M. L. LLOYD III - 8 yo (2008) - Reserve LA

Reserve parents deny killing their 8-year-old son, M.L. Lloyd III
Published: Sunday, July 31, 2011
At 12:40 p.m. on April 1, 2008, 8-year-old M.L. Lloyd III was pronounced dead at River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace. But in a case that shocked the small community of Reserve, his parents - who were arrested and charged with his murder - and prosecutors have told differing accounts of the events that brought M.L. to the hospital that day and ultimately led to his death.

The child's death certificate lists "asphyxia due to neck compression" as the immediate cause of death and his autopsy notes widespread fresh bruising and indicates that he was beaten and dragged after his death. Authorities have said that they believe M.L. could have been dead for two hours before he arrived at the emergency room.

But Tonya and Errstol Victor, speaking out publicly together for the first time since their arrest nearly three years ago, say they did not cause their son's death and that he was alive and talking to them on the way to the hospital. They say M.L. died after an asthma attack that may have been set off by a fight with his brothers, which caused the bruising.

A St. John the Baptist Parish jury is set to decide which side it believes beginning Aug. 16.

Blended family

The Victors are a blended family. When Errol and Tonya Victor met seven years ago, she had five sons from a previous marriage and he had six. The couple later had two more sons together.

Tonya Victor was a stay-at-home mom, raising the boys and helping her husband with several business ventures, including a used-car lot and a real estate company.

Tonya Victor said that her sons' fathers had little involvement in their lives. She said she did her best as a single parent but that the boys often got in fights and had behavior problems in school. She said she and her husband had been struggling to get the behavior problems under control and had begun home-schooling her sons, along with the rest of the boys. Errol Victor said he had always had a "no-whipping" policy in his house but that rule had been bent in an attempt to discipline the boys.

On the morning of April 1, 2008, Tonya Victor said the boys were getting dressed and Errol Victor had left to attend a meeting when M.L. came to her to confess that he had taken ice cream without permission.

Tonya Victor said she spanked M.L. for stealing, then gathered her biological sons together and told them she was going to enroll them in a military school or send them to live with their fathers if their behavior problems continued. She went downstairs to tend to her younger children, she said, leaving the older boys upstairs. A few minutes later, she said she heard loud noises coming from upstairs.

"I go upstairs and they are fighting M.L., literally fighting him, beating him," she said. "They have M.L. with a belt whipping him."

Tonya Victor said she broke up the fight and learned one of the boys was mad at M.L. because he had actually taken the ice cream but thought M.L. had told on him. The others joined in, she said, because they did not want to be sent away.

"M.L. was fine at this point," she said. "He was speaking."

Later, when Errol Victor came home, he said he was told that M.L. was not feeling well. He said he could see that M.L. was breathing hard and thought he might have overexerted himself and become dehydrated and asked his older sons to get him some Pedialyte.

"When she (Tonya) finally screams I run upstairs and he's passed out," he said. "I give him CPR. He came back, so my immediate thing is to get him dressed because we're going to the hospital."

He said Errol Jr. carried M.L. to the truck, and Errol Jr., Errol Sr. and Tonya Victor rushed him to the hospital.

By this time, Errol Victor said M.L. was in the midst of a severe asthma attack. Julie Cullen, who is prosecuting the case for the state attorney general's office, disputes the Victor's account.

"As has already been noted in court hearings and records it is the opinion of the state that the child died as a result of injuries he sustained in a beating and not asthma," she said.

Bolting from the emergency room

At the time, St. John Parish sheriff's authorities said emergency room video shows Tonya and Errol Jr. "bolted" from the emergency room after bringing M.L. in. Tonya Victor said she left the ER to take Errol Jr. home to watch the rest of the children and intended to return.

In the meantime, hospital personnel began asking Errol Victor for M.L.'s medical history and personal information. He said he didn't know the information but assured doctors he would take responsibility for everything.

The statement that he would take responsibility for everything, according to authorities at the time, was part of the basis for his arrest and indicated that he would take responsibility for the death.

"Look, I'm talking about the care of my child," he said. "They know that, because that's not a statement to police. They misrepresented that deliberately."

Errol Victor said he was still sitting in the waiting room, awaiting word on M.L.'s condition, when he got a call from a cousin who told him he needed to go home right away.

