PA - Porchia Bennett, 3, beaten to death, Philadelphia, 17 Aug 2003

[golfmom]

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/11664706.htm

In his closing argument to the jury yesterday, prosecutor Richard Sax said Chambers and Geiger both beat and neglected Porchia and her three older sisters until the day in August 2003 when Porchia's body was found squeezed between the bed and radiator in the fetid 10-by-11-foot bedroom they shared in a South Philadelphia apartment.

Tiffany Bennett threw her children "out like trash" by leaving them in the care of Chambers and Geiger, Sax said.

"Candice and Jerry were doing their thing, and Candice was hitting her and Jerry was hitting her," he said.

"There's no one cause of death," he said. "It's all part of her murder: the food, the lack of it, the beating."
...............
Porchia died of a combination of conditions - multiple beatings, asphyxiation and a condition known as inanition, or the lack of strength and vitality due to malnutrition, neglect and abuse. A deputy medical examiner testified during the trial that she had been repeatedly beaten with a belt, extension cord and fists. She suffocated after being wedged between a bed, wall and radiator, he said.

According to Sax and Geiger's statement to police, the child was kicked and thrown on the bed because she stared at Chambers and Geiger while they were having sex. The adult and children's beds - in a room smeared with feces, stinking of urine and swarming with flies - were just a couple of feet apart.

After death, Porchia's forehead still showed the indentation from where it rested against the radiator as she slowly succumbed.
............
C.P. Mirarchi III, who represents Chambers, admitted to jurors yesterday that Chambers had hit the children, but said he never had intended to kill the toddler. He asked jurors to find Chambers guilty of a crime no more serious than third-degree murder.

Third-degree murder is not premeditated and does not carry the death penalty.

"I tell you now, there was no specific intent to kill and there was no rape," Mirarchi said. "There was no course of conduct. There was just Jerry-drug-addict, rent-up-his-nose-Chambers."

 

[mysteriew]

Jury still deliberating in Porchia Bennett case

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/new_jersey/11673293.htm

However, the jury did not ask for instructions on how to convict Chambers of first-degree murder or Geiger of third-degree murder. The jury said it was confused about criminal conspiracy, which are charges that Chambers, Geiger, and Bennett all face.

Prosecutors rejected the mother's claim that she did not know that all four of her children were being abused. Chambers is also charged with rape and indecent exposure with Porchia's three sisters.

Since conspiracy requires an agreement between those accused, Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes told the jury that they must reasonably find that all three defendants agreed to act in a way that led to Porchia's death.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/4500612/detail.html

 

[golfmom]

Jury still deliberating in Porchia Bennett case

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/new_jersey/11673293.htm

However, the jury did not ask for instructions on how to convict Chambers of first-degree murder or Geiger of third-degree murder. The jury said it was confused about criminal conspiracy, which are charges that Chambers, Geiger, and Bennett all face.

Prosecutors rejected the mother's claim that she did not know that all four of her children were being abused. Chambers is also charged with rape and indecent exposure with Porchia's three sisters.

Since conspiracy requires an agreement between those accused, Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes told the jury that they must reasonably find that all three defendants agreed to act in a way that led to Porchia's death.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/4500612/detail.html

I so think this sob should get death. This case pisses me off to no end.

"I tell you now, there was no specific intent to kill and there was no rape," Mirarchi said. "There was no course of conduct. There was just Jerry-drug-addict, rent-up-his-nose-Chambers."

:furious: What? in his mind there was no rape, because these children wanted to be molested and have sex with him? and of course no intent because it was o.k. to just beat, kick and throw these kids around, maybe let the pit bulls take a bite or two ... oops one lost her life, but I didn't mean it!

The judge didn't buy his crazy act and I don't buy that he didn't intend to make a living hell for these children, causing one's death!

 

[mysteriew]

The fact that the guy molested then beat the girl to death was bad enough, but for the mother to allow it, and the aunt to participate and watch him kill her...............I just can't find words awful enough to say.............:furious::banghead:

 

[Jeana (DP)]

The fact that the guy molested then beat the girl to death was bad enough, but for the mother to allow it, and the aunt to participate and watch him kill her...............I just can't find words awful enough to say.............:furious::banghead:

I'm with you. There just are NO words strong enough. Hopefully, this jury's word will say all that needs to be said.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/11701130.htm

Posted on Sat, May. 21, 2005

Guilty verdicts in Porchia Bennett's death

Jurors convicted Jerry Chambers, 33, of first-degree murder. Two others were convicted of lesser charges.

