She is also qualified to receive insurance and education benefits. Overton was convicted of capital murder, an automatic life sentence in Texas because the child was under the age of 6. He visited us in the country and brought his serinity along. The three oldest Overton children had gone to their aunts house to see their cousins, who were visiting from out of town, and Andrew grew increasingly agitated and restless, throwing a tantrum at three oclock in the morning. Larry outside his family's home, in Corpus Christi, on November 22. Hess remained skeptical of Hannahs account. When people are under severe stress, their judgment becomes poor., Cortess perspective was revelatory. Menu. They declined to do any further chromosomal testing and turned to prayer instead. Hess was allowed to return to the force and is now a patrol sergeant. At Sunday school, he became more expressive, stringing words into sentences and holding hands with his new sister Ally. The information on this website does NOT constitute legal advice and you may not rely on it as such. He was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Nicole . Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The particulars of her crime, as sketched out by the prosecution, were vague; assistant district attorney Sandra Eastwood, a passionate child advocate, conceded in opening arguments that she was not sure how Hannah had made Andrew eat so much salt. The experience had affected her deeply, and she told Larry that she was willing to adopt a child with disabilities or an older child who had been unable to find a permanent home. And given that abuse and neglect during the first year of life can profoundly affect behavioral development, they were not surprised that Andrew was different. That left Overton entitled to seek state compensation funds for thewrongful conviction. While Larry tried to scrub down the bedroom, Andrew pulled his sheets out of the trash several times, despite repeated warnings not to do so. The mood in the car was giddy; the kids were excitedly discussing the news that they would have a baby sister when Larry, distracted, ran a stop sign and collided with another car. The boys symptoms that afternoonvomiting, chills, and lethargyinitially suggested to the Overtons that he had a routine ailment, like a stomach bug. Following college, he worked as a financial consultant and more recently as a consultant for Terrestar Networks. Witnesses outside the home said they had seen Andrew's bizarre habits, too. I plan their birthday parties from here, she told me. The website is updated daily, frequently with exonerations that occurred in the past. There is no photo or video of Jonah Lee Overton.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. Our lives are richer having known him. (Like Eastwood, neither Norman nor Jimenez would comment for this article.) Hannahs supporters included a young churchgoer named Dawn Werkhoven, who had lived with the Overtons the year leading up to Andrews death. The Overtons rushed him to a nearby urgent care clinic after his breathing became labored and he stopped responding to their questions, but by the time they arrived, he had fallen unconscious. CPR had also been performed for an extended period by Hannah and later by medical personnel, who had squeezed the boys nose and administered chest compressions for 35 minutes. Prosecutors exploited that uncertainty in final arguments, asserting that Andrew did not have pica. Gilmore urged Hannah more than once to agree to have the jury consider a lesser charge, but she was uneasy with what she perceived as an underlying suggestion of wrongdoing. He was an avid sailor who was active in the Fishing Bay Yacht Club and raced with the crew of La Maga. I figured, Well, weve got to start with one, so lets see how far we get. Isabel, and then Ally, followed. She had only one sibling, a brother who was seven years her junior, and a father who was largely absent from her life. I wasnt thinking, obviously, or I would have just taken him to the hospital, Hannah told the detective. My only hope is that I will see him again. By that point, they had already been shown numerous photos of Andrews small, bruised body postmortem. According to her family tree, she married Larry D. Overton on August 9, 1997 in Texas . The boy was diagnosed with a toxic salt overdose and died the following day. I remind them that the Lord loves him more than anyone could and we will see him again someday.. I may harbor doubts, but a jury heard this case and made a decision, and everyone has to respect that decision, he told the Express-News. Frustrated with a naughty child, prosecutors said, she tried to punish him with seasoning mixed in water. 