Mom who 'cooked' her child escapes death

An Ohio woman convicted of killing her 28-day-old baby daughter in a microwave oven was spared the death penalty and sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Arnold intentionally put Paris Talley, the infant, in a microwave and turned it on after a fight with her boyfriend. The couple had argued over whether the boyfriend was the infant’s biological father.

China Arnold, 31, of Dayton, who psychologists testified showed no signs of serious mental illness, declined to make a statement during her sentencing, the Daily Mail reported.

Medical experts testified that the baby died quickly after her temperature reached between 107 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. They said she probably was in the microwave for more than two minutes.

Dr. Marcella Fierro, retired chief medical examiner for Virginia, said: “She died because she was overheated. She was ‘cooked’.”

Two psychologists testified Thursday that Arnold was of average intelligence and showed no signs of serious mental illness. Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon said Arnold suffered from a “low-grade chronic depressive condition” as well as alcohol and drug abuse. He said he found nothing “that would have justified the death of this child”.

In arguing for the death sentence, Assistant Montgomery County Prosecutor Dan Brandt told the jury there were no factors that mitigate the “purposeful murder of baby Paris in that microwave.”

Defence attorney Kevin Lennen said that death or life in prison would be a tough penalty, but death should go only to the worst offenders.

He pointed to evidence that Arnold was drunk at the time of the baby’s death.

Assistant Prosecutor Dan Brandt told jurors that Arnold’s actions were “even more purposeful” than a slaying with a gun or knife, the Dayton Daily News reported.

During closing arguments, Mr Brandt told jurors: “Baby Paris is without life, but she’s not without a voice. Please listen to her.”

Arnold reportedly took Paris to the hospital the following day but she succumbed to her injuries.

It was Arnold’s third trial in her daughter’s 2005 death. Her first trial ended in a mistrial when new witnesses surfaced just before closing arguments.

Arnold was initially arrested but then released due to lack of evidence.  She was re-arrested in November 2006.