LEONARD "LJ" McINTIRE III - 19 months - (2008) - Indiana County PA

Indiana County District Attorney Tom Bianco told a jury this morning that a
20-year-old Burrell Township man bit, choked and punched a toddler until he was
unconscious, causing the 19-month-old boy to die five days later at Children's
Hospital of Pittsburgh.
In his opening statement, Bianco asked jurors to find Joshua L. Turner guilty
of first-degree murder for the death of Leonard "L.J. " McIntire III of Black Lick.



Bianco is seeking the death penalty against Turner for the death of the
19-month-old boy.
Bianco said Turner confessed to state police following the fatal assault.
Police reports said Turner became angered while babysitting the child, who
bit and hit Turner on Oct. 27, 2008.
Bianco said evidence will show Turner struck the child back.
Turner "wants the baby to know the pain he felt. That's what he told state
police," Bianco told jurors.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Gary Knaresboro countered that
there is no evidence Turner intended to kill the boy.
He said Turner telephoned the child's mother, Kimberly Shirley, twice while
she was shopping to tell her about the baby's injuries.
Shirley and Turner were dating at the time of the assault.

An Indiana County jury Tuesday viewed grisly autopsy photographs and
heard details of the fatal injuries suffered in 2008 by 19-month-old
Leonard "L.J." McIntire during the first-degree murder trial of a
Burrell Township man.

Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams testified at the
trial of Joshua Turner, 22, that the child had numerous bites, bruises
and ligature marks around his neck. Williams said the toddler suffered a
broken left arm.

District Attorney Thomas Bianco said he will seek the death penalty
if Turner is convicted of first-degree murder.

According to testimony Monday, Turner confessed to state police that
he bit, beat and violently shook the toddler while he was babysitting
Oct. 27, 2008, after he says the child bit him. L.J. died five days
later in Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Williams testified that L.J. died of multiple blunt-force injuries of
his head, chest, abdomen and extremities. The jury of six men and six
women and four alternates listened intently and took notes as Williams
described the numerous injuries.

Several photographs of individual injuries that Williams said
contributed to L.J.'s death were projected onto a screen in the
courtroom.

Judge Gregory Olson permitted jurors to view the color photographs
despite several objections by court-appointed defense attorneys Gary
Knaresboro and Michael S. Marshall of Dubois.

Turner's attorneys argued some of the photographs are "inflammatory"
and could prejudice jurors against their client. However, Olson sided
with Bianco's argument that the photographs were necessary, along with
Williams' descriptions, to explain the child's cause of death.

Olson did prohibit some photographs that were taken as L.J. was being
treated at Children's from being shown to jurors. However, jurors may
see those photographs this morning when Dr. Janet Squires, who treated
the boy, testifies.

Bianco questioned Williams extensively about two "red and raw"
ligature marks around L.J.'s neck.

"Would these injuries be consistent with a foreign object that would
be applied around the baby's neck?" Bianco asked Williams.

"Yes. Those injuries would be consistent with that," Williams
replied.

Authorities have not revealed what they believe Turner used to
strangle the child. Williams said bleeding in the boy's head cause his
brain to swell, eventually killing him, but the numerous other injuries
"were also contributing factors."

L.J.'s mother, Kimberly Shirley, 22, of Black Lick, told police she
left her son with Turner while she ran a few errands with her mother,
Katherine Bish. Shirley was dating Turner at the time.

Dr. Luis Tomacruz of Indiana Regional Medical Center's emergency room
testified that L.J. "was pretty much unresponsive" when he arrived
there. Tomacruz said it was immediately apparent the boy needed a higher
level of emergency care, so the baby was readied to be flown to
Children's Hospital.

Tomacruz testified he found bite marks, bruises and contusions all
over the child's body when he examined him.

Bianco is expected to rest his case this morning after jurors hear
from Squires. The defense team did not reveal whether Turner will take
the stand.

An Indiana County jury yesterday found 20-year-old Joshua L. Turner
guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal beating of a 19-month-old boy
in 2008.

District Attorney Thomas Bianco will seek the death penalty against
Turner of Black Lick in the second phase of the trial.

