Prosecutors withdraw death penalty in Monroe County girl's death

FORSYTH -- Prosecutors announced Monday that they are no longer seeking the death penalty against a Forsyth woman accused in her 5-year-old daughter's 2014 beating death.

Amanda Hendrickson, 34, now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Heaven Woods.

"We're hopeful that this will move the case along," Towaliga Judicial Circuit District

Attorney Richard Milam said in a Monday hearing after making the announcement.

The case tentatively is set for trial in September 2016.

Milam cited Roderick Buckner's June 17 guilty plea to murder as one reason for not pursuing capital punishment.

Prosecutors previously had sought the death penalty against both Hendrickson and Buckner, her boyfriend.

Buckner, 35, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole as part of a plea agreement that also requires that he truthfully testify in court proceedings pertaining to Hendrickson.

Monroe County 911 received two calls shortly before 9 a.m. on May 20, 2014, about an unresponsive child at the Brookwood Drive home in Forsyth where Buckner, Hendrickson and Woods lived. The girl died in the Monroe County Hospital's emergency room soon after she arrived.

An autopsy showed Woods died of internal bleeding, loss of blood and blunt force trauma to her abdomen. She also had suffered injuries to multiple parts of her body -- some that had healed -- in the weeks before her death.

Milam has said Buckner struck Woods in the abdomen May 18, 2014, and again the next day.

Hendrickson had a history with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services from when she and Woods lived in Rome, according to the GBI.

Another reason for dropping the death penalty involves the arrest of a former GBI agent who worked on the case, prosecutor Mark Daniel said during pre-trial motion hearings held Monday in Monroe County Superior Court.

The former GBI agent, Charles Woodall, was arrested Nov. 9 and is accused of molesting three young boys. His case is pending in Bibb County Superior Court.

Attorneys from the Georgia Capital Defenders Office sat with Hendrickson during Monday's hearings and said they will continue representing her even though prosecutors no longer are seeking capital punishment.

Several pre-trial matters were discussed Monday, including whether Monroe County jurors will determine Hendrickson's fate. No decision was made.

The judge inquired about whether Hendrickson's mental status is being evaluated.

Burt Baker, one of her lawyers, said her evaluation is ongoing.

If she's found to be mentally retarded, the maximum sentence she could receive if convicted would be life in prison with the possibility of parole, he said.

The defense also challenged the makeup of the grand jury that indicted Hendrickson.

Additional pre-trial motion hearings are set to be held April 5 and 6.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Prosecutors withdraw death penalty in Monroe County girl's death ."