CHLOE SENSEMAN -2 months (2009) - Florence KY

A Hebron man was charged Monday with
murder in connection with the death of his infant daughter, but
neighbors said they can't believe he would have done it.Emergency
personnel were called Sunday just before 4 p.m. to a home in the 1800
block of Princess Court, where a 2-month-old girl had reportedly
stopped breathing.

Benjamin Senseman

Her father, 30-year-old Benjamin Senseman, was later arrested and charged in her death.Senseman pleaded not guilty Tuesday during his arraignment, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 20.Crews
performed emergency procedures and transported the girl to Saint
Elizabeth Hospital in Florence, where she was pronounced dead.An autopsy showed the girl had died from a head trauma.The girl's mother, Laura Senseman, was working when the child was injured.But the family's neighbors said they could not believe that Senseman would have hurt his youngest child."He’s
just been a loving father, loving husband, a great family person," said
Diana Torres. "He loved his family, he just loved life, he adored his
children. He was out here with his (3-year-old) boy all the time and I
don’t see him capable, I can’t even see him doing something like this.""No
doubt in my mind that I can stand here and say he did not do this,"
Tanya Moore said. "He loves his family too much. He was so happy when
that little girl was born."Senseman is being held without bond, which could be set during his preliminary hearing.

* * * *

In Boone County, Benjamin Senseman, 30, is waiting
trial on a murder charge in the death of his 2-month-old daughter,
Chloe. Sheriff's deputies said Senseman was alone with the infant July
12 when he called 911 to say she was not breathing. The baby later died
at a hospital and an autopsy showed she had a fatal head injury,
deputies said

A Northern Kentucky couple headed to
court Wednesday on charges they murdered their child.Laura
Senseman will be arraigned in Boone County court at 9 a.m. She was
indicted earlier in May on murder charges stemming from the death of her
daughter 10 months earlier.The special prosecutor on the case
said Laura was indicted so many months later because autopsy results
revealed the child had injuries up to two weeks prior to her death.
Laura was not at the home when the fatal injuries happened.Laura's
husband Benjamin Senseman, will also be in court for a pre-trial
hearing. Benjamin was charged in July of 2009 after a medical examiner
determined the 2-month-old died from head trauma.

Jury convicts dad in baby-death case


BURLINGTON – A Boone County jury convicted Benjamin Senseman of second-degree manslaughter Friday in the death of his 2-month-old daughter, but acquitted the infant’s mother, who was also charged in her death.
The jury of five women and seven men then sentenced Senseman to 15 years in prison, the maximum penalty under the law.

Senseman, 32, was also found guilty of second-degree criminal abuse. He will be eligible for parole in about three years.

The guilty verdict and acquittal were returned after nearly 4½ hours of deliberations in Boone Circuit Court.
As the sentencing phase of the trial began, Laura Senseman kissed her husband as she left the defense table to join her family sitting in the gallery.

“It’s bittersweet,” said her attorney, Tasha Scott. “She’s lost her child and now she’s losing her husband. It’s very sad.”

Prosecutors had asked the jury to find both of Chloe Senseman’s parents guilty of murder and criminal abuse.
Though Laura Senseman was at work when the baby died July 12, 2009, prosecutors said she should have known that her husband was abusing the infant.

The couple’s family members sobbed as the verdict was read, though they showed little emotion.

During the five-day trial, several doctors testified that Chloe suffered injuries at least three times during the 62 days she was alive.
The final injury was a severe blow to the head.

“Sometimes people make mistakes, and I believe that people deserve a second chance,” Benjamin Senseman’s attorney said while asking the jury to give his client the shortest sentence allowed.

But Prosecutor Casey Burns asked the jury to give Benjamin Senseman the maximum sentence of 10 years on the manslaughter charge and five on the abuse charge, to run consecutively.
“I want you to think about what Chloe’s life was worth,” Burns said. “This is about a 62-day-old infant that was killed by her own father.”

Attorneys for the Hebron couple had argued that the couple's 2-year-old son injured the baby and that if Benjamin Senseman killed the baby, it was an accident.

read more

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101210/NEWS010703/312100082/1164/NEWS0107/Jury-convicts-dad-in-baby-s-death