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. As the verdict was read, Hannah looked horror-struck. The kids took me out back, where they jumped on the trampoline and played hide-and-seek in the salt grass. In the eyes of law enforcement, Hannah and Larry were not grieving parents but perpetrators of an appalling crime. Overton's case drew national attention and she was the subject of the documentary "Until Proven Innocent.". There was no evidence of external bleeding or injuries to Andrews head, however, and at a pre-trial hearing, Fernandez conceded that the hemorrhaging could have been related to elevated sodium in the blood. Not long afterward, Larry and Hannah heard about Andrew at their church, Calvary Chapel of the Coastlands, which Andrews foster mother also attended. However, Judge Longoria could allow the jury to consider a lesser charge if he felt that the evidence did not support capital murder, and after hearing the states case, he did so, telling both the prosecution and the defense that he was willing to let the jury consider manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide. Dabney always took time to talk to people and was a friend to many. Sister Overton grew up in Tuscumbia and lived most of her life in Florence. Those were great times. The marks could be consistent with many things, including a fight, an altercation, someone trying to hold this childs neck forcefully, he said. He is in my thoughts and his family in my prayers. 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. My deepest sympathy to his family on the loss of a truly extraordinary person. Love Carl Robertson, My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. That official statement granted her access to state funds that are provided to the wrongfully convicted and also prevented her from being tried for the crime again. On October 3, while Andrew was still hospitalized, the agency removed Isaac, Isabel, Ally, and Sebastian from their parents custody, placing them in two separate foster homes in Beeville, sixty miles away. Cynthia Hujar-Orr, Gerry Goldstein and John Raley were apart of Overtons appellate team that helped overturn the conviction. (Haller, their next-door neighbor, has since moved to Houston.) -- Sarah Albiston, I enjoyed working with Dabney from time to time. But as the afternoon wore on, his symptoms grew troubling; his breathing became congested, and he became less and less responsive. I also could never begin to thank those who supported us, prayed and prayed for us, and walked with us along the entire way, Overton said. After years of appeals and hearings the state'shighest criminal court overturned her conviction in 2014. 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. An attorney-client relationship will arise between you and our firm only if we specifically agree to act for you. I feel honored to have shared his presence. Overton, 38, was convicted in 2007 after being accused of force-feeding young Andrew Burd enough salt to kill him, even though she had no previous problems with the law and was raising four children and was pregnant with a fifth. It is a small thing for one who has suffered so greatly.". He was predeceased by : his parents, Theodore Roosevelt 'Jack' and Annie Overton of Washington; and his wife Claudia Cotten. The physician only said that the scratch marks he had noticed on the boys neck had been caused, he believed, by another person. Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. Against the backdrop of possible abuse, authorities wasted little time. Nueces County jurors believed she failed to seek medical care for her foster son in a timely manner. At Andrews request, he made a plate of sausage and more than a dozen eggs, all of which the boy eagerly devoured. He will be missed by his many friends. Afterward, she instinctively looked back to check on the children, not realizing that her face was covered in blood. Dinner was potato soupIts good and filling, and its cheap, Larry told mewhich the kids dived into after saying grace. He delivered sermons to a small but devoted following that met every Sunday, and during services he also played guitar. When she was fifteen, Hannah returned to Corpus Christi with her family to visit, and Larry, who had not seen her since they were kids, was immediately smitten. 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. It is unclear, read the courts ruling, whether the state actually knew of Dr. Cortess opinion. The court also ruled that the wording of the jury charge was free from error. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined the opportunity to reconsider the decision. He had so many interests and was loyal to those he knew and was involved with, especially those he sailed with as that is where I knew him. But Saenzs account of his whereabouts on the evening of the murder did not jibe with the evidence, and blood that matched the victims type was discovered inside his van. "We are so excited about all God has done in and through all of this. Channel Three, Channel Six, Channel Ten, the Caller-Timesthey all knew ahead of time, Gilmore said. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. Anyone who knew Dabney loved him. Making him sleep on plywood burning sheets, becoming so enraged she forced him to have 23 teaspoons of hot pepper, and then watched him die in agony..

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