeals ruling.
• Ohio Reformatory for Women held Arnold from September 11, 2008.
• Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction was referenced as the destination after county jail.

Timeline

• August 2005 — A boy was 5 years old in August 2005; the boy later testified about seeing another child put the baby in the oven, leading to a mistrial.
• February 2008 — China Arnold’s first trial ended in a mistrial.
• September 2008 — Arnold was convicted of all charges and sentenced to life without parole.
• August 2008 — Dr. Marcella Fierro testified that death likely occurred after being burned in a microwave oven for more than two minutes.
• September 8, 2008 — Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• September 9, 2008 — A sentencing report stated Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• November 5, 2010 — The Ohio Second District Court of Appeals reversed Arnold’s conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct and trial errors regarding material witnesses.
• May 13, 2011 — A jury found Arnold guilty of aggravated murder.
• May 20, 2011 — Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without parole (resentenced).
• September 11, 2008 — Arnold was incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

Background

China Arnold was born March 29, 1980, in Dayton, Ohio. She had previously been convicted of abduction in 2000 and forgery in 2002.

At the time of the killing, Arnold lived with her children and her boyfriend, Terrell Talley, in a housing complex.

Prior relationships and paternity dispute

Prosecutors said Arnold placed Paris into the microwave after an argument with Talley over the baby’s paternity. Arnold told investigators she was intoxicated.

The offence

Prosecutors said that Arnold placed Paris, her 28-day-old daughter, into a microwave oven. Death occurred because Paris’s internal temperature reached critical temperatures after she had been heated for what analysts suspected was longer than two minutes. Dr. Marcella Fierro testified that: "she was cooked."

At sentencing, the court heard that Arnold argued with her boyfriend Terrell Talley about whether he was the biological father of baby Paris. Officials said investigators found Paris Talley suffered high-heat internal burns but had no external marks. Prosecutors said Paris’s DNA was found inside the microwave in Arnold’s apartment.

After removing Paris from the microwave, Arnold took Paris to the hospital the next day, where Paris died of her injuries.

Investigation

Investigators initially arrested Arnold for murder, then released her due to lack of evidence.

A retired Dayton detective, Doyle Burke, testified that when investigators searched Arnold’s apartment the day Talley died, they found a plastic bathtub with sediment at the bottom. Burke said: "It looked like skin to me." He said he found a damp towel in the bathtub that had dark sediment on it and that he looked at items in the home including the stove and oven but had not considered the microwave. Burke said: "I didn’t know a microwave burnt like that." He also said he talked to Arnold about things he had been told by witnesses and that she changed her version of events several times. Burke said he asked Arnold where her four children were, and she told him she had locked three of them upstairs and that the baby was with her father.

The emergency room physician Dr. William Matre testified that he was surprised Arnold appeared not to know the baby was burned. Matre said Arnold replied: "My baby’s burned?" and Matre added: "I was surprised that I could be asked that question." He also said: "I thought the injuries were so obvious. I guess I was disgusted."

Forensic testimony included testimony that the burn patterns were different from burns in a Virginia microwave case, and that the girl likely died after being burned in a microwave oven for more than two minutes. Dr. Marcella Fierro testified: "I'd say several minutes, given the degree of burning."

Arrest

Arnold was arrested initially, then released due to lack of evidence.

Arnold was re-arrested in November 2006.

Trial

First trial and mistrial

Arnold’s first trial ended in February 2008 in a mistrial.

A boy who was 5 years old in August 2005 came forward after the defense had rested it’s case and said he saw another child put the baby in the oven. The claim resulted in a mistrial.

Second trial and conviction

Arnold was convicted of aggravated murder at the second trial. She had been convicted of all charges in September 2008 and sentenced to life without parole.

At the second trial, Talley’s son’s claim was contradicted: the mother of the boy in question established that he was not at the housing complex when Paris died, and the conviction proceeded to aggravated murder.

A cellmate testimony was introduced at the second trial, involving Linda Williams, who previously testified in the first trial that Arnold told her she put the baby in the microwave, and then testified in the second trial for the defense that her prior testimony was false.

During the second trial, Williams’s taped testimony included the statement: "She said she put the baby into the microwave and started it and left the house," and: "She said she fit right in," and Williams also said: "Williams testified on tape." Williams also said she asked Arnold how she got the child into the oven, and that Arnold said: "She said she fit right in."

Appeal of second conviction

On November 5, 2010, the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals reversed Arnold’s conviction, citing misconduct by prosecutors and that the court erred by not allowing material witnesses to testify in Arnold’s defense.

The defence attorney Jon Paul Rion described the result as a reversal and remand that gave Arnold a right to defend her innocence. Rion said: "The Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded the decision in China Arnold's case. That means she has a right to defend her innocence once again. We believe in her innocence. We believe that she is not guilty of any crime."

