Angela T. O'Brien, the 32-year-old godmother of Brianna Blackmond, was found guilty yesterday in D.C. Superior Court of slamming the toddler's head on the floor of their Northwest Washington row house and then instructing several children who witnessed the fatal beating to lie to investigators about it.
Jurors rejected the most serious charge of felony murder and prosecutors' claim that O'Brien planned to kill 23-month-old Brianna when she took her by the back of the shirt and slammed her down in a fit of rage. Instead, jurors convicted O'Brien of second-degree murder, which carries a possible sentence of 20 years to life in prison, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Brianna's death in January 2000 exposed numerous failings in the District's child protection system, prompted a series of investigations in the city and on Capitol Hill, and led to widespread reforms. Federal control of the city's child protection agency ended this summer, and its new director will have cabinet-level power and a budget boosted by millions.
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In addition, members of Congress are pushing to restructure the family division of D.C. Superior Court.
Brianna died two weeks after a judge, without holding a hearing, removed her from foster care and returned her to her mother, who was staying with O'Brien. The mother has an IQ of 58 and had been found to be neglectful of her children.
O'Brien also was found guilty of first-degree cruelty, which could bring a sentence of 15 years, and obstruction of justice, which could mean a prison term of three years to life, when she is sentenced Dec. 14 by Judge Lee F. Satterfield, prosecutors said. Since there are no mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for any of the charges, O'Brien could be released on probation on all charges, though that is unlikely.
One juror said last night that members of the panel did not believe that O'Brien acted with premediation, which would have brought a minimum of 30 years in prison. He said the jury also did not believe the prosecution's contention that O'Brien handcuffed the toddler.
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Instead, jurors spent much of their deliberations trying to decide whether to convict her of second-degree murder or manslaughter. The debate turned on whether O'Brien acted with "conscious disregard" when she slammed Brianna's body against a hard surface.
"She knew or didn't care that her actions would cause grave risk of bodily harm," said juror Charles Cerf, 55, a retired schoolteacher and real estate developer. "That left us with little choice."
Attorney Joanne Slaight, who defended O'Brien with June Perrone, said she plans to appeal. "She did not do this to this little girl," said Slaight, who described O'Brien as distraught.
O'Brien was accused of slamming Brianna's head against the floor of their home on Bates Street NW on Jan. 5, 2000, after a fussy Brianna would not sit still while O'Brien braided her hair. The child died the next day at Children's Hospital. The toddler's mother, Charrisise Blackmond, also 32, was not charged with killing Brianna but faces charges of child abuse, conspiracy and obstruction. She is awaiting a competency hearing.
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"We were satisfied with the jury's verdict," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Oscar Mayers Jr., who prosecuted the case with Peter Taylor.
Yesterday's verdict followed two partial days of deliberation and ended a nearly month-long trial. The government's key witnesses were three of O'Brien's children and a nephew, all of whom testified that they saw O'Brien slam Brianna to the floor. Prosecutors said the testimony was corroborated by autopsy results that showed bruises to Brianna's head.
Perrone and Slaight said that Brianna suffered fatal head injuries in a tumble down the stairs, and that the children who testified were prodded by investigators.
Prosecutors said O'Brien and Blackmond conspired to hide the truth. In closing arguments to the jury Thursday, Mayers said O'Brien told the children to tell anyone who asked that Brianna had fallen down the stairs.
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Only one child, O'Brien's 4-year-old daughter, did not initially give that account. A day after Brianna died, the girl told police, "My mama slammed Brianna." The other children said Brianna fell down the stairs, but eventually they provided the same details as the 4-year-old to police and jurors.
In closing arguments, Mayers said Brianna "was just getting her hair braided up too tight. For that, she got slammed to the floor three, four times."
The children also testified that O'Brien, who worked as a security officer, at times handcuffed Brianna to a stairwell or stroller. But jurors rejected the charges of second-degree cruelty to children and assault that were based on those allegations.
An inspector general's report found that child welfare workers and government officials made eight critical mistakes in the weeks before Brianna's death, such as failing to alert a judge that social workers believed that the child shouldn't be returned to her mother.
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An investigation by The Washington Post published last month documented 229 cases in which children whose families came to the attention of the District's child protection system died from 1993 through 2000. The Post obtained records for 180 of the deaths and found that 40 children perished after government workers failed to take preventive action or placed them in unsafe homes or institutions.
Staff writer Bill Miller contributed to this report.
Brianna Blackmond rides a rocking horse on her first birthday. A year later, her godmother killed her by slamming her head on the floor of their house.
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