STEVEN FLANAGAN - 2 yo - (2011) / Accused: Mother, Sharon Flanagan - Inwood, West VA

Trial begins in death of boy, 2, in bathtub

September 18, 2013 12:14 am
By Paula Reed Ward / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As Sharon Flanagan entered the Best Western Parkway Center Inn in Green Tree the evening of July 1, 2012, she was carrying her 2-year-old boy.
Wearing a blue T-shirt, shorts and a red plastic fireman's cap, Steven had his arms wrapped around his mother's neck until she plopped him down on the counter while he ate a lollipop.
"He was happy. He was laughing, and he's playing with his mommy while she checks in," said assistant district attorney Lisa Pellegrini. "And the next time anyone sees Baby Steven, he is facedown in the bathtub, lifeless and unresponsive.
"There's no water in the tub. His little red fire hat is in the tub, and his little Crocs."
Ms. Flanagan, 34, of Inwood, W.Va., is charged with homicide in Steven's death, and her trial began Tuesday before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning.
Ms. Pellegrini told the jury of seven women and five men that the defendant was in the midst of a bitter divorce and killed her son to get back at her husband.
When investigators reviewed Ms. Flanagan's history on her computer, the prosecutor said, they found that she had recently searched online for "leading cause of toddler death," and "why is Casey Anthony so popular."
Ms. Pellegrini is seeking a conviction for first-degree murder.
According to several witnesses who testified, Ms. Flanagan exited her sixth-floor room about 8:30 p.m., and began flailing, clutching her stomach and shouting, "My baby. My baby."
She ran to the lobby, where she repeated the behavior.
But Ms. Pellegrini told the jury during her opening, "She never tells anyone 'my baby is in the bathtub. I don't have a card key.'
"Nobody can figure out what's going on."
People staying in the room adjacent to Ms. Flanagan saw her acting strangely in the hallway and thought from the woman's actions that she might have been having a miscarriage.
"She was screaming and clutching at her stomach like she had been kicked or punched or injured," testified Dominic J. Netti. "She was gasping for breath as she was screaming."
He repeatedly asked her what was wrong, but she didn't answer. Then she got in the elevator and left.
He said it took several minutes, and a security guard in the hotel returned to the room with a card key to open the door. Ms. Flanagan wasn't with her.
Mr. Netti entered the room with security, immediately spotted Steven in the bathtub, lifted him out and started doing CPR until emergency personnel arrived.
The child was taken to the hospital, and as detectives tried to gather information, Ms. Pellegrini said, they found that Ms. Flanagan's statements were inconsistent.
She told detectives she couldn't pull the boy out of the bathtub, but also told them he was able to get in and out by himself. Steven weighed 35 pounds.
Defense attorney Blaine Jones told the jury the boy's death was accidental.
"Forcibly drowning someone is an extremely violent act," Mr. Jones said, noting that Ms. Flanagan's son had no marks on him of any kind.
"There is a distinction between forcibly drowning someone and someone accidentally drowning," he said.
He described his client as soft-spoken and religious -- attending church seven days a week.
As for Steven, Mr. Jones said the boy was "the light of her life."
"He was her everything," he said. "She invested all of her time, energy and love into him."
The attorney said Ms. Flanagan put Steven's swim trunks on so he could play in the bathtub.
"Unfortunately, Sharon's attention was distracted. Before she could do anything, Baby Steven was unresponsive."
Mr. Jones said his client was running through the hotel seeking help.
"It was no act, ladies and gentleman, she was frantic because her son, her world, was unresponsive."


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/trial-begins-in-death-of-boy-2-in-bathtub-703807/#ixzz2fSLcFQCL

Jury finds mother guilty of drowning son in hotel bathtub

By Adam Brandolph
Published: Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, 11:54 a.m.
Updated 2 hours ago

Sharon Flanagan burst into tears and pleaded with the judge on Friday as the jury foreman read aloud her conviction of first-degree murder in the drowning death of her 2-year-old son in a hotel bathtub.

“Please, please, I'll serve any sentence, but I can't be abused in that prison,” said Flanagan, 34, of Inwood, W.Va. “Please, Judge Manning.”

Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning had two Allegheny County sheriff's deputies remove Flanagan from the courtroom in handcuffs. Allegheny County Sheriff's Office Lt. Jack Kearney said Flanagan was “ranting incoherent” in the hallway. She will be sentenced on Dec. 9.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for about five hours before returning the verdict at 4:04 p.m. Before the trial began, Flanagan turned down an offer from the district attorney's office to plead guilty to third-degree murder and serve 20 to 40 years in prison.

Flanagan's trial in the July 6, 2012, death of her son Steven began on Tuesday. He died in Children's Hospital five days after his mother found him lying facedown, unresponsive, in a bathtub in Room 603 of Best Western Parkway Center Inn in Green Tree.

“I don't agree with it, but I respect (the verdict),” said Flanagan's defense attorney, Blaine Jones III. “This was a very emotionally charged case — we had grown men come to the table and say they couldn't (serve on the jury). At the end of the day, the jurors had difficulty separating their feelings of a 2-year-old drowning to death and the law.

