Ill put it this way. With her first husband, whose name was Stephens, she lived in Iowa, and had one daughter. on our list, Other Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. Every Saturday for the past several years, Larry has ridden his motorcycle from Corpus Christi to the Murray Unit, the maximum-security womens prison west of Waco where Hannah is incarcerated: a squat, concrete building walled off from the world with cyclone fencing and coils of razor wire. Died Feb. 18, 2003 Mrs. Nettie Sue Overton, 78, Florence passed away Tuesday at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital. We loved him and will miss him. Home; Memorials; Cemeteries; Famous; Contribute; Register; Sign In; Register; Sign In; Memorial updated successfully. . Hannah Spencer Haile (1937 - 1981) - Genealogy - Geni Family Tree The sheets were filthy, and he was getting poop everywhere. Loose teeth, first day of kindergarten, last day of kindergarten. As Andrews condition deteriorated, CPS barred the Overtons from visiting their son. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? I knew it would probably make him sick, but I wanted him to understand why we were setting limits, Larry explained. . Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. The onus for the boys death fell on Hannah, who was charged with capital murder. But law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who treated Andrew thought otherwise. Pleading out to that was much better than having my children grow up without a mother or a father. In exchange for his plea, Larry was given five years probation and a $5,000 fine. It seemed to me, based upon the wording of the charge, that we had no choice but to find her guilty of capital murder. But, Warfield added, I do not believe that Mrs. Overton knew that her actions (or lack thereof) would kill Andrew Byrd [sic]. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Jonah Lee Overton (Charlotte, North Carolina), who passed away on January 21, 2023, at the age of 92, leaving to mourn family and friends. As you know, Dabney and I had a lot of good times and he was a dear friend and fraternity brother. Our thoughts, hugs and prayers are with you. It did not matter that Haller, who had seen Andrew in the days leading up to his hospitalization and who was frequently in the Overton home, had never observed any suspicious bruises or indications of abuse. But after the girls, the Overtons conceived their fourth child, Sebastian. Hannah Overton, a Corpus Christi homemaker and mother of five, was convicted of capital murder in 2007 for the death Andrew Burd, the four-year-old boy she and her husband were in the process. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Dabney's memory to Aylett Country Day School, P.O. The prosecutions most persuasive testimony came from Rotta, the pediatric critical care specialist who had originally expressed concern that Andrew had been mistreated. His foster mother had taken him to a pediatrician for an adoption screening shortly before he had come to live with them, and the checkup had raised no red flags. Overton spent seven years in prison for the murder of a young foster child that she says she didn't commit. He was a good friend and a great dancer!! Larry with (from left) his children Ally, Isaac, Sebastian, Emma, and Isabel. The way it was explained to me, thats how I would be charged if I accidentally ran a stoplight and hit somebody, he said. Larry taught Sunday school, Hannah led a Bible study, and their children, whom Hannah homeschooled, attended youth group and socialized with other members kids. They speculated Andrew might have had pica, an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive appetite and that Andrew accidentally poisoned himself by consuming a fatal amount of sodium. Much loved daughter of Andrew and Susan, dearly loved sister of. He was such a kind person, always with a smile on his face and a warm hug. Larry had also tried to rouse him by giving him a warm bath. The writ is the final opportunity a defendant has to introduce new evidence into the record. I worked with Dabney at Browder Russell just after he graduated from W & L, and saw him often at FBYC. I knew Dabney through my daughter. Yet the image they conjuredof a woman grinning at the sight of a comatose four-year-oldwas devastating. The Corpus Christi Caller-Timess online comments section filled with the vitriol of readers, some of whom called for Hannah to receive the death penalty. Their arrests came so quickly after Andrew died, they said, that they had no time to grieve for the boy they hoped to permanently make a part of their family. But had jurors fully understood the decision they had been asked to make? I visited Hannah at the Murray Unit one bright, cloudless afternoon, when the warden granted her a few hours to speak with me. Reaching for his shoes, he announced, I can do all things. Larry remembered, We felt like we were really making headway with him.. