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Mom 'admitted killing baby'
05/02/2008 08:44 - (SA)
Dayton, Ohio - A woman accused of killing her month-old daughter in a microwave oven told her boyfriend that she killed the baby and that the girl would still be alive if he had not been out cheating, the boyfriend testified in court.
Terrell Talley said on Monday that he and China Arnold took the girl, Paris, to the hospital where she was pronounced dead in August 2005, and that Arnold told him she killed her baby. In a phone conversation months later, Arnold told him of a possible reason for the death, Talley testified.
"She told me if I wouldn't be out cheating, my baby would still be alive," Talley testified.
Arnold has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Under questioning by defence attorney Jon Paul Rion, Talley acknowledged telling people he did not have any idea what happened to the baby. The defence has said that people other than Arnold had access to the baby and that she was intoxicated when the baby died.
Talley testified Arnold was drunk, but not so drunk that she would not know what happened. He said they had finished nearly a pint of alcohol they had bought after fighting over Talley's doubts that he fathered the infant.
Talley said his sister watched Arnold's children while the couple drove to a liquor store and went to a park where they drank and continued arguing. After arriving back at their apartment, Talley said he slapped Arnold and pushed her to the ground after she bit his lip.
Talley said Arnold later left the apartment to get cigarettes, passing out on a couch when she returned. He said he left the apartment and returned to find Arnold asleep on the couch with the baby lying at her feet. He also went to sleep.
After Arnold got up to get her sons ready for school, Talley said he saw a red mark on the baby's face and noticed she was stiff and cold. The couple took the baby to the hospital.
Arnold's trial is expected to continue another two weeks.
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