JAQUES OMARI TWINN - 2 yo - / Convicted: Mother, Hayley Amanda Twinn and babysitter, Aric Shayne Woodard - New York, NY

The capital murder trial of a York City man accused of fatally beating a toddler he regularly baby-sat is set to begin at 9 a.m. Monday with opening statements.

On Thursday afternoon, prosecutors and defense attorneys finished seating a 12-person jury and four alternates, according to Dawn Cutaia. She and fellow attorney Joanne Floyd represent defendant Aric Shayne Woodard.

Woodard, 40, of West Jackson Street, remains in county prison without bail, charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the Nov. 7, 2011, death of 2-year-old Jaques Twinn.

York City Police allege Woodard, who goes by Shayne, beat Jaques to death while baby-sitting him in a home in the 100 block of West Boundary Avenue.

In seeking the death penalty, prosecutors have cited two aggravating factors: Jaques' young age and that his death allegedly amounted to torture.

The background: Woodard was baby-sitting Jaques and his 1-year-old sister when he ran to neighbors and had them call 911, police said.

An ambulance rushed Jaques to York Hospital, where hospital personnel were told that Woodard reported the tot nearly drowned, according to preliminary hearing testimony.

But an autopsy determined Jaques was beaten to death, police said, and suffered wounds to his brain, face, ears, stomach, back, buttocks and legs. He also suffered internal abdominal injuries, officials have said.

Mess made: Woodard told police he left the children alone to go to a nearby store.
When he returned, he found Jaques sitting on the kitchen floor, smearing feces all over himself, according to York City Detective Al Clarkson.

Woodard told investigators he became frustrated and smacked the boy, then "snatched him up by the ear" and ordered him to go upstairs and clean himself, Clarkson said.

Woodard told detectives that when he checked on Jaques, the boy was sitting in the bathtub, slumped over and unresponsive, according to Clarkson.

Clarkson said he determined Woodard was the only adult with Jaques between about 8 p.m. Nov. 6, 2011, and when 911 was called about 2:30 p.m. Nov. 7, 2011.

Frustrated? According to Clarkson, Woodard had feelings for Jaques' mother, Hayley Twinn, but she did not feel the same. He also said Woodard considered the children his own.

"(Woodard) became frustrated that day," Clarkson has said. "He knew she was out with somebody else, and he realized she was using him to watch her kids while she was out with another guy. Whether that's the reason he snapped and did this? Well, that's something we're going to have to try to prove."

Defense attorney Floyd has said there's no definitive answer as to when the injuries were inflicted on Jaques, or who inflicted them.

Mom charged: York City Police charged Twinn, 21, of East King Street, with two counts of child endangerment, alleging she put her two children in danger by leaving them with Woodard.

Police allege Twinn knew Woodard was basically squatting in what essentially was an abandoned house in poor condition, but that she regularly allowed him to watch her 1- and 2-year-old children there anyway.

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking...ccused-killing

Defendant cries upon seeing autopsy photos in murder of toddler

Aric Shayne Woodard put his head down on the defense table and cried when autopsy photos of 2-year-old Jaques Omari Twinn's body were shown to the jury Tuesday.

Many of the people sitting on the defense side of the York County courtroom also avoided looking at the pictures, lowering their heads or covering their eyes.

Woodard, 40, is on trial in the beating death of Jaques, the son of a friend, who he was baby-sitting. The toddler died Nov. 7, 2011.

Dr. Samuel Land, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that Jaques died of blunt force trauma to the head and torso. The boy's injuries included fatal lacerations to his liver and brain trauma, he said, adding they are the types of injuries he usually only sees in victims of vehicle crashes.

Land testified that some of the toddler's injuries were days older than the injuries that killed him and that he found newer injuries on top of older healing ones.

The boy also had a hugely distended belly in the autopsy photos. Land said that was because his abdomen and kidney-area were filled with half of a liter of blood. Jaques' skin had a mottled appearance in the photos because of the all-over bruising.

"I can't tell how many times this child was injured," Land said.

