MAKAILA THOMPSON - 2 yo (2008) - Tampa FL

The story of how 2-year-old Makaila Thompson died in September 2008 depends on who's talking.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys gave vastly opposing
versions in their opening statements today in the trial of Robert Bradwell, who
is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the toddler's death.

Assistant State Attorney Scott Harmon told jurors Bradwell killed
in a rage, ignited when he thought his boss shortchanged his pay and fueled by a
night of drinking beer and smoking pot.

"He was so angry that he beat and stomped Makaila to death," Harmon said.

But Assistant Public Defender Theda James had a different explanation.

"Her 4-year-old brother jumped on her while she was lying on the floor," James said. "Kids play rough."

Bradwell, 37, faces life in prison if convicted as charged. His trial is expected to continue through the week.

Both sides will rely on medical testimony to support their claims, often from the same witnesses.

"This case is about possibilities and probabilities," James said.


On the night of Sept. 5, 2008, Monique Thompson left two of her children
with Bradwell, her boyfriend, when she went to work as a night cashier at a
nearby grocery store. Bradwell had been living with the family in their duplex
on North 20th Street for about a year.

According to authorities, Makaila wasn't breathing and had no pulse when Bradwell took her to University Community
Hospital on Fletcher Avenue. Doctors couldn't revive her.

Bradwell told doctors Makaila fell while she and her brother were playing in the bathtub.
Deputies said he later told them he had been on the stoop drinking beer and
smoking marijuana at the time.

Harmon said Bradwell waited at least an hour before getting Makaila medical treatment, not calling 911 or rushing her to
the hospital less than two miles away.

He said an autopsy showed Makaila was hit so hard in her abdomen that blood was forced into her heart, bursting it.

James said that could have happened if Makaila's brother had jumped on her abdomen.

She said Bradwell continued to live with Monique Thompson and her son until his arrest a month after Makaila's death.

"This was an accident," James said.

A Tampa man was sentenced to life in prison today after a jury convicted him of
stomping a 2-year-old girl to death.
It took jurors about eight hours of deliberations over two days to convict
Robert James Bradwell, 37, of first-degree murder in the death of Makaila
Thompson in September 2008.
Jurors also found Bradwell guilty of aggravated child abuse; medical
testimony showed the child also was hit in the face.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente sentenced Bradwell to 30 years in
prison on the child abuse charge, to run at the same time as the life term on
the murder charge.
Authorities said Makaila was hit in the abdomen with such force that it tore
the major artery from her heart, causing her to die from internal bleeding.
Jurors rejected the defense's argument that Makaila died after her 4-year-old
brother jumped on her.
Hillsborough County Assistant Medical Examiner Jacqueline Lee testified that
Makaila's 35-pound brother wasn't big enough to cause the injuries. She also
dismissed the defense's suggestion that the brother could have added force by
jumping off a bed.
"It would have had to have been a very, very, very, very, very, very tall bed
– one I haven't seen," she said.
Assistant State Attorney Scott Harmon had urged jurors not to be confused by
theoretical possibilities.
"We will never know what made him (Bradwell) so mad that he stomped the life
out of this little girl," he said in his closing argument. "It was his job to
protect her."
On the night of Sept. 5, 2008, Monique Thompson left two of her children with
Bradwell, her boyfriend, when she went to work as a night cashier at a nearby
grocery store. Bradwell had been living with the family in their duplex on North
20th Street for about a year.
According to authorities, Makaila wasn't breathing and had no pulse when
Bradwell took her to University Community Hospital on Fletcher Avenue. Doctors
couldn't revive her.
Bradwell told doctors Makaila fell while she and her brother were playing in
the bathtub. Deputies said he later told them he had been on the stoop drinking
beer and smoking marijuana at the time.
Harmon said Bradwell waited hours before getting Makaila medical treatment
and didn't take her to the hospital less than two miles away until she was cold
to the touch.