By Jacqueline Soteropoulos

Jurors convicted 33-year-old Jerry Chambers yesterday of first-degree murder in the 2003 slaying of toddler Porchia Bennett, and prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty next week.

Porchia's mother and aunt were convicted of lesser charges.

The jury of six women and six men found Chambers not guilty of raping Porchia's 10-year-old sister, but convicted him of molesting that child and two other sisters.
..................

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

This is a local case for me, and it was on the news constantly when it first happened. Needless to say, it was one of those stories that had you crying by the end of the segment.

The condition inside of the home says it all. Even if the mother didn't suspect that her children were being abused, did she not smell the feces that was apparently smeared all over the bedroom? Did she not look around to see the condition of the house in which her children were living? Did she not see the swarms of flies all over the place? When the news cameras showed the inside of the dwelling, it looked like a dark and filthy crack house. There was no mistaking, even at first glance, that people that could live in a house in that condition were probably not the best choice of guardians for your children. The neighborhood where they live is very poor & run-down. I couldn't even venture a guess as to the ratio of livable houses to boarded-up dwellings. It could qualify as the poster neighborhood for poverty and inner-city strife. Most of us would NEVER consider walking through that neighborhood even during the daytime, (although to be honest, I haven't been there personally in a very long time). Maybe it's improved.

Yet even in that neighborhood, there are lots of good people. Being poor doesn't mean that you can't be clean. And if these "people" couldn't afford food for the kids, how did they manage to feed two pit-bulls? This was not an isolated incident of Jerry being stoned, and getting out of control. Those children lived a life of hell - filth, fear, violence... I worry as much for the ones that witnessed the abuse as I do for the children that suffered the abuse. I would hope that the city is stepping in to ensure that ALL of the children that saw what went on in that house have intensive therapy for a long, long time. I thank God that those little girls didn't have to appear in open court. This is a disgusting tragedy for all of those angels. They had a grandfather that loved them, even bringing lunch to the school, hoping that the girls would get it. How much blame does the school have in this? Unfortunately, the school sees so much in some of these children that their threshold is different than ours, IMO. It takes more to set off their alarms since they see all kinds of dysfunction on a regular basis.

Rather than continue to ramble, I'll finish by saying that I can't wait until this trial is out of the news. Most importantly, I want to see justice served on these filthy people. I wish they could all qualify for the death penalty. But that piece of chit, Jerry, pretending to be mentally incompetent. I wish I could serve his justice with my own two hands, I hate him so much. Secondly, this case sat in my mind every day for over a month when I first heard about it, and saw her precious little baby face in the one photo that they've shown, (I'm surprised these people even had one picture of her; they probably got it from the grandfather). It haunted me. And since the trial has started, it is haunting me all over again. I don't know what it is about this one but I cannot shake the image of her beautiful little face from my brain. She was practically still a baby.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/04/2005 | Slain girl's sister testifies on video

... Detective Aaron Booker testified yesterday that in an interview the day of Porchia's death, Geiger admitted punching the child in the stomach when she refused to eat a sandwich and would not stop staring at her.

"We only beat them when they do something wrong. Not every day, maybe every other day," Booker said Geiger told him. "Sometimes we would smack them. Sometimes we would punch them. Sometimes he [Chambers] would kick them, but he never kicked them in the face..."

You know, we hear that the aunt was only a child herself; that she was only 18 at the time, and that she spent a third of her life in foster care. Well, you know what? Who cares? 18 year-olds are fighting in Iraq as we type. 18 year-olds are entering college with goals in mind. 18 year-olds are voting in elections because that is the age at which our government says that they have the intellectual tools necessary to grasp more abstract and complicated issues. Therefore, I'm comfortable in saying that an 18 year-old is old enough to know that punching a 3 year-old in the stomach because she wouldn't stop staring at you is wrong. And I'm sick and tired of hearing about people's childhood traumas being responsible for their atrocious crimes against children. Many of us have suffered through terrible childhoods, and we have managed to be good people in spite of it. I understand that some people don't have the resources to get treatment for their issues but good God, this has got to stop. People need to start being responsible for their actions, and we need to stop allowing the excuse of childhood abuse. I suffered it too, and I would never, in 30,000 lifetimes, be able to do what was done to these children.

