Woman accused of microwaving baby was 'drunk'
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Woman accused of microwaving baby was 'drunk'*
By staff writers
July 20, 2007 09:05am
A WOMAN accused of killing her newborn daughter by putting her in a
microwave told police she was drunk and could not remember what
happened, a testimony has been told.
China Arnold, 26, from Dayton Ohio, has pleaded not guilty to the charge
of aggravated murder following the death of her month-old daughter Paris
Tilley on August 30, 2005. She faces the death penalty if found guilty.
At a pretrial hearing, detective Michael Galbraith testified that Ms
Arnold told him during questioning: "If I hadn't gotten so drunk, I
guess my baby wouldn't have died," Associated Press reported.
Mr Galbraith said that Ms Arnold also told him she did not know how the
baby suffered the burns, and that she had nothing to do with it that she
could recall.
Mr Galbraith said Ms Arnold told him she arrived home in the early
morning hours after drinking, fell asleep and was awakened at 2.30am by
the baby's crying.
She said she warmed a bottle in the microwave oven on the counter, tried
to give it to the baby, changed the child's nappy and then fell asleep
on the couch with the baby on her chest, Mr Galbraith said.
Ms Arnold said she and her three children - aged seven, six and three -
were the only people in the apartment until her boyfriend arrived
several hours later and noticed something was wrong with the baby,
Associated Press reported.
The coroner concluded that the injuries to Ms Arnold's baby could have
been caused only by the child being cooked in a microwave oven.
Mr Galbraith said DNA matching the baby was found in the microwave, but
he acknowledged that the DNA evidence did not establish who killed the
child.
"That microwave was the murder weapon," he said. "The burns themselves
were horrendous."
The trial continues.