"He said, 'Man they've got cops all over your home.' He said, 'They say your son has died at the hospital.' And I'm on the phone in the emergency room and I'm like, 'Nah man, I'm at the hospital right now. I figured somebody had jumped the gun. You know how stories get started."

But soon afterward, he was approached by a detective, who told him M.L. had died and that he had to read him his rights.

Tonya Victor said she found out that her son had died through a phone call from her husband.

By the time she reached home, she said, police had already searched the house and removed several items. They arrested her and Errol Jr. He was charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. However, after Judge Madeline Jasmine voided the indictment against him and his parents because a St. John sheriff's deputy was on the jury and wore a shirt advertising his employment he was never re-indicted in the case.

M.L.'s body was turned over to his biological father, who buried him in Hammond. Tonya Victor said she didn't know her son had been buried until after his funeral.

"We had a tragedy. We all lost and are still losing," Errol Victor said. "They didn't even allow us to bury our son. That shouldn't even be legal."

Strict disciplinarian

At the time of M.L.'s death, neighbors described Errol Victor as a strict disciplinarian who made his children run with cinderblocks as punishment.

Marcus Victor, 19, said although running laps was a punishment in the Victor household, he and the other children were never made to carry cinderblocks.

"We had a list. If you fight your brother you had a certain amount of laps -- if you cheat, if you steal -- we just used to run laps," he said.

However, in a recorded statement played in court in 2009, one of Tonya Victor's juvenile children painted a different picture of life in the Victor household. The child said that Errol Victor would frequently withhold food from his stepchildren while his biological children could "eat anything they wanted."

He also testified that Errol Victor and three other brothers hit M.L. the night before his death for stealing the ice cream. He said the brothers held M.L. down by his arms, under Victor's direction.

The boy testified that when Errol Victor got angry: "You can't stop him. If you stop him you would get whooped."

Cullen said the evidence will show that Victor is a violent man.

"We think that the injuries to the victim in this case will answer that question," she said.

Errol Victor said authorities have been able to turn his stepchildren against him.

"It hurts, because my husband and their brothers gave them everything -- everything -- and you say horrible stories like that," Tonya Victor said.

Numerous attorneys fired

Since M.L.'s death, the Victors have been indicted three times, have been in and out of jail and have hired and fired numerous attorneys. In October, they were granted the right to represent themselves but have since retained an attorney.

"We had no intention to go to trial pro se," Errol Victor said. "I had to get out of jail. I had to be heard."

The Victors attribute the numerous changes to lawyers only being interested in money, not justice.

District Judge Mary Hotard Becnel expressed frustration at the numerous counsel changes during a hearing in April at which she cited seven changes in representation in the criminal case and 13 in their custody case in juvenile court. In allowing their latest attorney, Lionel Burns, to once again enroll -- he served as the Victor's attorney previously -- Becnel warned that "once you're enrolled in this case you're stuck with it. I'm not letting you out," according to court records.

Despite that, the Victors said they are now dissatisfied with their current representation and fear they won't have a fair trial if they are forced to proceed. Burns recently filed a motion to withdraw from the case. Becnel, on July 8, refused his request.

Cullen said it is not unusual for defendents to change attorneys but declined to comment specifically about the number of delays in this case.

"The state is cautiously optimistic that this trial will begin on Aug. 16 as currently scheduled," she said.

Errol Victor said he has spent approximately $600,000 on about 22 attorneys. In January, the Victors filed suit against Sherman Walker Correctional Facility and Warden Phillip Hebert for, among other things, imposing excessive bonds. The lawsuit states that the Victors have paid for six different bonds totalling more than $3.5 million.

"None of the existing bonds were reinstated nor returned except one, still leaving a total of $3 million, unreturned and non-reinstated," according to the suit.

That case is still pending.

In 2009, the Victors filed bankruptcy, they say, as a result of the money spent on bonds, on their defense and as a result of having their bank accounts frozen.

"We lost our son, and they stole everything from us," Errol Victor said. "And I say stole. We didn't lose our property. They stole it from us. We didn't lose our business. They took it. We didn't abuse our children. They took them. They took our money. They took our freedom. They are not using the law whatsoever. They are using their position."

Two children have been adopted

Five of the Victors' children are now older than 18 and are either back home or living on their own.

The Victors are prohibited from having contact with their minor children. One remains in foster care and four are living with their biological fathers.

