GUILTY IN - Micahyah Crockett, 11mos, dies, sister in vegetative state, 31 Aug 2014

A South Bend woman has pleaded not guilty to killing her 11-month-old son and smothering her daughter so severely that the girl has been in a vegetative state for months.

Police arrested 21-year-old Nyesha Crockett on Monday after her 11-month-old son Micahyah Crockett died, said Tim Corbett, commander of the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit. She faces charges of murder, battery, aggravated battery, and neglect of a dependent.

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It started when Nyesha Crockett called 911 on February 1, saying her 14-month-old daughter wasn’t breathing... According to court documents, Crockett told medical personnel in February Alaiyah had wrapped a scarf around her neck and was not breathing.

They believed her.

Sometime after the incident the state took over custody of Alaiyah. Police said she’s now in a “vegetative state” and only has 20 percent of her brain capacity.

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Police were called to a home in the 100 block of North Sadie Street at 11:16 p.m. August 30th. When emergency crews arrived, they found 11-month-old Micahyah unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital and died September 1.

The affidavit reveals what Crockett told investigators. In it, she admits to abusing the infant, telling police that she was angry with the boy's father, Micahyah Greer, for going out with his friends. Police say Crockett told them that she sent Greer several threatening text messages. The messages included, "Come get him before I hurt him," "okay think I won't." and "Good luck with everything and I hope you find your son," according to the affidavit. Greer's phone was shut down and he never saw the messages.

When Greer didn't respond, Crockett told investigators she took a shirt and smothered Micahyah, then threw him down on the ground and kicked and hit him, according to the affidavit. When the baby stopped crying, she began playing a game on her phone, reports said. Some time later, Crockett noticed Micahyah wasn't breathing and called 911.

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Nyesha Crockett's confession to police about harming her 11-month-old son is still allowed in her trial...

The judge did grant the defense a continuation, because Crockett's attorney said he recently received an initial police report that he called a "game changer"...

The trial has been pushed back from January to April.

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An audio recording captured 20-year-old Nyesha Crockett's frantic exchange with a 911 dispatcher on Aug. 30, 2014, as Crockett's 11-month-old son lay lifeless on a blanket — the second of her children to suffer a grave injury within a seven-month span...

On Tuesday, a jury heard opening statements and the first evidence in Crockett's murder trial, as prosecutors try to prove she battered and strangled her son to death amid a pattern of abuse that was motivated at least in part by anger at the children's father...

Among the four witnesses who testified Tuesday, jurors heard from the first two police officers to respond to the 100 block of Sadie Street, where Micahyah was found unresponsive inside his grandmother's house. Hayah Richardson, the boy's grandmother, and Tyeshaun Johnson, a friend of Micahyah's father, also testified about the angry text messages from Crockett.

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"A violent, angry person." That's how Nyesha Crockett described herself during a taped interrogation with police.

On Thursday the jury watched the roughly 5-hour interrogation video where Crockett confesses to harming both her son and daughter...

Multiple times Crockett breaks down, saying "I'm so sorry... I was just so angry." And saying, "My life is ruined... I'm going away for attempted murder."

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A mother on trial for murder took the witness stand in her own defense Friday, offering the jury her version of the events that left her 11-month-old son dead and her 1-year-old daughter gravely injured in 2014...

Crockett's decision to take the stand came at the end of a day that focused on her disputed confession to police the morning after Micahyah was injured. After hours of denials, Crockett admitted she strangled Micahyah with a T-shirt, but her lawyers have argued the interrogation produced unreliable statements because it was manipulative and designed to get a confession, true or not...

Crockett's testimony is scheduled to resume Monday and the defense may rest, but jury deliberations are likely to continue into Tuesday, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller said.

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OkieGranny said:

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/juro...o-in-south-bend-mothers-murder-trial/39024286

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A jury found Nyesha Crockett guilty of murder, battery and neglect of a dependent for the death and injuries sustained by her son and daughter...

Sentencing for Crockett is set for Friday, May 13. She could face up to 80 years.

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OkieGranny said:

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/south-bend-mother-to-testify-in-infant-death-trial/39079854

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The judge had harsh words for the young mother, calling her actions "cold" and "deadly" before sentencing Nyesha Crockett to 80 years in prison.

She received 20 years for the battery of her then 14-month-old daughter, Alaiyah, in February 2014, and 60 years for the murder of her 11-month-old son Micahyah a few months later.

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