“I think any of us would be destroyed,” Jones said of his client's outburst. “It's life without the possibility of parole. She maintains she did not do this. The physical evidence is on her side.”

Flanagan's relatives declined to comment, as did the child's father, also named Steven Flanagan. Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pelligrini declined comment after the sentencing. Jurors also declined comment.

Earlier Friday, Jones told jurors during his closing argument that Flanagan couldn't have drowned her child.

Detectives didn't observe any marks on Flanagan's arms, and an autopsy of the boy showed no signs of trauma, he said.

“Forcibly drowning someone is an extremely violent act. There are no marks indicating he was held down. In the court of public opinion, she was guilty. But this is a court of law. Sometimes accidents happen. The evidence doesn't say there's anything more,” Jones said.

Pellegrini said Flanagan should have pulled her son out of the tub as soon as she saw him and that the boy wouldn't have fought back because he trusted his mother.

“What would you do if you found your child face down in a tub? A small amount of water in the airways can stop the heart of a 2-year-old,” she said. “He isn't going to resist her. She is the one he believes would never hurt him.”

Flanagan initially told investigators she attempted to save the boy from drowning but said an unexplained force was pulling him under the water. On Thursday, Flanagan testified she pulled the plug and ran for help but did not touch her son.

She said she lied to investigators because she did not want her ex-husband, whom she accused of molesting the boy, to gain custody if she admitted to having left him unattended in the bathroom.

“Unfortunately, she froze,” Jones said. “Ms. Flanagan was upset. She was distraught. She was in a panic. She couldn't formulate the thought. ... It's easy to sit here in this courtroom and say this is what we would have done.”

Pellegrini said the abuse allegations against the boy's father were investigated and found to be untrue. He paced around the Allegheny County courthouse during jury deliberations and cried into a tissue as he left the courtroom.

Pellegrini highlighted evidence that detectives discovered on Flanagan's computer related to searches for Casey Anthony and “leading cause of toddler death.” Anthony was acquitted in 2011 of murdering her 2-year-old daughter in a Florida case that drew national attention.

“Who looks on the Internet for the leading causes of toddler death? Who does that?” Pellegrini asked before answering her own question: “Someone planning to murder their child.”

http://triblive.com/mobile/4741001-96/flanagan-drowning-jury

Mother of drowned toddler found guilty of first-degree murder

September 20, 2013 11:52 pm
By Paula Reed Ward / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sharon Flanagan's outburst after the jury pronounced her guilty of first-degree murder was sudden and strange.

The 34-year-old woman, who had said over and over in her testimony that she loved her baby and did not kill him, stood at the defense table and accused a detective of sexually abusing her at the jail.

Sobbing, she pleaded with the court, "Please, I'll serve any sentence. I can't be abused in that prison. Judge Manning, please."

Judge Jeffrey A. Manning immediately had the West Virginia woman removed from the courtroom, and according to Allegheny County sheriff's Lt. Jack Kearney, she "ranted incoherently" all the way to her holding cell.

The strange scene came at the end of an emotionally difficult trial in which the prosecution accused Ms. Flanagan of purposely drowning her 2-year-old son, Steven, in the bathtub to get back at her estranged husband, whom she believed sexually abused the boy.

The defense argued that the boy died accidentally, and that when Ms. Flanagan found him lying facedown in the bathtub, she panicked and froze.

The woman, who was also found guilty of endangering the welfare of children, will be sentenced by Judge Manning on Dec. 9. She faces a mandatory prison term of life without parole.

During closing arguments Friday morning, defense attorney Blaine Jones told the jury that in the court of public opinion, his client was guilty almost immediately.

But, he continued, "This is a court of law. Evidence rules the day in a court of law."

During his 20-minute closing, Mr. Jones said that Steven was Ms. Flanagan's whole world.

"Sometimes, accidents happen. The evidence simply doesn't say there's anything more."

Ms. Flanagan found her son unresponsive in the bathtub at the Best Western Parkway Center Inn in Green Tree the evening of July 1, 2012. She had put him in his swim trunks to play in the tub.

She testified Thursday that she left the bathroom and went into the main part of the hotel room and became lost in her own thoughts.

When she realized she no longer heard the boy playing,and found him not breathing, Ms. Flanagan pulled the plug from the tub and ran for help. However, she never told anyone she encountered in the hotel what had happened. Instead, she clutched her stomach, shouting, "My baby, my baby."

It took several minutes before hotel security and other guests were able to get into her room and found Steven in the bathtub.

"Ms. Flanagan was upset. She was distraught. She was in a panic. She couldn't formulate the thought," Mr. Jones said. "It's easy to sit here in this courtroom and say this is what we would have done."

Later, he continued, "Unfortunately, she froze. I can't cast judgment on her, ladies and gentlemen. Everybody reacts differently."

Mr. Jones focused at the end of his closing on the commonwealth's burden of proving Ms. Flanagan guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

"If you think she's probably guilty, that's not enough," he said. "If you think she's possibly guilty, that's not enough. If you suspect she's guilty, that's not enough."

But assistant district attorney Lisa Pellegrini, in her closing, said there is no doubt.