They said the two youngest have been adopted.

"(Judge Sterling) Snowdy put them up for adoption, which is a permanent decision, and we haven't even been to trial yet," Errol Victor said.

Snowdy said he could not comment on the custody case because it took place in a closed hearing as part of juvenile proceedings.

"They stole our children. This is not a car you're repossessing. This is our blood and our flesh and our children. I'm not guilty of anything, and I've never been guilty of anything and the law still says I'm innocent -- not guilty -- innocent, until I'm proven guilty. I'm innocent this very second right now."

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/07/reserve_parents_deny_killing_t.html

Victors fail to show for first day of trial
By ROBIN SHANNON
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

L’Observateur

EDGARD – A Reserve couple on trial for second-degree murder in connection with the death of their 8-year-old son failed to show in court Monday for a pre-trial hearing and Tuesday for the first day of the trial.

District Judge Mary Hotard Becnel issued a bench warrant Monday for the arrest of Errol Victor Sr. and Tonya Victor for not showing up to the final status conference prior to the trial. Jury selection was supposed to begin Tuesday morning, but was postponed until today and Thursday because of the Victors’ continued absence. The Victors are accused of second-degree murder in the death of M.L. Lloyd III, who is Tonya Victor’s son and Errol Victor’s stepson. The young boy was pronounced dead after being brought by the Victors to the River Parishes Hospital emergency room in April 2008.

Authorities say Lloyd had been severely whipped and beaten before being taken to the hospital. The Victors, who were arrested shortly after Lloyd was brought to the hospital, have vehemently denied the accusations and have maintained their innocence saying the child died as a result of a severe asthma attack.

Authorities from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office made several attempts to locate and apprehend the Victors prior to Tuesday’s court date, including speaking to family members and searching the couple’s Reserve home, but nothing had worked as of press time Tuesday.

Although Tonya and Errol Victor Sr. did not show Tuesday, a small contingent of family members did appear in the courtroom just as the jury had been dismissed for the day. Among them were four of the Victors’ sons, including one, Fabian Victor, who was subpoenaed to appear as one of 150 potential jurors in the case.

Another of the Victors’ sons, Errol Victor Jr., who had initially been arrested in connection with the murder case, was also on the jury roll but did not appear Tuesday. Errol Victor Jr. was with the Victors at the hospital when M.L. Lloyd III was dropped off. He had been charged with accessory after the fact to murder, but that charge was not pursued. Because of his absence Tuesday, Becnel said Errol Victor Jr. has been charged with contempt of court, although family members present Tuesday said he has lived out of state for the last seven months and should not have been called for jury duty.

During the court hearing Monday, Lionel Lon Burns, the Victors’ attorney, said the only communication he had received from his clients was a “rambling” message regarding the hearing and upcoming trial. Burns again said Tuesday he had still received no contact from his clients.

Since the start of legal proceedings in the case against the Victors, Errol Victor Sr. has alleged numerous injustices by the court system all while maintaining he and his wife’s innocence. A gag order has been issued barring attorneys from commenting to the media on the court proceedings.

The Victors have also hired and fired numerous defense attorneys, including their current attorney Burns. Both Burns and the Victors have recently sought to end his job as counsel in the case.

The Victors attempted to fire Burns last week and also filed a lawsuit in federal court contending Burns refused to perform his duties as their attorney and properly prepare for trial. Burns, meanwhile, has also filed motions to withdraw from the case, but Becnel has denied those requests. When Burns was hired by the Victors again in April after previously being fired, the Victors had changed representation seven times, including one brief point where Errol Victor elected to represent himself.

Despite Becnel’s refusal to relieve Burns from the case, a new attorney for the Victors, Alicia Johnson Butler, was in court Tuesday along with the family. Becnel took no action on Butler’s request to be added to the case as a defense attorney.

Julie Cullen, who is prosecuting the case for the state attorney general’s office, said the prosecution could take as many as four days to present its case once the trial begins. Burns said the defense would likely take a day to a day and a half.

http://www.lobservateur.com/articles/2011/08/19/news/doc4e4add516ece3916272695.txt

Murder trial is delayed as search for Reserve couple continues
Published: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 3:25 PM

With no defendants, potential jurors for the trial of a Reserve couple accused of murder in the death of their 8 -year-old son were sent home on Tuesday, the day the trial was set to begin at the Edgard courthouse.

