Woman Weighing 320lbs Who Killed Girl By Sitting On Her As Punishment Is Sentenced To Life In Prison
Veronica Green Posey, 66, was convicted of first-degree felony murder Friday after a jury heard she sat on Dericka Lindsay for more than five minutes.
A jury heard the schoolgirl died of suffocation after she was starved of oxygen when 320lbs Posey crushed her in an effort to get her under control in October 2017.
Prosecutors say little Lindsay had suffered horrific beatings from Posey, as well as from her adoptive parents, James and Grace Smith.
Posey's attorney said the 320-pound woman was trying to help the Smiths and didn't intend to hurt Dericka.
In an autopsy, the medical examiner found Dericka had severe bruising on her buttocks that she described as 'injury, on top of injury, on top of injury.'
Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea said on the day of Dericka's death, Posey was awoken by a phone call from Grace Smith saying that Dericka and her eight-year-old sister were misbehaving.
'Once her feet hit the floor getting out of bed, she was determined to beat these children,' Shea said.
She took a ruler and a thin pipe intended to give the ruler 'weight,' then went over to the Smiths' home to aid Grace Smith with the beating of the young child.
Posey forced the girl to bend over arm armchair and then sat on her back, crushing her chest.
Despite the girl's screams that she couldn't breathe, Posey continued to sit on her until she stopped moving.
It was only when she realised the girl had stopped breathing that she called 911.
At the time Posey told law enforcement that she sat on the small girl 'for being out of control.'
The child was transported to Baptist Hospital but she was pronounced dead a short time later.
