Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
The baby girl's mother, 22-year-old Lorena Thompson, pleaded guilty to neglect of a minor in July and was sentenced to five years of probation.
Prosecutors said that Thompson had seen bruises on her daughter's body and suspected that her boyfriend had been physically abusing Aleah but did not do anything to protect the infant or alert the authorities.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner subsequently ruled Aleah's death a homicide caused by multiple blunt force injuries. An autopsy of the baby showed that the 10-week-old had suffered a broken collarbone and had 34 rib fractures in various stages of healing. The injuries were the result of what has been described as at least three 'severely traumatic events.'
Aleah had injuries to her head, eyes and spine. A forensic anthropologists concluded that the abuse started when the infant was only two weeks old and the last of the incidents took place just before her death.
Aleah's parents were arrested in late August 2015, nearly two months after the baby's death.
During his initial interview with police, Robert Davidson said that on the evening of June 23, he was looking after Aleah while his girlfriend was at work. He said he was playing video games when he heard sounds of labored breathing coming from the bedroom. He went to check up on Aleah and found her unresponsive and limp. He then tried to revive her by performing CPR before calling 911 for help.
However, during subsequent interviews, Davidson admitted to 'committing acts that constitute sexual abuse of a child.’ He also revealed that he had dropped Aleah several times in the past and 'aggressively' shook the baby at least once on the day of the incident.
When Lorena Thompson was questioned by investigators, she admitted that she had seen bruises on Aleah on more than one occasion, and that those injuries occurred while the baby was in her boyfriend’s care, but at no time did she seek medical attention for the new-born and she didn't even take the baby to her two-month medical checkup because she knew the doctors would have discovered the injuries on the infant.
Thompson, who is a chef by trade, also has a 5-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Davidson was originally charged with second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death, first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury, neglect of a minor, sexual abuse of a minor, and second-degree sex offense. But as part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the second-degree murder count against Davidson.
It has not been specified why Davidson was charged with sexual abuse. His attorney said cryptically in court on Monday his client had told police he was trying to remove 'mucus and other substances' from Aleah's body, but that he did not do it for sexual gratification.
Davidson is scheduled to be sentenced in February. He faces up to 50 years in prison.
Source: Daily Mail/Washington Post
Comments
Post a Comment