The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office and the state attorney general's office's Fugitive Apprehension Unit, meanwhile, continued their attempts to locate Tonya and Errol Victor Sr. who failed to show up in court for the second day in a row.
"The attorney general's office is working with the fugitive task force, as well as the St. John Sheriff's Office," said Julie Cullen, who is prosecuting the case for the state attorney general's office. "It is my understanding there have been several attempts to locate them."
The Victors' attorney, Lionel Lon Burns, said he still did not know his clients' whereabouts. On Monday, Burns said his clients only left him a "rambling" voice mail about the upcoming trial.
Judge Mary Hotard Becnel, of the 40th Judicial District, issued a bench warrant for the Victors' arrest on Monday after they failed to attend the final status conference before their trial.
The Victors are charged with second-degree murder in the 2008 death of M.L. Lloyd III, who was Tonya Victor's son and Errol Victor's stepson. Authorities say that M.L. had been severely whipped and beaten before being taken to River Parishes Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Victors, who were arrested shortly after the boy's death, have maintained their innocence and said M.L. died as the result of a severe asthma attack.
Cullen said officers had gone out to the couple's Reserve home and talked to one of the Victors' sons.

"They were given a possible location of the Victors, but the Sheriff's Office determined there was no credibility or validity to that," she said.
There were, however, members of the Victor family in the courtroom on Tuesday. After potential jurors were dismissed, four of the Victors' sons, including Fabian Victor who had been called for jury duty, entered the courtroom, along with several other relatives.
Errol Victor Jr. also had been called for jury duty but was not present.
"Because the case you were subpoenaed for involves your parents I am going to excuse you," Becnel told Fabian Victor.
Although Fabian Victor said Errol Victor Jr. had moved out of state, Becnel said he would be held in contempt of court, as would all potential jurors who were absent on Tuesday without being excused.
Errol Victor Jr., who brought M.L. to the hospital along with his father and stepmother, was arrested in 2008 along with his father and stepmother and charged with being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. That charge was not pursued.
Becnel told the family to leave the courtroom through a side door, so they would not mix with potential jurors who might still be in the courthouse.
"I am going to instruct you and the rest of the family not to communicate with potential jurors," Becnel told the four sons.
How to keep the jury pool from being tainted was a concern on Tuesday. Although Becnel sent potential jurors home, she asked them to return on Thursday.
"And there's a likelihood we won't proceed even then," she told them.
Becnel ordered the potential jurors, without naming the case, to not discuss the case for which they were called and to avoid reading anything in the newspaper, on the Internet or viewing anything about it on television.
"I know this is kind of vague, and it might be hard to do," she said. "But I'm asking you to be good potential jurors and do your best to avoid any stories going on about a trial in our parish."
A separate group of potential jurors called for duty today were still expected at the courthouse this morning.
This week's delays are among the latest that have caused the case to stretch on for nearly three and a half years, including three indictments, two judges, numerous appeals and lawsuits, a change in prosecutors and several attorneys for the defendants, who at one time represented themselves.
The Victors have also expressed displeasure with their current attorney and have said they do not believe he was prepared for trial. However, Becnel has refused requests to have Burns removed from the case. The Victors' son, Marcus Victor, indicated on Monday that his parents may not have shown up for court because they believe they cannot get a fair trial with Burns as their attorney.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/08/start_of_trial_delayed_as_sear.html

Flight risk fears come to pass for Reserve murder suspects
Published: Monday, September 12, 2011, 8:00 PM

When Errol and Tonya Victor's bond was reduced in January, there were those who felt the Reserve couple, accused of killing their 8-year-old son, would bolt before facing the second-degree murder charges at trial. It's now clear that those were legitimate concerns.