"This case is about maternal instincts. Everything about this is what would a parent do to save her own child? The one person who was supposed to protect him.

"What would any human being do when any child is face down in a tub drowning?"

Instead, Ms. Pellegrini continued, Ms. Flanagan purposely killed her son to keep him away from her estranged husband.

"I wish, I wish, I wish the defendant wasn't the person she is," Ms. Pellegrini said. "I wish, I wish, I wish she didn't have so much hatred in her heart to do this to her ex-husband.

"But she's not. She's not like the rest of us. I told you it would be hard to wrap your mind around this case."

To Mr. Jones' argument that Steven had no marks on his body showing signs of a struggle, the prosecutor dismissed it.

"A small amount of water is enough to stop his heart. That baby's not going to fight back against his mommy."

Ms. Pellegrini reiterated to the jury her contention that Ms. Flanagan is guilty of first-degree murder, which requires premeditation. Among the reasons she cited, the woman in the days before her son's death did searches online for things like "leading cause of toddler death," and "why is Casey Anthony so popular?"

"Who looks on the Internet for the leading causes of toddler death? Who does that? Someone planning to murder their child," she said. "The court will tell you premeditation can happen like that," the attorney said, snapping her fingers. "But let me tell you, the premeditation to kill that child occurred weeks before."

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/attorney-argues-for-acquittal-of-mother-accused-of-killing-son-2-in-motel-bathtub-704164/

Woman Convicted In Son’s Drowning Death Sentenced To Life In Prison
December 9, 2013 2:46 PM

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The woman who drowned her son in a local hotel bathtub has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Sharon Flanagan had been found guilty of first-degree murder in September.
Prosecutors said Flanagan killed the 2-year-old boy because she was upset her ex-husband had been granted 70 percent custody.

He brought a picture of the boy to court as he delivered a victim impact statement.
“It’s one of the most important pictures. It’s a picture that the church folks put together and brought to Steven’s funeral and it’s a picture of him at one of his first Halloweens and we dressed him up in a little doggie suit because he loved to crawl and he loved to climb. We got him right at the perfect moment when he was smiling and his little blue eyes open so it’s very priceless. It’s always on display in the living room. It’s on display under the Christmas tree now. The whole house is like a baby Steven shrine for sure,” he said.
When asked about the ordeal he’s been through, Flanagan said words can’t express it all.
“I could stand here all day and I could never tell you just how tough everything’s been. It’s absolutely monstrous. If it wasn’t for the Lord above and fine people to help me, I don’t think I ever would have made it. But as far as today, it was very difficult but I’m here in the first place to speak for my son because that’s my privilege. He was my dream since I was a boy, and we did everything together. We were pretty much inseparable. And he would ride on my shoulders, work with me in the wood shop. I hated going to work and couldn’t wait to come home. Not because I had bad jobs, but because I wanted to be with him and momma,” he said.

read more:

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/12/09/woman-convicted-in-sons-drowning-death-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/

Don't know who locked this thread or why but I have unlocked it.

W.Va. mother serving life for drowning son acquitted of illegally recording police


Adam Brandolph 412-391-0927
Staff Reporter
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


Published: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, 12:48 p.m.

A mother serving a life sentence for drowning her 2-year-old son in a Green Tree hotel was acquitted on Tuesday of illegally recording police detectives during their investigation, an Allegheny County judge ruled.

Sharon Flanagan, 35, of Inwood, W.Va., had been charged with five counts of illegally intercepting communications with a digital recorder she concealed inside her purse as detectives interviewed her about the July 1, 2012, drowning.

A jury in September convicted Flanagan of first-degree murder in the death of her son, Steven, who died in Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville five days after she told police she found him face down, unresponsive, in a bathtub in Room 603 of Best Western Parkway Center.

Flanagan looked gaunt in court on Tuesday — her eyes sunken and her collarbones showing — and she wore a pale yellow shirt and long black skirt at the nonjury trial before Common Pleas President Judge Jeffrey A. Manning. She said nothing other than “yes” and “no” to standard questions.

“We discussed her right to testify and she declined,” her attorney, David Obara, told the judge.

Obara argued that prosecutors did not have evidence to prove Flanagan had a specific intent to record the detectives nor could they prove that she activated the device.

Prosecutors relied on the police affidavit and did not argue the case.

Manning, who sentenced Flanagan to life in prison without the possibility of parole, said it is ironic that recording interviews is considered “best practices” for law enforcement agencies “and not the other way around.”

Flanagan initially told investigators she attempted to save the boy from drowning but said an unexplained force was pulling him under the water. During the trial, Flanagan testified she pulled the bathtub drain plug and ran for help, but she did not touch her son.

Prosecutors highlighted evidence that detectives found on Flanagan's computer related to searches for Casey Anthony and “leading cause of toddler death.” Anthony was acquitted in 2011 of murdering her 2-year-old daughter in a Florida case that drew national attention.

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/5416406-74/flanagan-detectives-drowning#ixzz35Y9GdOJT




Sharon Flanagan, 33, was arrested July 2, 2012, and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and recklessly endangering another person.
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