GUILTY MI - Sean Sowards, 2, beaten to death, Warren, 11 June 2007

I'm posting a couple links, one has a picture of the girl...I could Swear I went to school with her, this is just blocks from where we live and her age is right...if someone finds a mention of her background please let me know.

This is such a waste....and her two other children have to continue paying the price, they are not only without a sibling, but without a mother, the father that they had obviously isn't going to be the same person etc. Classic example of how your action affects many, many others...


http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070615/METRO03/706150370/1014

WARREN -- A Warren judge severely chastised a 27-year-old pregnant woman Thursday during her arraignment on charges that she killed her 2-year-old son, saying being a mother "doesn't mean you kill your child."
Crystal Conklin of Warren was charged in 37th District Court with open murder and first-degree child abuse in the child abuse death of her son. She is nearly eight months pregnant with her third child.








this link has the video to the arraignment, however i couldn't hear much over her half hearted sob. did she give a damn when that poor baby was sobbing his heart out?



http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/13505712/index.html?source=

UMMM I am not sure but can a judge do that at an arraignment???
Basically he was presuming guilt and she has not been tried yet...

I certainly hope this is not grounds for an appeal or worse charges being dropped..

I am just wondering if by doing that an presuming guilt at an arraignment if it causes prejudice against her??

Jada... You posted "This is such a waste....and her two other children have to continue paying the price, they are not only without a sibling, but without a mother, "

UMMM IMO Those 2 children would be a hell of alot better off without this women as a mother..
That 4 year old is certainly going to need some help though.. she had to have seen and heard much of the abuse bestowed upon her baby brother and that is going to cause years of problems.

Oh God, how sad...will the monstrous acts EVER end?

i watched the video..... i have never seen a worse actress in my life.

On the 14th the news said that the mom and dad would both be arrested but it looks like the dad isn't going to be. How could he not have noticed the bruises on that little baby? Did he believe that he got them by falling down and running into walls like the mom told LE? I hope they checked the little girl over really well. That video said that the dad isn't her husband but her boyfriend. I wonder if all of the kids are his...the little girl? I see that LE didn't leave the 4 yr old with him. Well, she won't be having any part of the baby either except to give birth and they will take it too. I hope there is someone in the families that is capable of taking the two kids and raising them with love.

I don't know whether she's innocent or guilty, but if I were her lawyer I'd be all over that judge's actions like white on rice. In this country, no matter the crime, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The judge's actions may have already caused enough prejudice that she would be hard pressed to be judged "fairly" by a jury of her peers.

Amraann said:

UMMM I am not sure but can a judge do that at an arraignment???
Basically he was presuming guilt and she has not been tried yet...

I certainly hope this is not grounds for an appeal or worse charges being dropped..

I am just wondering if by doing that an presuming guilt at an arraignment if it causes prejudice against her??

Jada... You posted "This is such a waste....and her two other children have to continue paying the price, they are not only without a sibling, but without a mother, "

UMMM IMO Those 2 children would be a hell of alot better off without this women as a mother..
That 4 year old is certainly going to need some help though.. she had to have seen and heard much of the abuse bestowed upon her baby brother and that is going to cause years of problems.

Click to expand...

I agree that with the way she acted the children are obviously MUCH better off w/o her around. BUT, I do NOT know if she has ALWAYS been like that. IF it is the same girl i went to school with then I KNOW she did not act as though she would turn into this type of a monster.

let me explain further. My mother is gone, my mother was a b**** (spoken in the fondest of terms) we did not have the best relationship growing up etc. BUT, my life has been impacted greatly by not having her around. Therefore, what i meant, by them not having a mother, other than the general sense is put yourself in this poor girls shoes...fast forward a few years, it comes down about where's your mom, or someone recognizes a name etc. She then has to deal w/ the whispers, backtalk etc. that her mother not only abused, but killed her sibling. Then the speculation of well was she herself abused etc. She will not have the relationship to find out about medical history, family traditions, etc. If dad didn't recognize or pay attention to the bruising that the two year old allegedly had, I doubt he would know about those type of things.

Much different than "my mom walked out" or "she's dead" etc.


BobbisAngel -

According to the local news here..He was orginally arrested, questioned, then released. But charges could still be pending. IMO they couldn't hold him for the injury but he may be facing abuse charges later on? I'm also wondering if that's why they removed the 4 year old, even though mom was already in custody. All the kids are theirs together, they're not married but have been together, i think the news stated 8 years.

OMG - someone better tell that judge what you can and cannot do in an arraignment. That was so awful. Although I don't agree with what she did we don't know all the facts here. She could have been having some problems with mental issues with her pregnancy. There are lots of things going on here and for him to say anything like he did to her was so inappropriate. Although one thing she does appear to be faking a lot of that drama, but the video isn't really all that clear. I hope they get to the bottom of what is really going on. The dad had to have known he had bruises, bruises don't just show up in one day, if he didn't help with the bruising. How sad this is for those poor kids and the one on the way.