 

[golfmom]

I second everything JG said. I'm glad this case wasn't local for me, I don't think I could have handled hearing about it constantly. It was hard enough trying to keep the thread updated. These folks reached new lows.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I second everything JG said. I'm glad this case wasn't local for me, I don't think I could have handled hearing about it constantly.

It's awful!!! I am haunted by her sweet little eyes and her chubby little baby cheeks. It truly breaks my heart, and I feel myself carrying this story around with me all over again like I did when it first happened. It's like no matter what you're doing or how much fun you're having, there's this piece of darkness hanging around, and you can feel it, and it's almost like you're just trying to prevent yourself from thinking about it. I'm not explaining it well but I'm sure you've all felt it at one point or another. Like you go out of your way to scrub floors and go shopping and mow the lawn, etcetera, etcetera just to avoid thinking about it or having to see it again on the news. I can't stand it but at least I can spend the wait hoping that this man receives the punishment that he so fully earned by his wretched behavior.

BTW, golfmom, thank you for caring about this little girl and keeping the thread updated. She's too young to be an angel; she should be playing on swings with pretty ribbons in her hair! What suffering her short life held. So many people would have been willing to care for her in life if only we had all known, and/or had the opportunity. That's the worst part; that there are people who would have loved to take her into their families, especially her own grandfather, I bet.

 

[mysteriew]

THE MAN WHO threw 3-year-old Porchia Bennett across the room and left her to die, wedged between a bed and a radiator, was convicted yesterday of first degree murder - a crime that could cost him his life.

A Common Pleas Court jury also found Porchia's aunt guilty of third-degree murder for her role in the beatings and abuse that ended with Porchia's death in a fetid South Philadelphia apartment in August 2003.

The jury foreman fired off the word "guilty" more than three dozen times as she delivered the verdicts against the two killers and the tot's own mother, who was convicted of child endangerment and conspiracy for leaving Porchia and three other daughters in the killers' care.

Jerry Chambers, 33, looked at the floor and turned away from the jury toward the judge when the first-degree murder verdict was read. The jury of six men and six women will begin weighing a life sentence against the death penalty for him on Tuesday.

The aunt, 20-year-old Candice Geiger, began to tremble when Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes set July 15 for a sentencing that could put her in prison for 48 to 96 years.

But Tiffany Bennett, 29, mother of Porchia and the other three beaten and neglected girls, kept a stoic face as she was taken into custody to await sentencing on July 8. Until yesterday, Bennett, who was not charged with Porchia's murder, had been free on bail. She could spend 28 to 56 years in jail.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/11703062.htm

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

The aunt, 20-year-old Candice Geiger, began to tremble when Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes set July 15 for a sentencing that could put her in prison for 48 to 96 years.

Good. I hope that she will experience the same fear that she instilled in those children. I hope that she will think of what she did to that baby every time she fears for her life in prison.

 

[Sheromom]

I don't know how many times I looked at the title of this one and decided not to read it. Well, I finally did and how I wish I hadn't! I SO hope that animal is put down for this crime!

What a beautiful baby Porcia was. I just look at her and would love the chance to rock her to sleep. Yes; so many would have loved a chance to raise such a delightful child. And I so worry about the other two. I was reading in the cat thread about an abused cat that still hid under the bed TEN years later. One can only wonder how life will turn out for these little girls. I wish they weren't just in foster care; surely they will allow someone to adopt them together? They need a loving and permanent home.

I will eagerly await word of his death sentence!

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I wish they weren't just in foster care; surely they will allow someone to adopt them together? They need a loving and permanent home.

I totally agree. But then their mother will get paroled after just a couple of years, and petition the court to get her children back, and because they're so interested in reuniting families, she'll get them back. It happens time & time again, not as much in adoption but even then.

