Mom Convicted in Baby's Chili Powder Death

http://www.comcast.net/news ^ | 11 13 05 | Associated Press

[freepatriot32]

DALLAS - A woman accused of suffocating her 5-month old daughter by using chili powder as a thumb-sucking remedy was convicted of manslaughter Sunday.

Angela DiSabella, 21, of Irving, was sentenced to seven years in prison for the 2004 death of her daughter, Kira.

DiSabella had been charged with capital murder. Jurors convicted her on the lesser charge after nearly 11 hours of deliberations.

According to an affidavit, DiSabella told police she put chili powder on Kira's thumb after getting the idea on the Internet. Police said the child was malnourished and had chili powder in her throat and on her body.

The defense claimed the death was accidental and DiSabella had tried to resuscitate the child.

[hispanarepublicana]

How did chili powder suffocate the child?

[Tax-chick]

If I'm remembering the original story correctly, most of a box of powder was poured down her throat.

[Bommer]

She had a 6 month old child she was trying to get her to stop sucking her thumb. She put too much chili powder on the baby's thumb and the baby sufficated

[cripplecreek]

It certainly wasn't just a taste.

[Shalom Israel]

If I'm remembering the original story correctly, most of a box of powder was poured down her throat.

Yup, that'd do it.

[tfecw]

How is it manslaughter and not involuntary manslaughter? The "malnourished" piece of the puzzle is under reported, no surprise there, does any one have any extra info on that?

[hispanarepublicana]

Then, this is a badly-written story. It almost makes it sound as if the mother just dipped the thumb in chili powder.

[LongElegantLegs]

5 months old? And she had a problem with the baby sucking her thumb? Psycho mommy.

[Tax-chick]

I suppose it's possible that a smallish amount of chili powder could produce a coughing fit, leading to suffocation ... and the defense was suggesting that's what happened. However, it wasn't at all consistent with the physical evidence, as I recall.

[Smedley]

She had a 6 month old child she was trying to get her to stop sucking her thumb.

My three-year old still sucks her thumb. My attitude: so what!

[tfecw]

sigh...I'm just too tired to sort through idiotic journalism today :) Maybe tomorrow I'll look around for more info.

[Blood of Tyrants]

No person with one eye and a grain of sense tries to keep a 5 month old baby from sucking their thumb. This was a deliberate act of cruelty against a completely innocent baby.

[samtheman]

I hope they also neuter her.

[CarrotAndStick]

Exactly. I cannot imagine why any sane parent might want to do this to a 10-year old, leave alone a five-month old baby.

[Tax-chick]

I'm looking for some of the original stories, but not finding anything yet.

[Tammy8]

That's what I thought. I was horrified when I read this story. When my youngest was a baby she was real bad to suck her thumb. I can't even count the number of people who told me to dip her thumb in chile powder to get her to stop. I never did it, that just sounded too mean.

[Izzy Dunne]

This is more evidence that the state is trying to take away a woman's right to a Post-Natal Abortion.

[CarrotAndStick]

With a bit of germs going in, thumb-sucking probably develops the body's resistance to germs, in the long run.

[old and tired]

5 months old? And she had a problem with the baby sucking her thumb? Psycho mommy.

No kidding. My wife used to pray that our babies would be thumbsuckers! A thumbsucker means no searching around in the dark for a pacifier or reaching under the seat of the car and feeling for the pacifier with your hand.