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. Dabney will be missed by many. He seemed to enjoy having brothers and sisters to play with, and the Overton kidsespecially the girls, who doted on himwere enthralled by the new arrival. Benign conditions and life-threatening conditions look the same in the beginning, he said. He was a member of Mt. She and Larry were under tremendous financial strain, she admitted, but she stressed that they had rushed for help as soon as they realized how critical Andrews condition was. If you would like to discuss your case with an attorney at Goldstein & Orr, then please contact us to schedule a consultation. Hannah must sit on the opposite side of a metal divider, behind Plexiglas. In October 2006 a four-year-old from Corpus Christi named Andrew Burd died mysteriously of salt poisoning. At the time, Overton had four children and was pregnant with a fifth, and had no prior trouble with the law. Plant a tree to honor the memory of your loved one. An Unforgettable Texas Tale of Envy, Embezzlement, and Fruitcake, How the Texas Rangers Became One of the Most Powerful Forces in the State. Myron Overton Obituary (1935 - 2013) - Bakersfield, CA - Legacy Fleeing for Your Life? She had told the jury of the boys unusual habitsthe inappropriate eating, the obsessive picking and scratching, the head bangingbut her version of events had been tainted by the specter of abuse. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. I was one of those who was lucky enough to share a friendship with this kind, strong and loving man. He was loved by many for his gentle nature and loyalty. Could it be that you held his nose, held his neck, and made him drink this horrible concoction? the prosecutor challenged her during a withering cross-examination. If convicted, Hannah would receive an automatic life sentence. News reports that followed, prominently featuring their grim-faced mug shots, cast the Overton home as a house of horrors. Early in the pregnancy, Hannah and Larry were informed that the boy would likely have Down syndrome. The marks could be consistent with many things, including a fight, an altercation, someone trying to hold this childs neck forcefully, he said. Or had the tragedy claimed its second victim? I feel honored to have shared his presence. Andrew was a sweet boy who had significant neurological and developmental disorders. The prosecution portrayed her as a mother who had lost control and tried to punish the young boy by giving him seasoning mixed in water. One attorney was even moved to tears explaining how sorry he was for the mistakes he had made in Overton's case. Hannah Overton |Goldstein & Orr Dabney is a graduate of Aylett Country Day School, St. Christopher's School, and Washington and Lee University. Left: Hannah Overton at the Murray Unit, west of Waco, on November 21, 2011. He will be remembered fondly. He was a nice guy. As Larry stood in the kitchen and peeled potatoes, the kidsexcited to have a visitorshowed me around their house, pointing out their favorite hiding places and the plaster cast of their footprints in the hallway, which includes the letter A for Andrew. memorial page for Hannah Ester Hall Overton (1660-1732), Find a Grave Memorial ID 160804572; Burial Details Unknown; . At the clinic, she continued giving him mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions until paramedics took over, but the four-year-old lay motionless. Because we were not thinking we were in a life-or-death situation, she insisted. Heritage Funeral Home 3700 Forest Lawn Dr, Matthews, NC 28104, Weddington Methodist Church 13901 Providence Rd, Weddington, NC 28104. The next morning, Corpus Christi police detective Michael Hess paid a visit to Kathi Haller, the Overtons next-door neighbor, who knew the family well. More outspoken was Andrews Sunday school teacher, who sat Hannah and Larry down and told them that he was a troubled kid. During closing arguments, Gilmore emphasized that Hannah had no motive to kill Andrew and that the state had failed to prove that she had intentionally caused the boys death. 