Mother Faces Death Penalty for “Cooking” her Month-Old Baby to Death in Microwave Oven

Jurors found China Arnold, 31, guilty of aggravated murder for ‘cooking’ her baby daughter in a microwave oven, in her third trial.

China Arnold could face the death penalty for her grisly crime.

Little 28-day-old Paris Talley died the grisly death in August 2005 in Ohio. Arnold could receive the death penalty. Sentencing will begin Monday in Dayton, Ohio court. Prosecutors said Arnold placed baby Paris in the microwave after arguing with her live-in boyfriend, Terrell Talley, over her paternity. She reportedly told investigators that she was intoxicated.

Arnold’s first trial ended in a mistrial. She was found guilty in the second trial, in 2008, but that conviction was reversed last fall. Arnold had been sentenced to life in prison without parole.  The death penalty had been taken off the table at that time after the jury deadlocked over sentencing.

But the 2nd District Ohio Court of Appeals in Dayton ruled that Arnold should be freed. The appeals court said there was misconduct by prosecutors and that the trial court made an error by not allowing a material witness to testify in Arnold’s defense. The defense had argued that someone else was responsible.

Assistant Prosecutor Dan Brandt told jurors that Arnold’s actions were ‘even more purposeful’ than a slaying with a gun or knife, the Dayton Daily News reported. During closing arguments, Mr Brandt told jurors: ‘Baby Paris is without life, but she’s not without a voice. Please listen to her’. Mr Brandt claimed that Arnold had to carry the baby over, place her in the microwave, shut the door and press buttons. Then she waited while her child cooked to death, Brandt claimed. Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion argued that the evidence pointed as much to Mr Talley as it did his client. Mr Rion told jurors: ‘This doesn’t make sense to you. It doesn’t. I’ve been watching your faces’.

The prosecutor cut and fit evidence to show ‘this loving mother somehow was so evil that she killed her baby in this way’, he said. Mr Rion has said he ‘realized from the first day’ that Arnold was innocent. Prosecutors said Arnold had a criminal past and was convicted of abduction in 2000 and forgery in 2002.  Arnold reportedly took Paris to the hospital the following day but she succumbed to her injuries. Arnold was initially arrested but then released due to lack of evidence.  She was re-arrested in November 2006.

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Shanna Bukhari Hopes to Become First Muslim to Represent Great Britain as Miss Universe

She knows she faces fierce competition from other models desperate to represent Great Britain at the Miss Universe contest. For Shanna Bukhari, 24, is hoping to make history by becoming the first Muslim to represent Great Britain at the beauty pageant.

But Shanna Bukhari also faces another battle – against religious zealots who have told her she should “rot in hell.” And she is hoping to send out a message that beauty competitions should not be off limits to Muslim women. Miss Bukhari, from Manchester, said: ‘I want other girls from Muslim communities to feel they can do this. There is so much more to it than looking pretty and as the competitions adapt, so must we. My family are right behind me and I have had support from many others on Facebook – including friends who wear head scarves – after I set up a campaign.’

She has agreed, like all other competitors, to take part in the swimsuit section of the contest but says there are some who have reacted with fury to the idea. She said: ‘Three men wrote that they would not support me because what I was doing was sinful. They said I should rot in hell which is pretty shocking. But they contradict themselves by going out clubbing, drinking and smoking.’

She added: ‘I have had amazing support  from the Asian/Pakistani community right across the UK and they want me to do well. Miss Bukhari was born in Blackburn and studied English literature at Bolton University. Her brothers and sisters and her parents all support her bid for the title. She got through to the British final after qualifying from Miss Universe Asiana, a competition for Asian women living in the UK. The winner of Miss Universe GB at the ICC Birmingham on May 1 will go on to the final in Sao Paulo on September 12.

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Royal Bride Kate Middleton has Recurring Dream – that she is NAKED at her Wedding

 Jittery Royal bride Kate Middleton is being dogged by a nightmare in which she is naked in front of the wedding congregation.

The recurring dream has left her sister Pippa, 27 – who will be maid of honor on Friday – in fits of hysterics. Kate, 29, confessed to imagining herself naked as a worldwide audience of two billion tunes in to see her tie the knot with Prince William. She revealed she suffered a similar anxiety-related dream in 2006 as she prepared to start a new job as an accessory buyer with clothing chain Jigsaw. A Royal source said: “Kate has the last-minute jitters and just wants the day to arrive. It’s hardly surprising considering the stage she is going to be on – with the eyes of the world on her.

