13 MO Amora Bain Carson Beat to Death with Hammer(Death Penalty)

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http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/about_us/Frequently_Asked_Questions
Texas Baby's Exorcism Death Trial Begins
Monday, May 3, 2010

Amora Bain Carson, who authorities say was killed with a hammer during an exorcism.
CONROE, Texas - The trial began Monday for a man accused along with his girlfriend in beating the woman's 13-month-old daughter to death with a hammer in what authorities say the couple called an exorcism.

Citing pretrial publicity, a judge moved the capital murder trial for Blaine Milam of Rusk County from east Texas to the Houston suburb of Conroe, about 160 miles south.

If convicted in the December 2008 death of Amora Bain Carson, Milam faces the death penalty. Milam's girlfriend is awaiting trial. Both have plead not guilty.

According to an arrest affidavit, the couple claimed they were performing an exorcism "to beat the demons out" of the child. The affidavit alleges that after the child died, the couple "drove to Henderson to pawn some items to pay for an exorcism."

Authorities say the couple told detectives they decided to hire a priest after the exorcism went badly, but there was no indication of clergy being called to the home.

The child was hit multiple times with a hammer and bitten more than 30 times, according to detectives.

Milam was supposed to be in jail at the time of the child's death as a condition of probation for his second-degree felony conviction of criminal solicitation of a child. Authorities say Milam skipped out on a work release program 48 days into a 180-day jail sentence.
 

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http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/050610-%27Shocking%27-Injuries-in-Texas-Child%27s-Exorcism-Death
'Shocking' Injuries in Exorcism Death
Doctor Details Numerous Possibly-Fatal Wounds
Thursday, May 6, 2010

CONROE, Texas - A forensic pathologist told a southeast Texas jury on Wednesday that a slain toddler's injuries were "shocking."

Dr. Keith Pinckard of the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences testified in the capital murder trial of Blaine Milam , who is accused with girlfriend Jessica Carson of beating Carson's 13-month-old daughter, Amora Bain Carson, to death with a hammer in 2008. Both have plead not guilty.

According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Pinckard told the Montgomery County jury he had no trouble remembering the autopsy he performed on the child.

"This particular body ... the word 'shocking' comes to mind," he said.

He provided jurors a lengthy list of injuries inflicted on the child, a number of which could have been fatal. He told of numerous broken bones, lacerations of her brain and liver, and severe tears to her sexual organs that he said happened hours before the child died.

He said the potentially fatal injuries were so numerous he couldn't determine a specific cause of death.

Also testifying Wednesday in Conroe were Rusk County sheriff's Lt. Charles Helton and district attorney's investigator William Brown, who described the blood-spattered crime scene in Henderson.

The case was moved 160 miles from Henderson in Rusk County to the Houston suburb of Conroe because of potentially prejudicial pretrial publicity.

According to court records, Milam and his girlfriend told authorities they were trying "to beat the demons out" of Amora, who died in 2008. Authorities say the girl was also bitten more than 30 times.

Milam's girlfriend, Jessica Carson, awaits trial.

 

 

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http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/051010-Bite-Expert-Testifies-in-Exorcism-Death
Bite Expert Testifies in Exorcism Death
Couple Accused of Beating Toddler with Hammer
Monday, May 10, 2010

CONROE, Texas - The prosecution could offer more bite testimony in the Conroe trial of a man accused in the 2008 beating death of his girlfriend's toddler daughter.

Testimony was scheduled to resume Monday in the capital murder trial of Blaine Milam. Blood and DNA evidence were presented Friday.

Milam and Jessica Carson are accused of beating her 13-month-old daughter, Amora Bain Carson, to death with a hammer in an alleged exorcism . The mother face trial later.

Biologist Angela Fitzwater, with the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences, testified last week that one bite to the girl's elbow had DNA linked to Milam.

The trial was moved 160 miles from Henderson, in Rusk County, to Conroe because of pretrial publicity about the case.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7002730.html
‘Delusional' mother killed child, attorney says
May 12, 2010

CONROE ­­— An attorney for Blaine Milam, who is on trial for the capital murder of a 13-month-old girl, told jurors Wednesday that his client's mentally ill girlfriend was responsible for the child's death.

Jessica Carson was depressed and so delusional that “she lost touch with reality and lost touch with her daughter,” said attorney Rick Hagan during the first day of the defense's case. “She acted out on those delusional thoughts.”

Milam, 20, and Carson, 19, who will be tried separately on a capital murder charge, are accused of killing Carson's daughter, Amora Bain Carson, on Dec. 2, 2008, in Rusk County. The trial started last week with Rusk County District Attorney Micheal Jimerson and state Assistant Attorney General Lisa Tanner calling several witnesses, including a medical examiner who described Amora's numerous injuries.

Prosecutors said the couple called 911 to report the child was dead. They told authorities they had gone to look at land to buy and when they returned home, she was dead. When police arrived they found the lifeless child with 24 human bite marks all over her body and multiple red and purple bruises covering her entire head.