Nearly a month after they were scheduled for trial, state and local authorities are still searching for the couple who failed to show up for court last month.
The state attorney general's office's Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshals Service have been assisting the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office in the search for the Victors.
However, the Sheriff's Office and the attorney general's office declined to comment specifically on the search, citing a gag order issued by District Judge Mary Hotard Becnel in the case that prohibits them from speaking to the news media.
The couple, who were due in court on Aug. 18 for trial, apparently are on the run, a scenario prosecutors feared would happen when Becnel reduced their bond in January, court documents show.
On Thursday, over the objection of the Victors' attorney, Becnel revoked that bond and has given the company that wrote it six months to produce the Victors or pay the court $700,000 for the forfeited bonds.
Bond had been lowered
According to court documents, Becnel granted the bond reduction from $1 million to $350,000 each in January, swayed because the Victors had shown up for previous hearings while out on bond and perhaps also because the Victors assured they would not flee.
In granting the request for the bond reduction, Becnel pointed out that Errol Victor, a businessman and real estate developer, had posted a $350,000 bond when his case was in Judge Madeline Jasmine's court, "after which posting he continued to appear in court as ordered."
She also found that the Victors did not likely pose a threat to the public because the crime of which they are accused appears to be an isolated case and not a random act of violence in the community.
The Victors are charged in the 2008 death of M.L. Lloyd III, Tonya Victor's son and Errol Victor's stepson.
Authorities say that M.L. had been severely whipped and beaten before being taken to River Parishes Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Victors, who were arrested shortly after the boy's death, have maintained their innocence and said M.L. died of a severe asthma attack.
In arguing against the bond reduction, prosecutors from the state attorney general's office said there was evidence that the Victors could be flight risks, mostly because of the events surrounding their arrests after they were reindicted in April 2010.
At that time, prosecutors argued, telephone records indicated that the Victors went to Florida to avoid arrest on the reindictment and then began heading to Alexandria.
However, Errol Victor Jr. testified that it was he and his girlfriend who were in Crestview, Fla., and that he had taken his father's cellphone with them. He said they then met Errol and Tonya Victor in Louisiana and drove them to Alexandria to see Errol Victor Sr.'s brother, a lawyer, and Dr. Velva Boles, who had testified as an expert witness on behalf of the Victors at a previous hearing, according to court records.
The Victors had left their Reserve home and were living in hotels in the Metairie, New Orleans and Slidell area before going to Alexandria, according to court records. However, the court record indicates there was not conclusive evidence that the Victors were trying to flee because they were eventually located in Alexandria.
Prosecutors also expressed concerns that the Victors owned property in other states and might flee to Tennessee or Mississippi. However, the Victors informed the judge that those properties were in foreclosure.
'No intention of fleeing'
In a statement that turned out to be false, the Victors "assured the court that they had no intention of fleeing and were prepared to face the charge against them at trial," according to the judgment granting the bond reduction.
But when the trial date came, the Victors missed three consecutive days of court appearances and Becnel issued a bench warrant for their arrest.
A relative indicated at the time that the Victors might have left because they did not feel they could get a fair trial with their attorney, who they maintained was unprepared to defend them.
While it's not uncommon for people to be absent for court appearances, the high-profile case has garnered more scrutiny than most.
The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office has about 655 active bench warrants in its system, said Capt. Dane Clement, Sheriff's Office spokesman, mostly for misdemeanors and traffic violations.
Of those, 315 are for St. John residents, with the rest issued for people with addresses listed outside St. John but facing prosecution within the parish.
The Sheriff's Office has a five-person warrants division that processes and executes the warrants.
"We do prioritize them," Clement said. "A felony warrant for a violent crime has more attention brought to it than a misdemeanor traffic violation."
In cases such as the Victors' -- where the Sheriff's Office receives assistance from the Louisiana attorney general's office or the U.S. Marshals Service -- the Sheriff's Office assigns someone from the warrants division to work closely with the agencies to share information about the search.
Vacant home in Reserve
All three agencies have visited the Victors' house in Reserve, which now stands empty, with no indication of anyone living there. There appears to be no electricity as the house is dark most nights with no vehicles in the driveway.
And with the bond revocation, bounty hunters could be added to that search team. It is not unusual for bonding companies to enlist the services of a private agency to help track down missing defendants.
"They have 700,000 reasons to find them," one court observer said after the revocation hearing.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/09/flight_risk_fears_come_to_pass.html

Accused Reserve couple still on the run
Errol and Tonya Victor missing since August
By ROBIN SHANNON
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 1:07 AM CST


L’Observateur

LAPLACE – More than three months after they were no-shows for trial, the search continues for a Reserve couple accused of killing their 8-year-old son, the lead prosecutor said Monday.