At York Hospital, while waiting on word of Jaques' condition, Woodard told a chaplain, according to police, that he had spanked the boy when he soiled himself and sent him upstairs to the bathroom.

Woodard went on to say he checked on the boy minutes later and found him seated in the bathtub with his head between his legs and his face in the water.

Land said Jaques did not drown. He added a "neurologically intact" 2-year-old would have been able to lift his head from the water.

Land said the autopsy revealed "the wiring" between the two halves of Jaques' brain had been torn. He said that, coupled with the other injuries, would have made it apparent to any caregiver that the boy needed immediate medical attention.

On Monday, Jaques' mother, Hayley Twinn, testified she could not afford to take her children to day care and trusted Woodard to watch them. Twinn is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and remains subject to recall by the defense.

The prosecution has one remaining witness who will be called today. He is lead investigator Detective Alan Clarkson.

http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_24364267...ler?source=rss

York baby sitter guilty of first-degree murder, faces death penalty

Despite screaming and cursing for at least an hour as he waited in a courtroom holding cell, Aric Shayne Woodard remained calm -- though not quiet -- after being brought to the courtroom, even as jurors announced they'd found him guilty of first-degree murder.

The same jury will have to decide whether to sentence Woodard to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jurors deliberated about 4-1/2 hours before reaching their verdict.

The trial's penalty phase is set to begin Monday morning.

Jurors also had the option of finding Woodard guilty of either third-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, but rejected those choices.

Prior to the verdict being read, 13 sheriff's deputies positioned themselves throughout the courtroom -- something Woodard did not fail to notice.

"All this for me?" he asked as he was led to the defense table. He laughed and smiled.

"Everybody be scared."

Woodard remained calm and never lost the smile on his face as he listened to the jury's verdict.

Mocked prosecution: After jurors left the courtroom, Woodard faced York City Detective Al Clarkson and first assistant district attorney Jennifer Russell and clapped his hands at them, still smiling.

"Good job, good job," he said mockingly.

Woodard also mildly chided his own defense attorneys, then turned around to console his family and friends, some of whom were crying.

He made eye contact with The York Dispatch reporter and asked, "You writing all this down?"

Earlier this week, during a break in trial, Woodard told Clarkson he hated him, according to Clarkson.

"He can hate me all he wants," the detective said after the verdict. "He's going to jail for the rest of his life -- at least."

The case: Russell convinced jurors that Woodard, 40, of West Jackson Street, fatally beat 2-year-old Jaques Twinn on Nov. 7, 2011, while baby-sitting the boy and his 1-year-old sister.

Clarkson said Woodard, who goes by Shayne, left the children alone to go to a nearby store and that when he returned, he assaulted the child after realizing Jaques had smeared feces on the kitchen carpet.

Woodard had feelings for the children's mother, Hayley Twinn, but she did not reciprocate, Clarkson said.

"(Woodard) became frustrated that day," the detective has said. "He knew she was out with somebody else, and he realized she was using him to watch her kids while she was out with another guy."

Earlier this week, forensic pathologist Dr. Samuel Land testified at length to the numerous injuries he documented while performing an autopsy on Jaques.

They included injuries to the child's brain, face, ear, stomach, back, buttocks and legs, as well as internal abdominal injuries that included a badly lacerated liver.

Alternate theory: Trial defense attorney Joanne Floyd argued Jaques drowned in the bathtub, and that the injuries he suffered were primarily from aggressive, prolonged CPR.

A forensic pathologist for the defense testified that was his medical opinion.

The other half of the defense team, Dawn Cutaia, will now take over for the penalty phase.

'Distraught': Cutaia said Woodard has instructed her not to present any mitigating evidence at the penalty phase, which increases the chance he will receive the death penalty.

"My client is emotionally distraught ... and I'm not going to rely on his ability to make a decision right now," she said.

Cutaia said she will discuss the issue with Woodard, but said no matter what he decides, she still believes she must try to save his life.

"Whether he wants me to or not, I believe I have an ethical obligation to put on mitigating evidence," she said.

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking...-degree-murder