Jessica Tata's fate now in jury's hands
By Jayme Fraser | November 19, 2012 | Updated: November 19, 2012 11:02pm
The jury began deliberating Monday how to sentence Jessica Tata, a day care operator found guilty of felony murder last week for the death of one of the toddlers at her west Houston facility..
Sixteen-month-old Elias Castillo and three other children died in the Feb. 24, 2011, fire. Prosecutors said a pot of oil that Tata left on a hot burner started the fire after she left the children alone to go shopping. She faces a penalty of five years to life in prison for the conviction.
'Good loving person'
Closing arguments Monday focused on whether Tata had a calling to care for children and simply made a mistake, or if she selfishly and regularly left kids unattended at her day care.
Both the defense and prosecution played a video taken the day of the fire that showed the day care operator interacting with the toddlers.
Tata's lawyer, Mike DeGeurin, spoke softly and stood behind a table throughout his comments. "She didn't have a private, personal life except with those children," DeGeurin said, holding notes in hand. He explained that those children went everywhere with her, including church.
"Same order as yesterday," he said, echoing Tata in the video instructing the children to load into the van.
"This is something that can't be fixed," DeGeurin said, cautioning the jury against thinking "an excessive sentence" would fix the tragedy. He asked them to focus on Tata's compassion, caring for the children and sometimes helping their parents with rides to work.
"She could've gotten them out if she'd been there, which she promised the parents she would do," DeGeurin said. "But she's also a good loving person."
Deaths 'an inevitability'
Assistant Harris County District Attorney Connie Spence walked to the television screen when she played the video clip, all the jurors turning to watch. She would pause the video to talk about each child caught in the fire that day.
She pointed at a little boy who survived the blaze as he jumps on a door gate fallen to the ground.
"He's going to make the warranty for that product work," she said. Some jury members chuckled and smiled, momentarily breaking the trial's somber mood.
Spence focused on evidence that showed Tata had left the children unattended before, saying the woman was putting her desires ahead of the kids' safety.
"February 24 was not an aberration," she said. "It was an inevitability."
Jury sequestered
Tata is only on trial in the death of one toddler, but Spence asked the jury to also consider the others who died: 3-year-old Shomari Leon Dickerson, 20-month-old Kendyll Stradford and 19-month-old Elizabeth Kajoh.
The jury was sequestered after almost five hours of deliberation. They will continue Tuesday morning.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Jessica-Tata-s-fate-now-in-jury-s-hands-4050202.php
Topic: Jessica Renee Tata (Read 1739 times)