Post by SoulTrainOz on Jun 18, 2006 2:40:37 GMT -5
A Tarrant County jury on Monday will begin deciding the fate of Lisa Ann Coleman, who is accused of participating in the starving death of 9-year-old Davontae Williams.
Closing arguments in the capital murder trial are scheduled to begin in state District Judge Everett Young's court at 9 a.m.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys rested their cases Friday, ending 1 1/2 weeks of testimony.
Coleman, 30, could face the death penalty if jurors find her guilty of participating in the beating, kidnapping and starving death of Davontae. Police found the youngster dead in his mother's east Arlington apartment July 26, 2004.
His mother, Marcella Williams, 25, faces her own trial later.
Coleman and Williams, who were lovers, are accused of beating Davontae while they starved him, according to testimony.
Davontae died of malnutrition with pneumonia as a contributing factor, according to testimony during the trial.
He weighed 35.8 pounds and was 44.5 inches tall when Arlington authorities found his body inside the apartment.
Prosecutors are trying to prove that Coleman, like Williams, was
responsible for Davontae's welfare. Starving Davontae was part of ongoing abuse.
Defense attorneys contend that the abuse was part of discipline by incompetent parents and that Davontae was malnourished because he was sick.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Closing arguments in the capital murder trial are scheduled to begin in state District Judge Everett Young's court at 9 a.m.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys rested their cases Friday, ending 1 1/2 weeks of testimony.
Coleman, 30, could face the death penalty if jurors find her guilty of participating in the beating, kidnapping and starving death of Davontae. Police found the youngster dead in his mother's east Arlington apartment July 26, 2004.
His mother, Marcella Williams, 25, faces her own trial later.
Coleman and Williams, who were lovers, are accused of beating Davontae while they starved him, according to testimony.
Davontae died of malnutrition with pneumonia as a contributing factor, according to testimony during the trial.
He weighed 35.8 pounds and was 44.5 inches tall when Arlington authorities found his body inside the apartment.
Prosecutors are trying to prove that Coleman, like Williams, was
responsible for Davontae's welfare. Starving Davontae was part of ongoing abuse.
Defense attorneys contend that the abuse was part of discipline by incompetent parents and that Davontae was malnourished because he was sick.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)