The trial was moved to Conroe because of pre-trial publicity. Rusk County Judge J. Clay Gossett is presiding over the case.
Change in demeanor

On Wednesday, Hagan called Jessica Carson's mother, Heather Carson, to testify about her daughter's demeanor, which appeared to have changed drastically before Amora's death. She said her daughter had become quiet, subdued and stopped taking care of her personal appearance. She also said that the last time she had contact with Jessica, Milam and Amora was in November 2008, when they visited her at her Longview apartment. Jessica was submissive and appeared depressed, she said.

On cross-examination, Tanner asked Heather Carson if her daughter suffered from postpartum depression. She said no and characterized her daughter as a good mother.

“She did everything for Amora,” Heather Carson said.

She also said her daughter's behavior did not change until after she moved in with Milam in August 2008, and that concerned her.

Family friend Lisa Taylor, of Elba, Ala., also testified that Jessica Carson was acting “a little weird.” Hagan asked her to describe what she meant.

“There was nothing in her eyes,” Taylor said. “It was like looking into a dark space.”
Longtime friends

Taylor's oldest daughter and Jessica Carson are best friends. They met in junior high school when the Carsons lived in Alabama. Jessica Carson, Milam and Amora stayed with the Taylors in November 2008. The couple had planned to move to Alabama and Taylor had agreed to help them find jobs and a place to live. But they abruptly left four days later and returned to Texas after a disagreement with Taylor's youngest daughter, Taylor said.

During the couple's stay, Taylor said Carson did not pay attention to Amora and that Milam cared for the child.

But Taylor had told detectives a different story on Dec. 3, 2008, a day after Amora's murder. Tanner read Taylor her statement. Taylor said that Carson had acted pretty normal and that Blaine acted weird.

Testimony resumes today in Montgomery County's 284th state District Court.

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http://www.examiner.com/a-2627850~No_testimony_from_Milam_in_Conroe_cap_murder_trial.html
No testimony from Milam in Conroe cap murder trial
May 13, 2010

CONROE, Texas (Map, News) -
A man accused in the 2008 beating death of his girlfriend's toddler did not testify before the defense rested in his trial in Conroe.

Closing arguments are scheduled Monday in the capital murder trial of Blaine Milam.

Milam is accused of killing 13-month-old Amora Bain Carson during an alleged exorcism. The mother, Jesseca Carson, also is charged with capital murder and faces trial later.

A dental expert, Dr. George Isaac, who practices in El Paso, testified for the defense Thursday that there is room for error in bite mark comparisons.
Investigators have said the child was hit with a hammer and bitten more than 30 times. Bite mark expert Robert Williams testified Tuesday, for the prosecution, that he believed some of the bites were made by Milam.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/man-guilty-in-toddlers-2008-death
Man guilty in toddler's 2008 death
East Texas man convicted in hammer homicide
May 18, 2010
CONROE, Texas (AP) -
A jury in Conroe, Texas convicted an East Texas man in the 2008 killing of his girlfriend's toddler daughter.

The penalty phase was scheduled Tuesday for Blaine Milam, 20. Jurors late Monday night convicted him of capital murder in the December 2008 death of 13-month-old Amora Bain Carson.

Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty, said the victim was beaten with a hammer in an alleged exorcism at the child's rural home near Henderson.

Amora's mother, Jesseca Carson, faces a capital murder charge in the killing and awaits trial.

The Milam trial was moved about 160 miles from Rusk County to Montgomery County , due to extensive publicity about the case.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/texas/100521-TXToddlers-Death_57922504
Sister: Convicted Tot-Killer Was Passive Child

CONROE, Texas (AP) — The sister of a man convicted of killing a 13-month-old east Texas toddler told jurors that her brother was a passive child.

Theresa Shea testified Friday for the defense in Blaine Milam's trial in Conroe. The penalty phase of the Montgomery County trial resumes Monday. Jurors must decide whether Milam gets the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole for the December 2008 beating death of Amora Bain Carson.

The Tyler Morining Telegraph reports Shea testified her brother is "a passive person" who acted like a father to the toddler and "loved her to pieces."

Prosecutors say the child was beaten with a hammer in an alleged exorcism at the child's Rusk County rural home. Her mother, girlfriend Jesseca Carson, awaits trial on a capital murder charge.

Extensive pretrial publicity prompted the 160-mile relocation of the trial.

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http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/texas/100528-death-penalty-for-blaine-milam-in-toddler-killing
(video)
Death Penalty for Blaine Milam in Toddler Killing
May 28, 2010

CONROE, Texas - Jurors have returned a death sentence for an east Texas man over the 2008 slaying of his girlfriend's toddler.

A jury in Conroe late Thursday decided on the death penalty for 20-year-old Blaine Milam, after about nine hours of deliberation. Jurors on May 17 found Milam guilty of capital murder in the December 2008 beating death of 13-month-old Amora Carson.

Prosecutors have said the tot was beaten in an alleged exorcism. Her mother, Jesseca Carson, is jailed and faces trial later on a capital murder charge.

The trial was moved 160 miles from Rusk County to Montgomery County due to extensive publicity on the case.