ANNA BELLE "DOE" - 20 months (5/14) - / Charged: Father's girlfriend, Emily Defries - Norfolk, VA

Norfolk woman arrested, charged in death of 20-month-old girl

Posted 1:07 pm, May 20, 2014, by Becca Mitchell, Updated at 06:55pm, May 21, 2014

A 24-year-old Norfolk woman was arrested Sunday and charged in the death of a 20-month-old toddler.

Norfolk Police say Emily Defries identified herself as the step-mother of the 20-month-old girl and was babysitting her and two other children on Sunday. Police tell NewsChannel 3 that Defries was not married.

Defries told police that she called 911 at approximately 5:36 p.m. after she found the girl at the bottom of the steps inside her home in the 7000 block of Gregory Drive.


Medics responded and transported the girl to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital where she was pronounced deceased at approximately 6:10 p.m.

Defries told investigators that she had periodically checked on the girl while she was sleeping upstairs.

The Medical Examiner’s Office determined the girl’s cause of death was due to Homicide by Blunt Force Trauma.

The investigation is ongoing.

She appeared in court on Wednesday. No one was there to support her and she didn’t show any emotion as her defense attorney made plans for her bond hearing.

Defries is currently being held without bond in the Norfolk City Jail.

Per Fleet Forces, Defries was previously enlisted in the Navy and assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush. She was honorably discharged in March.

http://wtkr.com/2014/05/20/norfolk-woman-arrested-charged-in-death-of-20-month-old-girl/

Autopsy reveals murdered 20-month-old girl had fractured skull, bruises all over body

Posted 11:04 pm, August 8, 2014, by Marissa Jasek, Updated at 06:33am, August 9, 2014

Norfolk, Va. – The autopsy of a 20-month-old girl reveals a fractured skull and numerous bruises on her tiny body. That’s according to a Norfolk search warrant, providing new insight into the infant’s murder back in May.

The girl’s caretaker, 24-year-old-Emily Defries, is charged with her murder.

Police say Defries was dating the girl’s father. On May 18th, investigators say she was watching the 20-month-old and two other children at her boyfriend’s home on Gregory Drive.

Defries told detectives the girl was sleeping most of the day and had checked on her several times, while her son and the victim’s older sister were playing outside in the backyard. When she came back inside the house, that’s when she says she found the infant girl unresponsive at the bottom of the stairs. Defries told police she must have fallen down.

However, court records say this was no accident; the little girl’s injuries were clearly from physical abuse.

Defries called 911 that day. Paramedics rushed the 20-month-old to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes later.

Defries is scheduled to be in court next month.


http://wtkr.com/2014/08/08/autopsy-reveals-murdered-20-month-old-girl-had-fractured-skull-bruises-all-over-body/

Why do some states not reveal the names of murdered children?  This makes no sense to me.  Non transparency is one of the major problems of child abuse... and murder.

Court date for former Sailor accused in death of toddler

POSTED 8:49 AM, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014,
BY HOLLY HENRY

Norfolk, Va. – A former Sailor accused in the death of a toddler is scheduled to appear in court today.

24-year-old Emily Defries is accused of killing her boyfriend’s 20-month-old daughter at their Norfolk home.

NewsChannel 3 is expecting to learn more about that deadly day when paramedics arrived to their Gregory Drive home and found the infant unresponsive back in May. The baby girl was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at the hospital.

The former Sailor told detectives the 20-month-old was sleeping, while her son and the victim’s older sister were playing outside in the backyard. When she came inside to check on the infant – Defries says she found the baby at the bottom of the stairs and that the baby must have fallen down. But according to an autospy – it was no accident.

Court records show the 20-month-old girl suffered a fractured skull and several bruises on her tiny body.

The 24-year-old mother and former Sailor says she did not kill her boyfriend’s 20-month-old daughter – it was all an accident.

But prosecutors will try to prove otherwise in Emily Defries’ hearing later this morning.

http://wtkr.com/2014/09/24/court-date-for-former-sailor-accused-in-death-of-toddler/

Murder charge advances in Norfolk toddler's death

By Janie Bryant, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 24, 2014

NORFOLK -- Emily Defries told police she had put her fiance's 20-month-old daughter, Anna Bell, down for a nap on May 18 and that she found the child at the bottom of the stairs about 5 p.m., a detective said.

A forensic pediatrician and a medical examiner testified at the same preliminary hearing that the child's injuries were not consistent with a fall down stairs.

Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Lauri D. Hogge decided that there was probable cause to send the second-degree-murder charge against Defries to a grand jury.

During Wednesday's preliminary hearing, a medical examiner said the child died of injuries to her brain and skull, which had two fractures.

Dr. Wendy Gunther also said a neuropathology report indicated that the fatal injuries occurred within five to six hours of the child's death.

Gunther said she believed that the child died of injuries from both shaking and slamming.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/09/murder-charge-advances-norfolk-toddlers-death

Case against Norfolk woman accused of killing baby girl advances to grand jury

POSTED 6:47 PM, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014,
BY GABRIELLA DELUCA

“If you know Emily, you know she is innocent. And if you know me, you know everything I am saying is true.”
This post is referring to Emily Defries, a Norfolk woman accused of killing a 20-month-old girl.

The words are from a gofundme site set up by a man who identifies himself as Defries’ fiance, the same man who is the father of baby Anna Belle.

Defries was in court today, where the doctor who performed the autopsy on the baby told a courtroom, “The child most likely died from being shaken and slammed.”

The doctor went on to say Anna Belle had injuries all over her body, including under her chin, her stomach and back, and behind her ear. The fatal injury was a large fracture to her skull, according to the doctor.

When police first arrested Defries, she told officers she found the little girl at the bottom of her staircase. But today, two doctors said a fall down the stairs didn’t kill the baby, given the extent of her injuries.

Defries’ fiance was also in court, along with another supporter who shook her head when witnesses spoke. She also wrote a note to NewsChannel 3, saying some of the testimony wasn’t true.

Supporters for Defries have already been taking action in her defense, donating on the gofundme page to help with the costs of lawyer fees and bond.

Those costs could rise since the judge decided the case should be heard in front of a grand jury.

http://wtkr.com/2014/09/24/case-against-norfolk-woman-accused-of-killing-baby-girl-advances-to-grand-jury/