Immediately after the verdict, Judge Gregory Olson, who presided over
the four-day trial, instructed jurors to return to the courthouse
Monday morning to begin the penalty phase to determine whether Turner
will be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.

Jurors deliberated 3 1/2 hours before finding Turner guilty of
first-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with the brutal
assault of the toddler, Leonard "L.J." McIntire.

Turner confessed to state police in Indiana that he bit, beat and
assaulted the child after he became angry when the boy bit him. During
the trial, Dr. Janet Squires of Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh told
jurors L.J. also was strangled with a cord or a rope.

L.J.'s grandmother, Katherine Bish, said she was happy with the
verdict.

"I hope (Turner) gets the death penalty after all he did to the baby.
It just wasn't right," Bish said.

L.J.'s mother, Kimberly Shirley, declined to comment after the
verdict. She had her fingers crossed as she sat with family members,
including her mother, Bish, when jurors returned to the courtroom about
2:45 p.m. yesterday with the verdict.

Turner, who was dating Shirley at the time, was babysitting L.J. in
Shirley's Black Lick apartment Oct. 27, 2008, when the beating occurred.
The child died five days later at Children's Hospital.

In his closing statement, Bianco repeatedly pointed at Turner, urging
jurors to convict him of first-degree murder. Bianco said evidence
showed that Turner never sought medical help for L.J. and waited for
Shirley to come home even though he knew the toddler was severely
injured.

"That baby laid in that apartment helpless. ... (Turner) didn't say a
word. There were times when Joshua Turner could have stopped inflicting
this beating," Bianco said.

Bianco also told jurors that Turner's statements to police proved his
intent to kill L.J.

"Trooper (Timothy) Lipniskis asked (Turner) why he bit L.J. He
replied, 'I wanted him to know what pain felt like,' " Bianco said.

In his closing argument, Turner's court-appointed attorney, Gary
Knaresboro of Dubois, did not deny Turner injured L.J., but said there
was not enough evidence to prove his client was guilty of first-degree
murder. He said there was no proof that Turner intended to kill L.J.

"Look at his statement to Trooper Lipniskis. ... Josh said he tried
to wake him up by shaking him back and forth. The evidence showed Joshua
called Kimberly (Shirley) twice. ... He wanted to get L.J. some help,"
Knaresboro said.

During the penalty phase, Knaresboro and co-counsel Mike Marshall are
expected to argue that Turner is ineligible for the death penalty
because he is mentally retarded. The attorneys are expected to summon a
psychologist who examined Turner to testify his IQ is 71.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said that an intelligence level of about
70 can be considered mentally retarded, rendering an offender ineligible
for the death penalty.

An Indiana County jury today found 20-year-old Joshua L. Turner guilty of
first-degree murder in the fatal beating a 19-month-old boy.
District Attorney Thomas Bianco will seek the death penalty against Turner in
the second phase of the trial.
Jurors deliberated for less than four hours.
Jurors listened intently Wednesday as Dr. Janet Squires of Children's
Hospital in Pittsburgh testified that the toddler, Leonard "L.J." McIntire,
probably was strangled with a cord or a rope during a severe beating on Oct. 27,
2008. Turner was baby-sitting the child while his mother, Kimberly Shirley, was
running errands.
Police allege the toddler was brutally beaten by Turner, who was dating
Shirley. The color photographs depicted more than a dozen bite marks, bruises
and ligature marks covering L.J.'s body.
Squires explained several photographs she took at the hospital as medical
personnel unsuccessfully tried to save L.J.'s life in the intensive care unit.
He died after five days of treatment.
"He was a child on death's door when he arrived. Everything we immediately
did was to try to help relieve pressure on his brain," Squires testified.
Turner did not testify.
Defense attorneys Knaresboro and Mike Marshall, both of Dubois, are expected
to argue during the penalty phase that Turner is mentally retarded, making him
ineligible for the death penalty. Tallichet determined Turner's IQ is 71, court
records show.
The U.S. Supreme Court has said that an intelligence level of about 70 can be
considered mentally retarded, rendering an offender ineligible for the death
penalty.
Judge Gregory Olson has set aside Monday for the penalty phase of the trial.