Ohio Mom Gets Life Term in Baby’s Microwave Death

An Ohio woman convicted of killing her month-old baby daughter in a microwave oven was spared the death penalty and sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole.

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Prosecutors say Arnold intentionally put 28-day-old Paris Talley in a microwave and turned it on after a fight with her boyfriend. The defense argued that someone else was likely responsible for the baby’s death.

Medical experts testified that the baby died quickly after her temperature reached between 107 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. They said she probably was in the microwave for more than two minutes.

“She died because she was overheated,” said Dr. Marcella Fierro, retired chief medical examiner for Virginia. “She was cooked.”

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Komo News, May 26, 2011

An emaciated 14-month-old girl apparently died of “nutritional neglect” before she was stuffed into a suitcase and put in a neighbor’s trash can, according to police who charged the mother with homicide.

Tania R. Coleman, 20, of Erie, was being held without bail Thursday after identifying herself as the mother as police canvassed the neighborhood. Coleman is pregnant and has two other girls, ages 2 and 3, authorities said.

The other children were examined and appear unharmed, authorities said. They were placed with Coleman’s relatives.

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The body was discovered by firefighters who noticed the suitcase while responding to a kitchen fire nearby.

Heavy rains Monday had washed the suitcase down the street after an unsuspecting neighbor removed it from the trash can, according to police and neighbors.

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