ATLANTA — In a long, drawn out court process, a daycare provider learned her fate. Again.
On June 1, 2011, the Fulton County District Attorney said that the parents of Jaylen Kelly left him and his 3-year-old sister in the care and custody of 51-year-old Maria Owens, their regular daycare provider.
According to the district attorney, that morning, three days prior to Jaylen's first birthday, the Kellys informed Owens that they intended to enroll their children in a more structured daycare environment -- and eventually remove them from her care.
According to court documents, the Kellys were the only children in Owens’ care at the time, and it was her sole source of income. Owens was also in the process of divorcing her husband, the D.A. said.
About an hour after learning of this decision by the parents of the Kelly children, the district attorney said Owens called 911 and said Jaylen Kelly was not breathing. The baby was rushed to a local hospital and then flown to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston. Despite the efforts of hospital staff, Jaylen Kelly succumbed to his injuries.
During the autopsy, court documents reveal that Jaylen’s back was fractured, and he lost nearly half of his blood volume.
Owens admitted to striking the baby but said she was simply attempting to help Jaylen cough to relieve issues related to bronchitis. The Fulton County Medical Examiner disputed this claim and stated that "an immense amount of force" would be required to fracture Jaylen’s back.
In 2013, Owens was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and felony murder in this case. However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk vacated the felony murder count, based on a complicated provision in Georgia law related to intent that made the convictions mutually exclusive.
In turn, Owens was sentenced to 10 years to serve on the lesser charge.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office appealed the conviction and the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Newkirk erred in upholding one of the convictions, when their mutually exclusive nature should have vacated them both.
The manslaughter conviction was reversed, and the case was re-tried.
Fast forward to today, Owens was convicted of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the first degree.
She learned that she'll spend life in prison based on the new convictions.
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