2023 www.caller.com. May God wrap his loving arms around you until we meet again. If you would like a copy via email, please let me know. Hess and a group of CPS workers were standing in the back with dark glasses on, their arms crossed, scowls on their faces, Carver said. A short discussion followed about the passage, in which Jesus heals a blind man, and then Larry closed his Bible and said, Okay, guys, lets pray. One by one, the kids spoke their prayers, each of which ended with the same wish. Overton, who has long maintained her innocence, spent seven years in prison for the young childs death. One paramedic recounted how he had seen two sores on Andrew that looked to me like cigarette burns because they were round. Another paramedic also believed the sores were cigarette burns, though he admitted he had only looked at them from a distance. Fernandez, the medical examiner, said he had observed burnlike scarring on Andrews arm that had likely been caused by contact with a hot surface. But neither Larry nor Hannah smoked. Hannahs conviction was upheld in 2009 by the Thirteenth Court of Appeals. Given that Hannah was suspected of poisoning Andrew with Creole seasoning, the suggestion that the Overtons had used pepper to discipline their children raised immediate concerns. But former Nueces County District Attorney Mark Skurka charged Overton a second time for murder after her release. Obituaries Section. That left Overton entitled to seek state compensation funds for thewrongful conviction. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. In October 2006 a four-year-old from Corpus Christi named Andrew Burd died mysteriously of salt poisoning. When Michael put his fingers in his mouth, she would call his name softlythere was no anger in her voiceand he would smile and slowly slide his fingers out, Richard said. Hannahwho had already lost a child and was now living apart from her four older oneswas in a fragile state of mind. Anne Turner Overton Haile died peacefully at home in Portland, Oregon on December 7, 2021. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Hannah would remind him, quoting Philippians. Other witnesses testified that they had detected signs of abuse. He would have been witness number one for the defense, Gilmore told me. celebrity wifi packages cost. Its not even a consideration, she said. By the time Hannah took the stand, jurors appeared to have made up their minds. The boy was diagnosed with a toxic salt overdose and died the following day. Hannah managed to clean him up, but when she reiterated that he would have to wait until lunchtime to eat, he defecated on the floor again. Does anybody remember that? Dinner was potato soupIts good and filling, and its cheap, Larry told mewhich the kids dived into after saying grace. As he grasped for the right words to convey the depth of pain a parent feels over the loss of a child, he noticed a row of unfamiliar faces. . So she had to find a way out. (Hess did not respond to interview requests for this article but has previously denied Hallers version of events.) Larry, who was sitting behind her, broke down. Dabney OVERTON Obituary (2009) - Richmond, VA - Legacy I never saw Hannah be anything but patient and loving with all the kids, the now-married mother of two told me. H-E-Bs True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping, West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country. (Andrew was told that he could not have any food at McDonalds, since he had already eaten.) The families shared an unofficial open-door policy, and when Andrew had begun acting up the previous afternoon, Hannah had called Haller for help, asking if she could look after Sebastian for a little while. He was a great classmate and teamate at St Christopher's. I wish you and your family peace in this difficult time. (CPS had not yet sent them his Social Security card, which they needed to get him insured.) Before he left, Haller recalled his saying, You might want to prepare for the media.. If Hannah had been looking for a way out, she would have called the adoption agency and told them that she and Larry couldnt go through with it. Hess was unmoved. They wed a year later and moved to Corpus Christi. She and her family do so much good with nothing. Because the court has not been inclined to intercede so far, members of Calvary Chapel have begun a letter-writing campaign to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in hopes of securing a pardon or a commutation. On October 2, 2006, 29-year-old Hannah Overton and her husband, Larry brought Andrew Burd, their four-year-old foster son whom they were in the process of adopting, to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas after the boy stopped breathing. But both mother and daughter are doing fine. He acted more like a toddler than a preschooler, they noted; if he wanted an object, he pointed to it and grunted. Hannah did describe how she and Larry had at first tried to treat the boys symptoms themselves, often volunteering more information than the detective had asked for. Over the course of the three-week-long trial, Eastwood sought to convince jurors that a mother with no history of violence or mental illness had force-fed her child to deatha scenario that each prosecution witness helped, incrementally, to suggest was possible. Andrew accompanied his foster mother to services every Sunday, and with his thatch of blond hair and beaming grin, he was hard to miss. He was a very sweet and kind person. Or