Texas babysitter facing execution

Associated Press ^ | May 28, 2007 | Michael Graczyk

[Zakeet]

A neighbor in a suburban Austin neighborhood appeared to be the perfect babysitter for Eryn Baugh's infant son and his 2-year-old sister.

"She's the most sweet, endearing person in the world and put forward this good Christian front," Baugh said of Cathy Lynn Henderson, who lived two blocks away. "She could sell snow to an Eskimo."

But just weeks after Henderson started working for the Baughs, 3-month-old Brandon was dead and Henderson had fled the state. The infant's body was found buried 60 miles away with his skull crushed, wrapped in his yellow-trimmed white blanket and stuffed into a box that previously held Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers.

Henderson, 50, is set to die in less than three weeks for the 1994 slaying that made her one of the most hated women in Texas. She would be just the 12th woman among the nearly 1,100 convicted killers executed since capital punishment resumed in the United States in 1977.

Henderson insists Brandon died in an accidental fall and that her decision to bury him and flee was made in panic, not in cold blood.

"It's apparent I wasn't thinking clearly," Henderson told The Associated Press recently from the state's female death row outside Gatesville.

"I think I was in shock, disbelief. I just didn't know what I was doing. That baby was dead. I didn't want to deal with that. There was too much sorrow. It hurt, it hurt," she said, tearing up. "When I look back at it, it does kind of look like I was guilty, doesn't it?"

[Zakeet]

On one hand, death penalty opponents feel this nice lady deserves a new trial because:

Supporters say new engineering data interpreting Brandon's skull fracture could better support Henderson's contention the child's death was an accident and her life should be spared.

On the other hand:

A medical examiner testified Brandon's injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall of about 4 feet but were the equivalent of a fall from a two-story building. "We're not talking about linear skull fractures," Blazey said. "The entire back of his head was shattered."

The article contains more information about the crime and the criminal.

[Kimmers]

I am speechless...

[EggsAckley]

“...... it does kind of look like I was guilty, doesn’t it?”

[Abathar]

They will still sterilize her arm with alcohol before they put the needle in just like any other murderer. I have no problem with that at all.

[robertpaulsen]

"When I look back at it, it does kind of look like I was guilty"

Nah. Just like when you're in that chair it will kind of feel like 10,000 volts.

[alpha-8-25-02]

if anyone does not think that sons{daughters} of perdition walk this earth,they are naive or just plain stupid at best.
in my experiance,the most deadly wear sheeps clothing.

[Mr. Know It All]

A medical examiner testified Brandon's injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall of about 4 feet but were the equivalent of a fall from a two-story building.

There are volumes upon volumes of data available to Medical Examiners concerning what kinds of trauma cause which types of injuries. I'll go with the ME on this one.

[The South Texan]

“Nah. Just like when you’re in that chair it will kind of feel like 10,000 volts”

Remember, we use tables and needles here in Texas.

[lastchance]

They made a mistake in the headline. No one is put to death in Texas for baby sitting. It is not even regarded as a crime. Convicted murderers are put to death.

[VeritatisSplendor]

“When I look back at it, it does kind of look like I was guilty, doesn’t it?”

“Even though I reacted abnormally, that doesn’t make me a bad person,”

I don’t think innocent people talk like that.

And you don’t “swing” a three-month old to calm him, so hard that he’d fly across the room if you fell. I did fall on the stairs once, holding one of my babies, and she hit her head even though I was pulling her into my chest and shielding her as we went down, but she didn’t hit hard enough for injury - and we would have been at the emergency room so fast if she had.

Mrs VS

[Guenevere]

I don't disagree this woman should get the death penalty....

..but I wonder how much of a background check was given by the parents for a caretaken of these precious children .

I can't imagine leaving my a newborn (which the baby was at the time of initial contact) and a 2 yr old.

The parents said they had the impression this woman was acceptable...she charmed them, they found her charismatic.

How well did they know her?...what kind of references did they ask for?

Were they naive?

Personally, I think this happens a lot in our present society....

I was visiting San Rafael, Calif. a few months ago, and went to an upscale shopping mall....

..I couldn't help but notice a couple really cute toddlers,look alikes, possibly brother/siser... blond haired, blue eyed

.. being roughly 'pulled' along the sidewalk by a woman who was uniformed as a 'nanny'....

She was berating them...(they couldn't have been more than 3)...

..and they were crying...(it didn't seem a 'discipline thing'...but more from anger!)

..and I was so distraught I motioned for a policeman who walked past me.

I mentioned my concern...and he said he was keeping an eye on them.

My heart just broke for those babies.

I realize it was speculation on my part....

..but too many stories are documented of children left with undesirables & it ends badly.

[ApplegateRanch]

She would be just the 12th woman among the nearly 1,100 convicted killers executed since capital punishment resumed in the United States in 1977.

This tells me we need the ERA passed. Women are not getting equal treatment.

[Secret Agent Man]

Just pray she doesn’t get a stay of execution.

[Bon mots]

They made a mistake in the headline. No one is put to death in Texas for baby sitting. It is not even regarded as a crime. Convicted murderers are put to death.

Exactly!

Texas babysitter facing execution

Evil baby-killer facing execution

There. That's better.

[Valpal1]

No kidding, I tripped face first in the dark (stepped in a pothole) while 9 months pregnant and carrying my 1 yr old to the car. I chipped an ankle bone, he had a graze on his cheek.

Somehow, I managed to twist like a cat and land under him instead of on him. My husband was totally impressed. I have no concious memory of it. One moment I was falling on him and the next I wasn’t.

[WasDougsLamb]

3-month-old Brandon was dead and Henderson had fled the state. The infant's body was found buried 60 miles away with his skull crushed, wrapped in his yellow-trimmed white blanket and stuffed into a box that previously held Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers.

Supporters say new engineering data interpreting Brandon's skull fracture could better support Henderson's contention the child's death was an accident and her life should be spared.

Her "supporters" need to realize you don't bury an accident and run. They are idiots and she is a murderer.

[goldstategop]

If it was an accident, why didn't Cathy Lynn Henderson report it to the police? Her story doesn't make sense and burying the baby and fleeing the state is evidence of consciousness of guilt.

Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[macmedic892]

"Even though I reacted abnormally, that doesn't make me a bad person," she said, crying."
True, reacting poorly in a stressful situation does not automatically make you a bad person.

"I just didn't want to face what happened."
Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, darlin'.

"I felt responsible. I took a life."
You ARE responsible. YOU TOOK A LIFE! Then you buried the body 60 miles away and fled the state. Actions have consequences.

"That is very hard to deal with, especially a child."
I imagine it's pretty hard for the baby's family, too.

"I took good care of Brandon," Henderson insisted. "In my mind, I thought I was doing the Baughs a favor by not having to tell them their son was dead."
Some favor. If you hadn't killed him, there'd be no need for you to tell them he's dead!

[VeritatisSplendor]

Her actions do speak murder, guilt, and an attempt at concealment. But premeditated murder is unlikely in a childcare situation and her getting the death penalty is surprising - she almost certainly wouldn’t if it was her own child. She could be such an abusive reckless flake that she WAS swinging the child to quiet him - really spinning him - when she let go. She doesn’t present as a normal person who made one bad mistake.

Her denials, lies, and pretense of innocence must have really set the prosecutor, jury and judge against her, and there may have been evidence of past sociopathic behavior that isn’t presented here.

Sr. Helen Prejean would do better to stick to opposition to the death penalty on principle - here she is grasping at straws to save Henderson’s life.

Mrs Vs

[WasDougsLamb]

Her "supporters" need to realize you don't bury an accident and run. They are idiots and she is a murderer.