Julie Cullen, a special assistant state attorney general, said multiple agencies on state and federal levels are “still very active” in their search for Errol and Tonya Victor. They are accused of killing 8-year-old M.L. Lloyd III, who is Tonya Victor’s son and Errol Victor Sr.’s stepson. The boy was pronounced dead after the Victors brought him to the River Parishes Hospital emergency room in April 2008.

The couple has been on the run since August, when they failed to show up for a scheduled court appearance prior to their trial. Both were free on bond. Cullen said multiple agencies are involved in the search for the Victors, but she would not comment on who is a part of the search.

“I think it is in the best interest of the case that I not reveal who is involved, especially considering the way information has leaked out throughout the proceedings,” Cullen said.

Capt. Dane Clement, spokesperson for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said detectives from the Sheriff’s Office are aiding in the search along with members of the U.S. Marshals. He said the couple is known to be somewhere out of state.

Cullen said it is not the first time a defendant has made attempts to jump bail and escape trial but added it is unique that the Victors made their move on the day of the trial.

“It is certainly unusual,” Cullen said. “It is not very often to see someone skip out this close to trial.”

Cullen said there are specific time periods the law allows for a case to be brought to trial, but those rules are relaxed when it comes to defendants who jump bail for as long as the Victors have. She said there could be additional charges filed down the road depending on how long the couple is on the run.

“The search will carry on until they are tracked down,” Cullen said.

The Victors are accused of second-degree murder in Lloyd’s death. Authorities say Lloyd had been severely whipped and beaten before being taken to the hospital. The Victors, who were arrested shortly after Lloyd was brought to the hospital, have vehemently denied the accusations and have maintained their innocence, saying the child died as a result of a severe asthma attack.

Authorities from the Sheriff’s Office made several attempts to locate and apprehend the Victors prior to the scheduled court date, including speaking to family members and searching the couple’s Reserve home on East 22nd Street. Any leads on the couple’s whereabouts have been unfounded.

During the August court hearing, Lionel Lon Burns, the Victors’ attorney, said the only communication he had received from his clients was a “rambling” message regarding the hearing and upcoming trial. Burns said he had received no further contact from his clients.

Even getting to this point has been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride for those involved in the case. Since the start of legal proceedings in the case against the Victors, Errol Victor Sr. has alleged numerous injustices by the court system all while maintaining his and his wife’s innocence. The couple has been indicted on three separate occasions, the St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney’s office has been recused from the case, and the judge hearing the case has also changed from Judge Madeline Jasmine to Judge Mary Hotard Becnel. A gag order has also been issued barring attorneys from commenting to the media on the court proceedings.

The Victors have also hired and fired numerous defense attorneys, including their current attorney, Burns. Both Burns and the Victors had recently sought to end his job as counsel in the case, but Becnel refused to allow it.

If convicted of second-degree murder, the Victors would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

http://www.lobservateur.com/articles/2011/11/30/news/doc4ed55fef286a4736369919.txt

The fact that they are running only convinces me of their guilt. Scumbag stepfather is nothing but a child abuser and beater with a wife and POS mother who condones it. Their problem is that have too many kids (all sons) who get out of control so the father acts like a strict military disciplinarian. For crying out loud--QUIT HAVING BABIES!!! With the easy availability of birth control these days, there is just no excuse for dropping baby after baby when you can't take care of or control them. I hope they find these bad parents and prosecute them to the fullest and their @sses stay in jail.

A Louisiana sheriff's office says a couple
from St. John the Baptist Parish have been arrested in Georgia, months
after they failed to show up for trial in connection with the death of
the woman's son.

The arrests of Errol and Tonya Victor were announced on the St. John Sheriff's Office website.

A Georgia newspaper, The Tifton Gazette said
the two were caught Saturday morning after U.S. Marshals received a tip.
The tip followed the airing of a segment about the case on the TV show
"America's Most Wanted."

The Times-Picayune reported that the couple
faced second-degree murder charges when they disappeared in August.
Authorities say 8-year-old M.L. Lloyd III, Tonya victor's son, had been
severely beaten when he was pronounced dead at River Parishes Hospital
in 2008.
http://www.wafb.com/story/17452818/couple-wanted-in-childs-death-arrested-in-ga

these ppl were found right here in my town. i saw the story in our local paper this a.m.

Bid to dismiss murder charges in Victor case denied

Sept. 26, 2013
3 COMMENTS
A long-shot bid to dismiss second-degree murder charges against a Reserve couple who have been indicted three times for the death of their badly beaten 8-year-old son has been denied by a state judge.

