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发帖数: 3803 | 1 Mother shot 13-month-old boy in stroller for insurance money, say defense
attorneys for teen charged in murder
Jury selection in the trial of De'Marquise Elkins, 18, begins Monday, but
his lawyers say Sherry West had 'financial interest in the death of her son,
' Antonio Santiago.
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BY NINA GOLGOWSKI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013, 12:04 PM
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AP PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS HANDOUT PHOTO TO BE USED SOLELY TO ILLUSTRATE
NEWS REPORTING OR COMMENTARY ON THE FACTS OR EVENTS DEPICTED IN THIS IMAGE
SHERRY WEST/AP
On March 21, Antonio Santiago was fatally shot in his stroller just days
after his first birthday in Brunswick, Ga.
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Attorneys are set to pin a Georgia mother who witnessed her 13-month-old son
heartlessly shot between the eyes as the real killer behind his death.
Defense attorneys say Sherry West had "financial interest in the death of
her son," Antonio Santiago, after she took out a life insurance policy
before his savage murder in March, according to a pretrial motion.
"Other evidence of record suggests Sherry West is mentally unstable, gave
several inconsistent accounts of how the crime transpired, and had a
financial interest in the death of her son in the form of an insurance
policy," public defender Kevin Gough said in a court motion filed Aug. 5.
Jury selection begins Monday at the Cobb County courthouse in Marietta where
18-year-old De'Marquise Elkins faces life in prison if convicted of Antonio
's murder.
West was pushing her child in a stroller on March 21, six weeks after his
first birthday, when prosecutors say she was held at gunpoint by the then 17
-year-old whose age spared him a possible death sentence if convicted.
Defense prosecutors say they plan to paint Antonio Santiago's mother, Sherry
West, as a mother who had financial interest in the death of her son.
AP PHOTO
Defense prosecutors say they plan to paint Antonio Santiago's mother, Sherry
West, as a mother who had financial interest in the death of her son.
When the mother was discovered empty handed, the teen who prosecutors say
shot a man only 10 days earlier in another attempted street robbery
continued.
"He kept asking, and I just said 'I don't have it,"' West recalled to The
Associated Press the day after the slaying. "And he said, 'Do you want me to
kill your baby?' And I said, 'No, don't kill my baby!"'
RELATED: GEORGIA BABY KILLING: OFFICIAL ARRESTED, REGRETS INVOLVEMENT:
LAWYER
A single .22-caliber bullet was fired between the child's eyes. A second
bullet struck the mother's leg and a third grazed her left ear.
Witnesses who responded to the scene said they found West desperately
attempting to administer CPR to her child's lifeless body.
Defense attorneys say the boy's mother was the only one who claimed to have
seen De'Marquise Elkins pull the trigger — evidence that the mother might
be setting the 18-year-old up.
ANONYMOUS/AP
Defense attorneys say the boy's mother was the only one who claimed to have
seen De'Marquise Elkins pull the trigger — evidence that the mother might
be setting the 18-year-old up.
Elkins' alleged accomplice, 15-year-old Dominique Lang, who has told
investigators Elkins fired the gun that shot the boy, is also charged with
murder but will be tried later on. He's expected to be a key witness against
Elkins.
Hoping to debunk West's innocence, defense attorneys argue that West was the
only one who claims to have seen Elkins pull the trigger.
She also jumped to cash in her life insurance policy on her baby in the days
immediately after, according to her 21-year-old daughter, Ashley Glassey.
Speaking to WTLV in late March, Glassey said her mother called her just days
after Antonio's shooting to inform her of her young brother's death and
also ask, "How soon do you think the life insurance policy will send me a
check?"
Glassey said her mother's bizarre behavior of crying one moment and sounding
completely fine the next, made her suspicious.
De Marquise Elkins will not face the death penalty if convicted of murder
because he was a minor at the time.
BOBBY HAVEN/AP
De Marquise Elkins will not face the death penalty if convicted of murder
because he was a minor at the time.
RELATED: MOM, AUNT OF GEORGIA BABY SLAYING SUSPECT ARRESTED
When Glassey was contacted on July 30 by an attorney for Elkins in Woodstown
, N.J., Glassey, who was being held in jail for failing to appear in court
in an unrelated case, declined to confirm her story told to WTLV.
"I don't want to incriminate anyone," she said, according to a transcript.
Defense attorneys have said in court filings that they have audio recordings
and documents showing the child's mother had dealings with Gerber Life
Insurance Co.
According to its website, Gerber Life sells life insurance policies for
children starting as early as infancy.
Dominique Lang has told investigators that he saw Elkins shoot the baby and
his mother. Lang, who is charged as an accomplice in the child's murder, is
set to appear as a key witness in Elkins' trial.
BOBBY HAVEN/AP
Dominique Lang has told investigators that he saw Elkins shoot the baby and
his mother. Lang, who is charged as an accomplice in the child's murder, is
set to appear as a key witness in Elkins' trial.
Coverage runs from $5,000 to $50,000.
Defense attorneys additionally point out that small traces of gunshot
residue were found on West's hands as well as her husband's.
During a preliminary court hearing the boy's father Louis Santiago said he
touched the bullet wound on West's leg before his hands were swabbed.
RELATED: MOM OF MURDERED BABY: 'I JUST HOPE THE SHOOTER DIES'
A single microscopic particle of gunshot residue was found, according to lab
tests by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. More than five particles
showed up in swabs from West's hands.
Elkins' mother Karimah Aisha Elkins, left, and Katrina Latrelle Elkins,
right, were arrested for allegedly providing false statements or writings.
Police say Karimah Elkins and her sister, Debra Obey, helped hide evidence
in the crime.
Elkins' mother Karimah Aisha Elkins, left, and Katrina Latrelle Elkins,
right, were arrested for allegedly providing false statements or writings.
Police say Karimah Elkins and her sister, Debra Obey, helped hide evidence
in the crime.
The GBI report pressed by the attorneys cautioned that gunshot victims can
end up with residue on them.
In a court filing Wednesday, District Attorney Jackie Johnson argued that
Elkins' defense lawyers have made "false, inflammatory and misleading
statements."
Police have also said that much of their evidence against the teen came from
his own family and charged accomplice, with little evidence found at the
scene.
A 22-caliber revolver was recovered in a pond near the scene after speaking
with Elkins' mother and aunt who are set to stand trial this week alongside
the teen.
Elkins' mother, Karimah Elkins, is charged with lying to police. She and her
sister, Debra Obey, are also charged with evidence tampering.
Prosecutors say Karimah Elkins and Obey gave police conflicting alibis for
Elkin's whereabouts at the time of the shooting. Obey originally told police
her nephew and Karimah Elkins came to her for a ride the day of the slaying
. She said Elkins ducked down in the backseat of her car, as if he was
hiding.
Elkins was later fingered in a line up by West.
Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley has set aside two weeks for the trial
that will be held 325 miles to the suburbs outside Atlanta.
With News Wire Services
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mother-shot-boy-stroller-insurance-cash-defense-article-1.1430117#ixzz2cWUWMrAu |
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