EZRA said:

OMG - someone better tell that judge what you can and cannot do in an arraignment. That was so awful. Although I don't agree with what she did we don't know all the facts here. She could have been having some problems with mental issues with her pregnancy. There are lots of things going on here and for him to say anything like he did to her was so inappropriate. Although one thing she does appear to be faking a lot of that drama, but the video isn't really all that clear. I hope they get to the bottom of what is really going on. The dad had to have known he had bruises, bruises don't just show up in one day, if he didn't help with the bruising. How sad this is for those poor kids and the one on the way.

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I would think that she could keep the bruises hidden by being the only one to change, bath and dress the baby.
Not all fathers are involved.

"

The court finds this crime very disturbing. The good Lord gave you the title of mother," said Chief Judge Walter Jakubowski. "Mom doesn't mean kill your child."

"Your dramatics are not impressing the court," he said.

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this is what he said. for those that want to skip the link.

Conklin's trial has begun.

What they did to this sweet little baby boy is horrendous! And once again, the state Department of Human Services failed these precious children. :furious:

Don't read this if you have a weak stomach.

Toddler's abuse equates to torture, doctor says
Very long article.

"There was a repetitive infliction of pain for discipline, almost a torture scenario," Dr. Marcus DeGraw of St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit said on the stand in the felony murder and child abuse trial of Crystal Conklin. "He was abused ... repetitively throughout his existence."

Sean Sowards had signs of prior abuse, as at least three dozen bruises, abrasions and cuts were found all over his body. "He was battered head to toe,- He was basically blind from apparent shaking or hitting of his head." His big-toe toenails were torn off and replaced by dried blood, a photo showed. His eyelids were red and swollen, and his corneas were cloudy. The various colors of bruises -- green, purple, brown and red -- showed recent and old abuse. Sean showed signs of being underfed since he had the weight of a child half his age.

Blood spots, spatters and smearing were found in several locations in Sean's room, including on the carpet, walls of his closet, on the closet door, and on a fitted sheet on his mattress. Blood-spattered clothes were on the floor of the utility room, where the washing machine and drier were kept. In the washing machine were wet clothes that had an odor of vomit.

In 2005, someone complained that Conklin beat Sean.
"There were allegations made Miss Conklin would wake up Sean from naps and beat him," Magnan said. The complainant said that Conklin wished she did not give birth to Sean. "She doesn't want him and only kept him because the father wanted him," she said of the allegation. Sean's paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Herd, testified she complained to DHS about Sean's treatment when he was 4 months old. "My concerns were Sean was being injured in his home," she said. "I told them my 4-month-old grandson was being spanked by his mother because he wouldn't stop crying." She said she was told that "unless he is seriously injured or dead, they would not investigate." "They said parents have a right to discipline their children, and it was none of my business," she said.

Conklin's daughter, Angelique or "Angel," who was 4 when her brother died, showed no signs of abuse or lack of nourishment, he said. However, in September 2003, the girl tested positive for marijuana, she said. "The family was provided services." And both children's doors were fitted with locks that can be locked from the outside.

Thanks for the update marie! :blowkiss:

Sean Michael Sowards
Sept. 23, 2004 - June 13, 2007

What makes some parents turn on their kids like this, I wonder? Why don't they have this biological, instinctual need to protect their young, like every other person and animal in the world?

I just cannot in my wildest imagination understand why a parent would do this to their baby.

Mr. E said:

What makes some parents turn on their kids like this, I wonder? Why don't they have this biological, instinctual need to protect their young, like every other person and animal in the world?

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It seems she did for one child (have some of that instinct - IIRC one article stated her daughter was in good health, no marks on her, etc) which makes me wonder, how/why do some parents pick and choose that one child is "better" than the other?

Mother guilty of killing boy

A Macomb County jury deliberated just over two hours Thursday before finding a 27-year-old Warren woman guilty of killing her 2½-year-old son. Jurors found Crystal Conklin guilty of felony murder and first-degree child abuse for the June 13 death of her son, Sean Sowards.

Little Seans blindness was likely caused by starvation. He spent the last week of his life stumbling around the house with his blind, red & swollen blue eyes, with his nails ripped out of his little fat baby toes, hungry, neglected and starved to half the weight he should have been, battered and beaten, bloodied and bruised over 3 dozen areas of his precious little body.

His torturer will spend the rest of her life in prison. The man who should have protected him, Michael Sowards remains charged with second-degree child abuse in the case.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/16354385/detail.html

A 27-year-old Warren woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old son.Macomb County Circuit Court Judge John Foster also sentenced Crystal Tamara Conklin to nine to 15 years in prison for first-degree child abuse.The sentences will run concurrently.

JinxieJada said:

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/16354385/detail.html

A 27-year-old Warren woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old son.Macomb County Circuit Court Judge John Foster also sentenced Crystal Tamara Conklin to nine to 15 years in prison for first-degree child abuse.The sentences will run concurrently.

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good!

I'm glad she'll die in prison. I hope she has a miserable life. Whatever happened to the baby she was pregnant with?