had the tragedy claimed its second victim? He had a speech delay and spoke haltingly, sometimes with a stutter, but every week, when his Sunday school classmates went around in a circle to say their prayer requests, he made the same wish aloud: that he would be adopted. The intentional poisoning of a child is usually perpetrated with sedatives, anticonvulsants, or medications like injectable insulin, not food, he told me. And anyone who loves dogs as much as Dabney did is a special soul indeed. You and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks. I knew Dabney years ago while living in Richmond. He was an example to many by the way he lived his life and his loyalty to those values that determine a true friend. The sodium content of Zatarains is not listed on its packaging. Share Obituary. According to Hannah, Andrew once again asked for an early lunch, and once again, when she told him that he would have to wait, he defecated and smeared feces across the floor. My husband, Tom, and I were deeply saddened to hear of Dabney's sudden passing. The paperwork Orr now forwarded to him, which showed that Andrews stomach contained a great deal of water, only confirmed the clinical directors initial conclusion. Hannah Overton, a south Texas mother of five whose wrongful conviction for the 2006 death of her foster son was overturned last year, is expected to receive over $500,000 in compensation from the state for the years she spent in jail. I was lucky enough and feel so honored to have been loved by Dabney. Larry hurried home to help, but Andrew, who had been vomiting, only grew worse. Take it one day at a time. Even more devastating to Hannah were the actions that CPS took that January. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? A more thorough investigation would have uncovered ample evidence to suggest that Andrew had an undiagnosed eating disorder, raising the possibility that he had unintentionally consumed too much salt on his own. . My sons in high school now. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Please allow 24 hours for your entry to be reviewed for appropriate content. Im a pretty easygoing guy, but I remember thinking, Six kids? Larry told me. In a 2012 interview from a Texas prison, Overton told ABC News that during one of the monthly visitations with her children, [Emma] took her first step, I was there. They convicted her based on the latter argument, that she did not seek help quickly enough. If she had taken Andrew to the hospital earlier, what would she have taken him in for? This is a child that came in [to the emergency room] in cardiopulmonary arrest and was dying. While he was relieved not to have to serve prison time, the discrepancy between his wifes punishment and his own left him stupefied. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. But law enforcement officials are accustomed to handling child abuse cases, not medical mysteries, and salt poisoning is rare enough that most emergency room doctors will never encounter a case during their careers. Larry and Hannah knew that Andrew loved Spider-Man, so they made sure to have all manner of Spider-Man-themed necessities for him: sheets, pajamas, a toothbrush, a towel, a swimsuit, and even a plate embossed with the superheros image. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. Ive missed, you know, so many things, she said at the time. Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. Lane and her children moved to the East Texas town of Lindale, where a missionary organization, the Calvary Commission, allowed them to live in a modest apartment on its grounds free of charge. Lane earned her college degree and became an elementary school teacher, while Hannah played with, and later babysat, the children of missionaries who used the campus as a home base between trips abroad. She had been released on bond in December after a Texas appellate court overturned her conviction and life sentence for the death of 4-year-old Andrew Burd, the child Overton and her husband, Larry, were in the process of adopting before he died. Gilmore and his defense team, which included two civil attorneys versed in the intricacies of medical testimony, tried to counter the prosecutions claims that Hannah had poisoned Andrew and purposely delayed medical treatment. The information on this website does NOT constitute legal advice and you may not rely on it as such. EMTs and hospital staff had vigorously poked and prodded the boy as they attempted to revive him, first at the clinic, then in an ambulance, then at Christus Spohn Hospital, where he was initially taken, and finally at Driscoll, where he was transferred to the intensive care unit. His mother was just sixteen, the file shows, when she gave birth to him in Corpus Christi on July 28, 2002. In the classes they had been required to take by CPS to