But as devoted Christians, their desire to adopt a foster child was rooted in faith more than in practicality. The following evening, Andrew was dead. I remember many lively discussions with Cabell and Dabney about the history of Virginia and North Carolina. While Larry tried to scrub down the bedroom, Andrew pulled his sheets out of the trash several times, despite repeated warnings not to do so. (You can just tell by looking at her how evil she is, one wrote.) A church member who homeschools her daughters educates the Overton children, using lesson plans Hannah sends her. The following day, family court judge Carl Lewis awarded temporary custody to Hannahs mother and stepfather. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? I am so sorry to hear the news. She and her husband Larry lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, and served faithfully in their church. Yet her life behind bars, however incongruous, has taken on its own rhythm. I figured, Well, weve got to start with one, so lets see how far we get. Isabel, and then Ally, followed. Frantic, Hannah began administering CPR in the backseat. After her shift ends in the late morning, there are letters to write home, in which she tries to stay present in her childrens lives by choreographing what she can from a distance. He was preceded in. Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Todd Yates/AP Photo, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Im very thankful that this compensation is finally coming through, Overton told ABC News. Search by Name. Anyone who knew Dabney loved him. His dogs and ours were "buds". May God bless you and. While behind bars,Overton relied on her faith, family and supporters and led Bible studies. Cortes believed that Andrews death was accidental. How had she known how much salt would kill him? The Overtons live in East Texas and told ABC News they have housed and supported prisoners after their release through their non-profit organization, Syndeo Ministries. Hannah, I am very sad to hear this news. Instead we were arrested.. By that point, they had already been shown numerous photos of Andrews small, bruised body postmortem. Taken together, the disparate details formed a disturbing picture. She's since createdSyndeo Ministries tohelp prisonerstransition back into society. He and Noreen had recently lost their own son, who had been stillborn, making his grief particularly acute. Dabney is survived by his sister, Hannah Overton; and nieces Emma and Lizzie Schmidt, all of Tappahannock; a half-sister Mallory Overton McKendry of Jacksonville, Fla.; and his father, Dabney Overton Jr. of Harrisonburg. Heritage Funeral Home 3700 Forest Lawn Dr, Matthews, NC 28104, Weddington Methodist Church 13901 Providence Rd, Weddington, NC 28104. Dabney was a pleasant person to be around. We will always remember him fondly as a fellow Friend of Bandy Field. I am so sorry to hear of Dabney's sudden passing. The particulars of her crime, as sketched out by the prosecution, were vague; assistant district attorney Sandra Eastwood, a passionate child advocate, conceded in opening arguments that she was not sure how Hannah had made Andrew eat so much salt. I have shared a memorial tribute I wrote about Dabney with all who've asked. Then he corrected himself. Very sad to hear this news. The Carvers, like most members of Calvary Chapel, never doubted her innocence. A family birthday celebration in the summer of 2006. Hannah would never harm a child. Even setting aside her loyalty to her friend, the detectives theory made no sense to her. Before she was led away in handcuffs, the couple embraced for several minutes, overcome with emotion. Hannah understood little of what had taken place except that she, her mother, and her brother had to leave Corpus Christi behind. He was preceded in death by his mot Following college, he worked as a financial consultant and more recently as a consultant for Terrestar Networks. A state judge has rejected claims by Hannah Overton that she was wrongly convicted of capital murder in 2007 because prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, her lawyers were ineffective . (During the third week of the trial, moments before the case was sent to the jury, Eastwood had asked Judge Longoria if she could call Cortes as a rebuttal witness, but the judge, who had grown impatient with the length of the trial, denied her request.) However, that didn't stop us from having friendly and lively conversations about the greatest game. A more thorough investigation would have uncovered ample evidence to suggest that Andrew had an undiagnosed eating disorder, raising the possibility that he had unintentionally consumed too much salt on his own. The kids now range in age from four to twelve, and when I visited them late one afternoon, not long after I had seen Hannah, they seemed unencumbered by the tragedy that had engulfed their family. On October 2, 2006, 29-year-old Hannah Overton and her husband, Larry brought Andrew Burd, their four-year-old foster son whom they were in the process of adopting, to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas after the boy stopped breathing. Every Saturday for the past several years, Larry has ridden his motorcycle from Corpus Christi to the Murray Unit, the maximum-security womens prison west of Waco where Hannah is incarcerated: a squat, concrete building walled off from the world with cyclone fencing and coils of razor wire. Think of your other children, she urged the couple. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed. CPS launched its initial investigation into Andrews well-being shortly after his first birthday, when his mother took him to a local hospital with a broken arm. Cynthia Hujar-Orr, Gerry Goldstein and John Raley were apart of Overton's appellate team that helped overturn the . The Corpus Christi Caller-Timess online comments section filled with the vitriol of readers, some of whom called for Hannah to receive the death penalty. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Miller's Tavern, Va. on Sunday, November 22nd at 2 p.m. Hannah R. (Saem) Overton was born c. 1977. The defendant has portrayed herself as a nurturing Christian woman, Eastwood proclaimed. The paperwork Orr now forwarded to him, which showed that Andrews stomach contained a great deal of water, only confirmed the clinical directors initial conclusion. His mothers and fathers parental rights were terminated soon after he turned three. The mood in the car was giddy; the kids were excitedly discussing the news that they would have a baby sister when Larry, distracted, ran a stop sign and collided with another car. Share Dabney's life story with friends and family. The three oldest Overton children had gone to their aunts house to see their cousins, who were visiting from out of town, and Andrew grew increasingly agitated and restless, throwing a tantrum at three oclock in the morning. And then there was the abnormally high sodium level, coupled with Hannahs account of feeding him Creole seasoning after he had misbehaved. Before we ever tried to adopt, we had been warned that this was going to be difficult, that this was not going to be the Little Orphan Annie story, Larry told me. that he had unrestricted access to water. Given these facts, he explained, There is not a single piece of evidence which suggests that Hannah Overton salt-poisoned Andrew. Instead, Moritz added, the most likely scenario was that Andrew accidentally salt-poisoned himself., In light of this information, Moritz felt certain that Andrews prognosis would have been the same whether or not Hannah had called an ambulance. CPR had also been performed for an extended period by Hannah and later by medical personnel, who had squeezed the boys nose and administered chest compressions for 35 minutes. The obituary was featured in Peterborough Telegraph on January 3, 2019. I feel so fortunate to have spent time with him. Did you at any time strike him? Hess asked. After examining Andrews medical records, he had determined that the boys death was likely accidental. As Andrews condition deteriorated, CPS barred the Overtons from visiting their son. In the context of a criminal investigation, the calm that she had always exhibited in the midst of crisis was suddenly a liabilityan indication, perhaps, that she was cold-blooded enough to have killed a child. To the Overton Family and friends of Dabney: I first met Dabney in the fall of 1972 when he was in fourth grade at Aylett Country Day School. When Michael put his fingers in his mouth, she would call his name softlythere was no anger in her voiceand he would smile and slowly slide his fingers out, Richard said. Haller . By that point, Hannah had completely broken down emotionally.. The Overtons are nurturing, loving, patient, and very family-oriented, an adoption supervisor noted in her paperwork. You and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks. Hannah Overton, family celebrate her pregnancy months after she's declared innocent in boy's death, Hannah Overton, supporters chant 'Actually innocent' after capital murder dismissal, Nueces County DA to dismiss Overton case, declare woman innocent, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Meanwhile, those who once pursued Hannah with such certainty have undergone their own trials. Hannahs mother and stepfather, Hannah, Larry, and the kids on Mothers Day 2006. He was a nice guy. If he had Downs, that was the blessing that God had chosen to give us, Larry said. Push him? Throughout the interrogation, which spanned more than two hours, Hannah insisted that she had never harmed Andrew. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Hannah Overton is expected to receive compensation for wrongful incarceration. Overton's original trial attorneys admitted at an appeals hearing that they had made errors. Haller was stunned by the accusation. The burden on the state to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt was, Gilmore told me, perhaps less than it should have been. News reports that followed, prominently featuring their grim-faced mug shots, cast the Overton home as a house of horrors. The nondenominational church, on the south side of Corpus Christi, drew many young evangelicals with its emphasis on a verse-by-verse understanding of the Bible, and Larry and Hannah were well-regarded members. We were in it for the long haul.. There was a time when I questioned how God could allow this to happen, she said. He displayed hyperactive behavior and possibly had some cognitive delays as well. The doctors assessment of Andrew as developmentally delayed was significant because it dovetailed with Hannahs testimony. Sending hope that your healing is swift. They chattered about an upcoming birthday party and discussed the merits of their favorite colors, finishing each others sentences between slurps of soup. A committed Christian, he had gone on mission trips with his family since he was a child, including a fourteen-month stint in Papua New Guinea and several treks across Mexico. Moritz is the clinical director of pediatric nephrology at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, where he specializes in childrens kidney diseases. But he was adamant that the boys death had not been accidental. With guns drawn, police officers had surrounded Hannah and Larrys car as they returned from an errand, forcing them to the ground and handcuffing them. Hannah was less impressed, given that Larrywho, at sixteen, was an enthusiastic fan of Christian punk rockwas sporting a nose ring and a blue mohawk. He was born on April 2, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas to the late Lewis Franklin and Dwight Katherine Overton. Skip to main content. probably to punish his behavior, that then goes into cardiorespiratory arrest.. Hannahwho had already lost a child and was now living apart from her four older oneswas in a fragile state of mind. While he was relieved not to have to serve prison time, the discrepancy between his wifes punishment and his own left him stupefied. Detective Hess was put on administrative leave in 2008 after it came to light that he had disclosed confidential information to the suspect in an ongoing investigation for indecency with a child. Short on time as the trial drew to a close, the defense had asked Moritzwho needed to return to Pittsburghto sit for a videotaped deposition; when the deposition ran long and could not be completed, the defense was unable to enter it as testimony. So I got to see that.. Loose teeth, first day of kindergarten, last day of kindergarten. Ive missed, you know, so many things, she said at the time. Andrew had an enraged mother who didnt, I dont think loved him the way that she loved her own biological children, former Nueces County prosecutor Sandra Eastwood said at trial. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? (Andrew was told that he could not have any food at McDonalds, since he had already eaten.) I enjoyed each conversation we had about fishing, sailing and other things we both were interest in. Our condolences to his family and friends. He seemed to enjoy having brothers and sisters to play with, and the Overton kidsespecially the girls, who doted on himwere enthralled by the new arrival. There were so many bruises and scratches that it would be difficult to describe them all. Rotta allowed that the appearance of Andrews body may have been due in part to the fact that he was coagulopathic, or not able to clot blood properly, a condition that occurs after a person has gone into cardiac arrest and can cause excessive bleeding and bruising. And thanks for the movie, even though it was kind of weird. She and her family do so much good with nothing. In 2007 he published a seminal paper on salt poisoning, in which he examined, among other things, documented cases of children who had accidentally ingested excessive quantities of salt. The world was a better place because of him. They wed a year later and moved to Corpus Christi. I plan their birthday parties from here, she told me. I will always remember Dabney's love of animals, nature and good music. But at a hearing on the defenses motion for a new trial, Eastwood stated under oath that Cortes had always been a passionate advocate for the prosecution; he had even remarked to her that he thought Hannah should fry. Cortes does not dispute that story. And given that abuse and neglect during the first year of life can profoundly affect behavioral development, they were not surprised that Andrew was different. Hannah Overton announced the birth of her sixth child,Gabriela Aliana, this week in a Facebook post that described a difficult delivery. When Andrew complained of being hungry that afternoon, Hannah gave him more of the leftover soup. But the damage was done: that Hannah had confessed to force-feeding Andrew and beating him was repeated, uncorrected, on the local news. It is unclear, read the courts ruling, whether the state actually knew of Dr. Cortess opinion. The court also ruled that the wording of the jury charge was free from error. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined the opportunity to reconsider the decision. An Unforgettable Texas Tale of Envy, Embezzlement, and Fruitcake, How the Texas Rangers Became One of the Most Powerful Forces in the State. Unlike the three physicians who had testified for the prosecution, Cortes was the only doctor who had seen Andrew before his hospitalization; he had evaluated the boy during a routine checkup when Andrew was three years old and still living with Hamil. At four, he spent most of his time playing with Sebastian, who was two, rather than Ally, who was his own age, and his motor skills lagged far behind those of his peers. Hannah Overton from Fengate was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia shortly after a match in July with the Parkway Bowling Club which plays its home matches in Maskew Avenue. (Like Eastwood, neither Norman nor Jimenez would comment for this article.) Inside the Bro-tastic Party Mansions Upending a Historic Austin Community, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. There wasnt anything that I thought was dangerously wrong with him at that point. I never knew him but it is obvious from all the wonderful things that people are saying that he was an incredible person and friend to so many. us about an exoneration that we may have missed, Correct an error or add information about an exoneration The Overtons already had four children, and Larrys incomehe installed landscape lightingwas barely enough to make ends meet. The Huntsville Times Homepage. Last year, new District Attorney Mark Gonzalezfiled a motion toofficially declare her innocent. OVERTON, Dabney III, died peacefully on Monday, November 9, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. See you then, my friend. The salt poisoning case earned international attention because many believed she was wrongfully convicted and her story was featured in the 2017 documentary, Until Proven Innocent. ABC News has followed Overton's and her husband's story since her original 2007 trial. After the Overton family heard the news yesterday, they said they celebrated with a family dinner at Hannah's mother's home, "with nothing hanging over our heads.". There are two phones that the kids can speak into, and they eagerly pass the receivers back and forth, recounting the months events in stereo. He. The next morning, Corpus Christi police detective Michael Hess paid a visit to Kathi Haller, the Overtons next-door neighbor, who knew the family well. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. They get to see her for two hours, once a monthtwenty-four hours in a year, Larry said. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? She reported Andrews unusual eating habits to his adoption supervisor when she visited the Overton home on September 25. They were not allowed to be at Andrews bedside on the evening of October 3, when he experienced massive organ failure. And a succession of witnesses, nearly all of them members of Calvary Chapel, recounted Andrews unusual eating habits and Hannahs attentive parenting. Myron F. Overton June 29, 1935 - June 6, 2013 Myron was born in Bakersfield, California to his loving parents Earl C. and Hazel J. Overton. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. Hannah Overton passed away in Peterborough, Lincolnshire. I will take that trip and take my friends spirit with me. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. In the midst of the chaos that followed, no one recognized how distressed Andrew was by the sight of Hannahs bloodied face. A church elder, who was himself an adoptive parent, invited the Overtons to dinner one night and encouraged them to consider bringing Andrew into their home. Although I believe that Mrs. Overton was remiss in seeking timely medical care for Andrew Byrd, I do not believe that she intended or knew that this would result in his death. The wording of the jury charge, she added, had been ambiguous and confusing. Ultimately, Warfield wrote, I do not feel that justice has been served., Two days after Hannah was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a pediatrician named Edgar Cortes took the unusual step of contacting Gilmore. The death of a childparticularly a sudden, unexplained death in which abuse is suspectedevokes strong emotions, even among seasoned investigators, doctors, forensics experts, and prosecutors.
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