Attorney Stephen Yazbeck, who recently became counsel for Errol Victor Sr., 48, and Tonya Victor, 39, had sought to dismiss the most recent indictment against the couple on the grounds of double jeopardy, arguing the charges should be dropped because the state chose not to appeal after the second indictment was dismissed.

The Victors have been indicted three times in the death of M.L. Lloyd III — Tonya’s son and Errol’s stepson — who was pronounced dead at River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace in April 2008.

The Victors have maintained their innocence, saying the young Lloyd suffered a severe asthma attack provoked by fighting with his brothers. Authorities have disputed that claim, suggesting they believe the boy may have died hours before arriving at the hospital. “Asphyxia due to neck compression” was listed as the cause of death; an autopsy showed extensive bruising.

The case’s legal twists and turns have drawn widespread attention for the past five years.

The Victors formed a blended family: When the couple met, Errol Victor Sr., a businessman and real estate developer, had six children; Tonya Victor, a stay-at-home mom, had five. Together, they added two more to their brood.

In a recorded statement played in court four years ago, one of Tonya Victor’s young children charged that Errol Victor Sr. typically withheld food from Tonya’s children, while his own flock could “eat anything they wanted.”

The night before he died, the child testified, Errol Victor Sr. told several of the boys to hold the young Lloyd down by his arms. They beat him, Tonya Victor’s son testified, for taking ice cream without permission.

For his part, Errol Victor Sr. has contended that authorities rallied his stepchildren to testify against him.

On April 1, 2008, Tonya Victor, along with the boy’s stepbrother, Errol Victor Jr., took the child to the hospital, but quickly fled the emergency room, according to law enforcement authorities.

Errol Victor Jr. was initially indicted as an accessory in the case, though the charge was not pursued.

Errol Victor Sr. was charged with first-degree murder, while Tonya Victor was charged with cruelty to a juvenile and being a principal to first-degree murder.

That indictment was dismissed after Tonya Victor allegedly acknowledged to sheriff’s deputies that she had hit Lloyd with a belt on the day he died.

Prosecutors then convened a second St. John the Baptist Parish grand jury, which returned an indictment against the couple in 2009, charging both with second-degree murder.

That meant prosecutors needed to prove the couple intended to inflict great bodily harm, but not necessarily to kill the boy.

Another judge vacated that indictment because a St. John sheriff’s deputy serving on the second grand jury panel had worn a shirt advertising his employment with the department. I

April 2010, the couple was indicted for the third time.
In a ruling issued last week, Judge Mary Hotard Becnel of the 40th Judicial District Court in Edgard said the third indictment should have come as no surprise, noting that the dismissal of the earlier indictment “did not absolve defendants of their responsibility.”

“In fact, it is anticipated by the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure that a defendant will be re-indicted after a motion to quash is granted,” Becnel said in the Sept. 18 ruling.

Becnel also shot down any notion that double jeopardy was an issue. “In the case of a jury trial, jeopardy attaches when a jury is empaneled and sworn,” the judge said. “In a bench trial, jeopardy attaches when the first witness is sworn.”

The Victors were slated for trial in August 2011 on the third indictment, but they fled on the eve of the proceedings and remained on the lam for eight months. They are being held without bond.

The couple appeared in district court for a hearing on the defense motion on Sept. 16.

During the half-hour session, Yazbeck said the current charges against the couple should be dropped because the state did not appeal after the second indictment was dismissed. That should have ended the prosecution, he said.

“That was the state’s remedy,” Yazbeck told the court.

In a defense motion filed in July, Yazbeck said that repeatedly indicting the couple on the same charges raised “fundamental double jeopardy concerns.”

Becnel disagreed with that assessment. State prosecutors were left with two options: appeal the judgment, or vacate the indictment, the path they chose.

“If a district attorney chooses to dismiss a charge, that dismissal is not a bar to future prosecution on the same charge,” the judge said in the three-page ruling.

Julie Cullen, who is prosecuting the case for the state Attorney General’s Office, had argued in court that removing the earlier indictment “had absolutely nothing to do with the merits of this case.”

The couple is due back in court in October.

http://theadvocate.com/news/7146424-123/judge-refuses-child-murder-charges