Heck Jr. commented on the reversal. Heck said: "We are astonished that the Court of Appeals reversed the defendant's conviction." Heck said the prosecutor’s office provided copies of all witness statements well in advance of the trial and that the prosecutor’s office arranged for defense counsel to interview the witness in question in a private office before she testified. Heck said: "Moreover, the Prosecutor's Office arranged for defense counsel to interview the witness in question in a private office before she testified." Heck also said: "Any and all testimony given my the witness at trial was consistent with the statements that were provided to defense counsel in discovery." Heck added: "There were no surprises in the witness's trial testimony, and there was no ambush." Heck also said: "The State will file a motion asking the Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision."

Third trial (after reversal)

Verdict

On May 13, 2011, a jury found China Arnold guilty of aggravated murder in the death of Paris Talley.

The jury returned a guilty verdict around 11:45 a.m. on charges of aggravated murder.

Jury deliberations in the sentencing phase

In a capital case, the trial had two phases, and the sentencing phase started Thursday. Jurors received the case after 6 p.m. Thursday and deliberated until 8:30 before stopping for the night. Deliberations resumed at 8:30 a.m. Friday before returning a recommendation around 12:20 p.m.

Defence and prosecution positions at sentencing

Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion argued that the evidence pointed as much to Terrell Talley as it did to Arnold and said the evidence suggested Talley was a likely alternative. At sentencing, Rion said judicial rulings prevented him from presenting witnesses, and he said: "The fight's not over," and: "There are witnesses out there that know China is innocent." Rion also said: "We will assist China until she’s a free lady."

Assistant County Prosecutor David Franceschelli said the jury’s decision not to recommend death did not disappoint him, and Franceschelli said: "I respect their decision," and: "This defendant will spend the remainder of her living days in a prison."

Mitigating and aggravating factors; jury choices

The jury was instructed to weigh mitigating factors presented by the defense against the aggravating circumstance of purposely killing a child under age 13 while being the principal offender.

The jury was given four choices: death, life without the possibility of parole, life with the possibility of parole after 30 years, or life with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Sentencing and resentencing

Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 8, 2008.

After the May 13, 2011 verdict, the sentencing phase recommendation did not recommend death. Judge Mary Wiseman immediately sentenced Arnold, and Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 20, 2011.

After receiving her sentence, Arnold declined to make a statement in court and was escorted from the courtroom by county sheriff’s deputies. She remained quiet in the courtroom.

Wiseman told Arnold that appellate counsel would be appointed since she had the right to appeal.

Confinement status after sentencing events

Arnold had been incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women since September 11, 2008. After sentencing in 2011, she was to be held in the county jail until she was handed over to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Other details

Statements from family and others

Bishop Richard Cox with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said: "She needs to be set free. She does not need to be incarcerated."

Arnold’s family members spoke after sentencing and after the guilty verdict. Crystal McGhee said: "China wanted this baby with all her heart. That's all she talked about, was having a baby girl." Gloria Scott said: "I was so overjoyed. It was so unbelievable. I just couldn't believe it." Kasha Scott said: "I never lost hope, never lost hope." Wanda J. Stewart said: "We speak for the truth," and: "She is innocent. We’re going to let justice take its place." Stewart also said: "I’m glad that they used common sense and maybe a little doubt," and asked for common sense and doubt.

Mental health evidence

The sentencing phase was delayed to allow for a mental exam.

Two psychologists determined that Arnold had an average IQ and no significant mental illness. Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon said Arnold suffered from a "low-grade chronic depressive condition" as well as alcohol and drug abuse. Smalldon said he found nothing "that would have justified the death of this child."

Judge’s remarks on crime severity

Judge Mary Wiseman said the crime was "shocking and utterly abhorrent for a civilised society" and said: "No adjectives exist to adequately describe this heinous atrocity."

Cellmate confession content (as presented at sentencing)

Arnold’s cellmate told the court that she had confessed to putting her daughter in the microwave and switching it on because she was afraid her boyfriend would leave her if he discovered that he was not the baby’s father.

The defense said there was evidence that someone else was responsible for Paris Talley’s death and that the cellmate changed her story.

Cellmate and witness testimony disputes

Prosecutors said the state’s key witness claimed Arnold confessed she killed her baby. Rion said the court found misconduct relating to the testimony of the state's key witness and that prosecutors hid witnesses, disobeyed court orders, and tried to subvert the judicial process. Rion said: "Stating that they hid witnesses, disobeyed court orders and essentially tried to subvert the entire judicial process by their acts, by denying China the right to a fair trial."

He also said: "Rion said judicial rulings prevented him from presenting those witnesses."

Record of appeal handling

Rion said the appeals would be handled by a team assembled from across the country.

Statements in BBC report

Prosecutors said Arnold maintained she was innocent, and said she killed her daughter in 2005 after a fight with her boyfriend. The BBC report also said she followed proceedings by video-link from a side room because she was not in court.