become adoptive parents, they had been warned that foster children often hoarded food and were more likely to have eating disorders. Dear Overton Family and Friends of Dabney. One of her favorite books to revisit is Ruth. The medical staff at Driscoll Childrens Hospital had determined that Andrew had nearly twice the normal level of sodium in his blooda highly abnormal findingas well as bleeding in the brain, and as Hess questioned her, he tried to ascertain what had happened. . The court ruledher trial lawyers were ineffective, and sent her case back to be retried. OBITUARY - HANNAH OVERTON (HUNTINGDONSHIRE) Bowls England regrets to inform you that former Women's Junior International captain Hannah Overton passed away on 23rd December at the age of 28, after. Meanwhile, those who once pursued Hannah with such certainty have undergone their own trials. Orra formidable legal mind whose work recently helped exonerate Michael Morton, a Williamson County man who was wrongly convicted of his wifes 1986 murderhad begun preparing a writ of habeas corpus, a last-ditch effort to persuade the courts to review Hannahs case. Hannah would never harm a child. Even setting aside her loyalty to her friend, the detectives theory made no sense to her. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Find Hannah Overton obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com I made sure that he saw that we had an identical set of Spider-Man sheets so he would calm down., That evening Larry laid a sleeping bag on top of Andrews plywood bed frame, where, he told the boy, he would have to spend the night while his mattress finished drying. He was good to everyone he met. When a four-year-old from Texas died mysteriously of salt poisoning, his foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder and sent to prison for life. Kids loved her. Prosecutors exploited that uncertainty in final arguments, asserting that Andrew did not have pica. It should be noted that during the entire conversation, Hannah Overton showed almost no emotion, he later wrote in his police report. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. But after Hannahs conviction, the DAs office offered him several plea deals, each of which required him to acknowledge that he had intentionally caused Andrews death. Its about trusting God and seeing how he is a god of redemption and restoration, she said. Not until shortly before closing arguments did jurors hear from the defenses expert witness, a Harvard-educated pathologist and assistant medical examiner in San Francisco, Judy Melinek, who offered her opinion that the sores were consistent with mosquito bites that had been scratched and picked at. Despite all the pain, she told me that if she could do it over again, she would not change their decision to bring Andrew into their home. Hannah went into labor with her first child, Isaac, at the Subialdeas house, and though she had planned to come back to work after her sons birth, she found the separation from him too wrenching. I am so sorry to hear of Dabney's sudden passing. May your memories bring you comfort. The doctor had been the on-call emergency medicine physician at Driscoll the day that Andrew arrived, and he had resuscitated the boy as he was transported to the intensive care unit. A colleague of mine who attended the trial told me that the prosecution described Andrew again and again as a normal child, and that is a great distortion of the truth. Yet according to the unusual wording of the jury charge, jurors had to believe just one of two scenarios to find Hannah guilty: that she deliberately made Andrew ingest a lethal amount of salt or that she purposely neglected to get timely medical attention, knowing that this would kill him. She was always smiling, always laughing. As a teenager, she was captivated by missionaries stories of serving in far-flung places, and she began going on group mission trips herself, once venturing as far as Romania. Those were great times. Yet the Overtons were not too concerned. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. 1 x 120' / Produced for Discovery Networks. To the Overton's; Please accept my deepest sympathy and condolences for your loss. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition. Michael, who had been born prematurely, was severely impaired; he had cerebral palsy, was blind, and could not walk or talk. To the Overton Family and friends of Dabney: I first met Dabney in the fall of 1972 when he was in fourth grade at Aylett Country Day School. He will be missed. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital. As a former private-duty nurse, Hannah felt equipped to handle the challenges of a foster child; she had spent several years caring for special-needs children, some of whom were profoundly disabled.
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