Do you all remember the story, (although I'm very light on the exact details of this one), of a little boy about 2 and a half years old that was raised by adoptive/foster parents since birth or very shortly thereafter. Then his biological parent(s) petitioned the court to get him back. Visitations were started even though the kid screamed every time because these people were strangers, and he was just a baby. Upon his return, his guardian mother would call authorities to tell them about her suspicions of abuse on the child. Long story short, either no one believed her or they felt they didn't have enough evidence or they felt that it wasn't severe enough or their "hands were tied", etc., and the child ended up being beaten to death by the biological parents. Parents that he didn't even know. This child had a loving family that will forever mourn his death. A death that didn't have to happen because someone alerted the authorities and were already raising him themselves. It's not as if he had nowhere else to go.

Yes, it is important for children to be with family but that doesn't mean just family by blood. And much too often we hear of children being reunited with a family that just isn't good for them when there are people that would love to care for them. I wonder if the grandfather will be able to get the children. If not, I totally agree Sheromom, that these children need and deserve a permanent home, and deserve to know what it feels like to be cherished. But if they are given a permanent home, I pray with everything that I am that these children will not be forced to reunite with that monster of a mother EVER.

 

[golfmom]

It's awful!!! I am haunted by her sweet little eyes and her chubby little baby cheeks. It truly breaks my heart, and I feel myself carrying this story around with me all over again like I did when it first happened. It's like no matter what you're doing or how much fun you're having, there's this piece of darkness hanging around, and you can feel it, and it's almost like you're just trying to prevent yourself from thinking about it. I'm not explaining it well but I'm sure you've all felt it at one point or another. Like you go out of your way to scrub floors and go shopping and mow the lawn, etcetera, etcetera just to avoid thinking about it or having to see it again on the news. I can't stand it but at least I can spend the wait hoping that this man receives the punishment that he so fully earned by his wretched behavior.
.

JerseyGirl, that described so clearly how I feel about the cases I follow. I feel as if I'm carrying bits of the victim in my heart by remembering them. At first there is so much pain when they enter, but eventually they fit in there. And in those down moment in life I speak a prayer in their memories.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

JerseyGirl, that described so clearly how I feel about the cases I follow. I feel as if I'm carrying bits of the victim in my heart by remembering them. At first there is so much pain when they enter, but eventually they fit in there. And in those down moment in life I speak a prayer in their memories.

That's a great way of looking at it. Thanks for knowing what I mean and for putting words to it that make it a little easier to bear. I think that for some of these victims, the hearts of strangers might be the only hearts where their memories will remain with thoughts of love. That's so tragically sad but I hope that somehow it matters that we remember these children with love forever after they're gone.

 

[mysteriew]

You know I have thought many times, how these kids like Precious Erica and Portia and so many others, if they lived would have continued to suffer and live without love, in obscurity. By dying they not only no longer suffer, but they also recieve more love and attention they got in life. It is almost like they are predestined to bring attention to the plight of kids in this country.

 

[mysteriew]

A jury sentenced a man to death Thursday in the slaying of a 3-year-old girl who was repeatedly beaten and finally killed by being thrown against a radiator.

After the jury announced its decision Thursday, Common Pleas Court Renee Cardwell Hughes sentenced Chambers to death and imposed an additional 73- to 146-year sentence for the death of Porchia and the abuse of her three older sisters, ages 4, 6 and 10.

The girls' mother, Tiffany Bennett, 29, was convicted of child endangerment for leaving the children to live with Chambers and Candace Geiger, 20, for nearly a year. Geiger, who is Bennett's sister and the girls' aunt, was convicted of third-degree murder.

Geiger could get 48 to 96 years in prison when she is sentenced July 15, and Bennett could get 28 to 56 years when she is sentenced July 8.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/4539041/detail.html

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

A jury sentenced a man to death Thursday in the slaying of a 3-year-old girl who was repeatedly beaten and finally killed by being thrown against a radiator.

Justice for Porcia. May she now rest in peace.

 

[bbmcrae]

Thanks for all your comments JG. The *advertiser censored* has gotten what he deserves. And Geiger can suffer the rest her of her life in jail. The justice system has done what it is supposed to- speak for a little victim who can't speak for herself.