“But her nerves have manifested in an interesting way. A recurring dream she hadn’t had for years has raised its head again. “She finds herself in front of the congregation and then becomes suddenly aware she is completely naked. There is a deathly silence – and everyone from the Queen to Prince Philip is staring at her.” The source added: “Kate has joked the worst bit is she can’t work out which parts to cover.” Beaming Kate gave no hint the pressure was getting to her yesterday as she drove away from her family home in Bucklebury, Berks. But The Sun can reveal that to combat the “sheer terror” of her looming walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey – and fears she may faint – she has begun drinking protein shakes to keep her strength up. If she really did find herself naked there would be plenty of foliage to hide behind, aides revealed yesterday. Trees 20ft high are among blooms the couple has chosen to decorate the Abbey.

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Father Kills Two Young Sons, Then Emails Photo of Dead Baby to Mother – “We Love U Goodbye”

The father of two young boys is accused of killing them before allegedly texting a photo of the younger child’s dead body to their mother. According to friends of the mother, Gabriel Armandariz, 28, of Graham, Texas, sent pictures of himself on a bed with two-year-old Gatlin and eight-month-old Luke with the message ‘We love u goodbye’.

He then texted a final message to his ex-girlfriend with a photo that is claimed to show their younger son dead with a piece of frayed fabric wrapped around his neck like a noose. Colleagues of the boy’s mother, Lauren Smith, said she rushed into work on Wednesday ‘frantic and hysterical’ after receiving the text messages. Cindy Bradley, who works with her at the Chuck Wagon restaurant, Sudan, Texas, said Armandariz had been calling her and saying strange things before allegedly sending the disturbing photos.  ‘About four o’clock he sent her a picture message of the youngest boy hanging,’ she said.

Unsure if the photo was real or not, they immediately called the police to check on the boys who were staying with Armandariz in Graham. After a 10-hour search through the night, officers found both Luke and Gatlin dead. Armandariz was arrested and charged with their murders. Armandariz also allegedly posted a photo of his sons on Facebook with the caption ‘love forever’. Cynthia Bradley said the children’s mother was living with a relative in the Texas Panhandle, about 250 miles northwest of Graham. She said she was unsure why the couple had broken up. Douglas Ames, the woman’s boss at the Chuck Wagon restaurant, said: ‘Never expected anything like this to happen to anybody. Gabriel Armandariz is charged with capital murder and jailed on a $1.5 million bond. In Texas, a defendant convicted of capital murder can face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

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Horrified families looked on as a human cannonball was killed when his safety net failed during an Easter Holiday extravaganza.

Horrified families looked on as a human cannonball was killed when his safety net failed during an Easter Holiday extravaganza.

The stuntman suffered catastrophic head and neck injuries when he hit the ground in front of a huge crowd at the Kent County Showground. Eyewitnesses said the stuntman was fired up to 50ft in the air as part of Scott May’s Daredevil Stunt Show. But the recoil from the massive barrel, which is attached to a 7.5 ton truck, appeared to make his safety net collapse. Luke Adams, 38, who was watching the show with his children, said onlookers were stunned and confused by the accident as they did not know if it was part of the show.  He said: ‘It was absolutely horrendous. The net collapsed while he was in the air. As the cannon went bang the truck recoiled.  ‘As it moved I could see the net drop to the ground. ‘He landed on the grass head first and continued to roll forward but then stayed on his back motionless.’

Another woman, who watched the show with her three-year-old son, described how the stuntman landed directly in front of her. She said: ‘He was right in front of us and had blood coming from his mouth and was out cold.’St John’s Ambulance medics rushed to the man’s side before an air ambulance and paramedics arrived at the showground in Detling, near Maidstone, at around 3.30pm. The injured man, named only as Matt –who was aged 23 and said to be from the Isle of Man – was taken to Maidstone Hospital but died a short time later. The family-owned Scott May’s Daredevil Stunt show, based in St Just, Cornwall, has been touring the UK since 1991. It features motorcyclists jumping over giant ramps, stunts in which monster trucks crush cars and a two-wheeled driving display. The show’s website boasts there has never been an accident in more than 20 years and urges spectators to obey safety instructions. The human cannonball is one of the show’s highlights.

A stuntman is fired from an oversized barrel by the explosive power of hydraulic machinery, with pyrotechnics added to increase the drama. Once in the air, the performer aims to turn from his head-first position to land on the safety netting bottom first. He must then scramble off the netting, which is about 10ft off the ground, before it collapses as the final part of the act. The show’s website said those who undertake the stunt are ‘highly respected for their courage and daring’. A spokesman for Scott May said all shows had been cancelled until further notice while an inquiry was carried out into what went wrong. And a Kent Police spokesman said: ‘A man taking part in a human cannonball event this afternoon has died after it is believed a safety net failed to engage.’ The first human cannonball act took place in England in the 1870s. Since then more than 30 stuntmen have been killed while performing, mostly by missing the net.

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