Monday, August 19, 2013

Mother Shot 13 Month Old Boy for Insurance Money, Says Defense Attorney

Did the defense attorney read analysis of mother's statements?

Statement Analysis was done on this case as the mother's words revealed the truth.

http://statement-analysis.blogspot.com/2013/03/statement-analysis-of-mother-of-baby.html


http://www.firstcoastnews.com/brunswicktoddlermurder/article/305674/634/Daughter-of-Brunswick-victim-questions-mothers-story

Statement Analysis has shown sensitivity surrounding the issue of money for the mother of the baby that was shot.  Her account showed sensitivity, and the mother spoke about how "expensive" a baby is.

Her statements are so strange that it is no wonder that law enforcement suspected her before arresting two teens.

Here, the grown daughter, Ashley Glassey, says of her mother:

"How soon do you think life insurance policy will send me a check?"

and

"She changed her story as far as she told me that the baby was shot first and then she told me that she was shot first. "

The daughter shared her concerns about her mother with police.








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.


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.
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.

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!"'
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.

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.
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

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Antonio Santiago ...was a beautiful baby. Gerber should consider honoring him as their "Gerber Baby".

Jo said...

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.

I was posting this statement questioning why the brother would have said his brother shot the baby if he didn't but as I was highlighting that piece, I realize he said he fired the gun but not that he shot the baby.

rob said...

I think this boy is guilty, based on the statements of the other boy and the relatives, and them being able to show where the gun was thrown.
But the mom is so odd, and statements relating to her make her seem guilty, too.
I think the defense att just took what he had to work with, and used it. Reasonable doubt.

Anonymous said...

always seemed like it was the mom from her language. and that the bf was in on it too. but these boys' involvement must somehow be explained, assuming they were indeed present at time of shooting. this case is really mysterious to me.

Nanna Frances said...

When Elkins demanded from the mom she replied, "I don't have it."

That sounds like she owed him money.

Tania Cadogan said...

Do we know if they have ploygraphed the parents??

if so what was the result?
if not why not?

Anonymous said...

Caption under the mother's picture is odd. There's no such thing as a "defense prosecutor."

ulla said...

Did the boy charged in the shooting have gunshot residue on his hands? I haven't seen that info anywhere.

Skeptical said...

What kind of a deal did Domonique Lang get for his testimony against Elkins? What did the police threaten him with if he didn't testify? Did the mother or the father hire these two to help them kill the baby or get rid of the guns after the baby was shot promising them payment from the insurance money?

BostonLady said...

This is a horrible case. Reading about a baby being shot between the eyes makes my heart hurt. The mother is suspicious with her statements and actions. I agree with Nanna F. that it sounded like she owed them money. The part that makes no sense is why did he kill the baby and only slightly wound her? Additionally, the boys charged in this shooting had the help of their mother and aunt to hide the gun as they were arrested too.

I hope that some of the answers will be revealed during the trial. The death is senseless. Anyone who could harm a baby is evil.

Anonymous said...

"I don't know whether it was his brother or a friend."
She knows the shooter has a brother?

Pak31 said...

I'm torn on this one. I felt from day one that the mom was guilty. Now seeing that she recently took out a life insurance policy on him right before the death and then soon after questioned when she'd get the check, makes me more sure. Interesting that she had gun residue on her hands. I don't want to think a mom is capable of this but I know it's possible. If she IS guilty then it's just sickening that a mother could do something like this just for money.

Anonymous said...

According to the station, Louis Santiago is currently in jail on charges of aggravated stalking. An arrest warrant from June 6 reportedly says Santiago was stalking Sherry West, in violation of police orders. He was reportedly convicted of the same charges in another case from 2009.

West claims Santiago "went nuts" in the months following their son's murder and violated a restraining order, according to the station.

"He was throwing things through the window and terrorizing me, saying that I killed my baby and it should have been me," West told the station.

West has always maintained that she was walking her baby by herself when two teens, De'Marquise Elkins and Dominique Lang, tried to rob her at gunpoint on a Brunswick sidewalk. The teens allegedly shot her in the leg and baby Antonio in the head. Both are behind bars on charges of murder and are scheduled to stand trial next month.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57594017-504083/antonio-santiago-update-gunshot-residue-found-on-slain-ga-babys-parents-report-says/

Carnival Barker said...

I've always thought she was involved in some way. I'm always suspicious when one person is slaughtered and the other is barely touched. I'm always suspicious when the mother of a murdered child does a media tour the following day with full makeup. I'm always suspicious when someone with very little money chooses to take out a life-insurance policy ON A BABY. You'd think that would be the LAST thing you spend the little money you have on. I wonder if the father had a life-insurance policy, since it was so important in that family. Hmmmm.

Jen said...

From the previous analysis done on West's statements, I am of the opinion that this was a set-up for insurance payout. I think the two teens charged (or at least the older one) were promised a share of the life insurance money to do the shooting.

West claimed to have left the house to mail a letter at the post office shortly after the child's father left to go to Walmart (meaning he could have easily mailed the letter on his way), rather than her walking through the 'dangerous area, she was afraid to walk through. (her assertion). They were both establishing an alibi, she used the post office..he used Walmart. The father even kept shopping and attempted to check out AFTER being informed by a neighbor that West and his baby had been victims of a shooting! He only left after declining to answer a call from LE, and finally answering a second call from LE while he was in line checking out, 'buying baby items'. (According to his statements)

If you go back and read the previous analysis, you will notice she mentions 'the blue house' where the shooting happened twice, refering to it as a safe place (in reference to where she chose to roll her already shot baby to attempt CPR) after she claims to have been accosted, shot and watched her baby murdered there. Her statements are full of inconsistencies, and the father begins his statement by talking about the OTHER baby that was killed in crossfire a week earlier in Detroit(?), which appears to be their inspiration for the murder of their baby son.

Anonymous said...

which appears to be their inspiration for the murder of their baby son....saying that I killed my baby and it should have been me," West told the station.

Hummmm said...

Seems the' fake crying mother' want all the money for herself. West is merely stalking her ass for his share of the projected insurance money.