PrincessArky
06-25-2008, 07:45 AM
Pine Bluff man faces life in prison in child's death
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - A Pine Bluff man faces life in prison after a jury convicted him of capital murder in the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.
A Jefferson County jury deliberated for about two hours Tuesday before convicting 20-year-old Marcha Smith in last year's death of La-Niyah Beard.
An autopsy says the girl died of multiple blunt force trauma, including a skull fracture. Smith's attorney argued that La-Niyah slipped on a wet floor and died from her injuries.
Circuit Judge Berlin Jones sentenced Smith to life in prison. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=8552173
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - A Pine Bluff man faces life in prison after a jury convicted him of capital murder in the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.
A Jefferson County jury deliberated for about two hours Tuesday before convicting 20-year-old Marcha Smith in last year's death of La-Niyah Beard.
An autopsy says the girl died of multiple blunt force trauma, including a skull fracture. Smith's attorney argued that La-Niyah slipped on a wet floor and died from her injuries.
Circuit Judge Berlin Jones sentenced Smith to life in prison. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=8552173