Daycare owner sentenced to life in prison for 2011 murder of baby, Georgia officials say
A daycare provider is heading to prison nine years after a child died with a broken back and serious blood loss, Georgia officials say.
Maria Owens, 51, was watching a child when he stopped breathing in June 2011, the Fulton County district attorney’s office said Wednesday in a news release.
The boy, Jaylen Kelly, was airlifted to a hospital and died, prosecutors say. The tragedy happened just days before his first birthday, according to officials.
“During the autopsy, it was determined that Jaylen’s back was fractured, and he lost nearly half of his blood volume,” the news release said.
The child was likely “slammed” onto a bathtub or a floor, District Attorney Paul Howard told WGCL.
“Owens admitted to striking the baby but said she was simply attempting to help Jaylen cough to relieve issues related to bronchitis,” according to the news release.
But prosecutors say the extent of the injuries shows Owens hit the child with “immense” force.
The events unfolded at Owens’ home in Fairburn, a city roughly 20 miles southwest of Atlanta.
Owens was going through a divorce and running an unlicensed daycare, where Jaylen and his 3-year-old sister were the only clients, according to prosecutors and news outlets.
In June 2011, the children’s parents told Owens they planned to pull their kids from her daycare, officials say. Just an hour or so later, Jaylen was rushed to the hospital, according to prosecutors.
“We believe those economic situations and that economic stress lead her to ... such a violent reaction when these parents said they were going to remove this child,” Howard told WAGA.
A second felony murder trial
Owens was ordered to spend the rest of her life in prison after a Fulton County jury found she was guilty of murder, the district attorney’s office says.
She was also convicted of “felony murder, aggravated assault, and cruelty to children,” according to the office.
The decision came after officials say Owens was first convicted of felony murder and manslaughter in connection to the case in 2013.
“However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk vacated the felony murder count, based on a complicated provision in Georgia law related to intent that made the convictions mutually exclusive,” WXIA reports.
Owens received a 10-year-sentence, but prosecutors decided to appeal the decision, the district attorney’s office said in its news release.
“The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that an error on the verdict form impacted the jury’s verdict,” the news release said.
So, the “conviction was reversed,” and the case went back to court for the latest trial, according to Fulton County officials.
“I know the actions of Ms. Owens caused great pain to the Kellys, a pain that no parent should ever have to deal with,” Lt. Tiffany Hudson of the Fairburn Police Department told WGCL. “But then when I saw she was sentenced to life I feel like justice was served.”
