KAYLEIGH BRIANNA BIGGERSTAFF - 4 yo (2009) - Gatlinburg TN

A mother charged with first degree murder in the
death of her 4 year old daughter in May 2009, has pleaded guilty to
lesser charges.


According to the Sevier County Criminal Court Clerk's office,
Kimberly Biggerstaff entered a guilty plea on Tuesday, to Facilitation
of Child Neglect or Abuse. The District Attorney General's office says
she was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.


Rico Benitez, who was Biggerstaff's boyfriend when the little girl
was killed, is scheduled for trial in November. As part of her plea
agreement, she is required to testify against him, if she's called to the stand.


Original report:
A Gatlinburg couple has been indicted for first degree murder and
aggravated child abuse and neglect in the death of a 4-year-old girl.
Kayleigh Brianna Biggerstaff died in February. Gatlinburg Police have
been investigating Kayleigh Biggerstaff's death since then.
Her mother, Kimberly Lynch Biggerstaff, and her boyfriend Rico Manuel
Benitez, were indicted by a grand jury. They were arrested Wednesday.
Biggerstaff and Benitez are held on a $1 million bond.

Report: Blow to abdomen killed Gatlinburg girl


Force of hit ruptured colon, autopsy finds

• Posted August 28, 2009 at midnight
  

SEVIERVILLE - An autopsy on Kayleigh Brianna Biggerstaff reveals that the 4-year-old died of widespread inflammation in her small body brought on by a blow to her abdomen so hard it ruptured her colon.
She was also "dehydrated and slightly undernourished," according to the report.
Kayleigh's mother, Kimberly Biggerstaff, and her live-in boyfriend, Rico Benitez, are in the Sevier County Jail, charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the child's Feb. 16 death. They are being held on $1 million bond each.
At a bond-reduction hearing earlier this month, Emily Abbott, assistant district attorney general in Sevier County, said her office had not determined whether to seek the death penalty against Benitez and the girl's mother.
Kayleigh was a blue-eyed blonde, weighing 31 1/2 pounds and not quite 3 1/2 feet tall. At the time of her death, she had significant bruises on her right arm and bloody fluid in her lungs.
The autopsy report does not indicate how the abdominal injury was delivered or what instrument may have caused it. But it does state that Kayleigh's colon was almost completely transected near the liver.
The area around the rupture indicates "crushing tissue injury," according to the report, which is based on an autopsy by medical examiner Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan the morning after the child was found dead at her Gatlinburg home.
Courtroom statements during the bond hearing indicate that Benitez called Kimberly Biggerstaff while she was on her way to work at a restaurant to say that he thought Kayleigh was dead.
According to Ed Miller, the public defender representing Biggerstaff, Benitez "did not call 911 or anybody" but the girl's mother.
Biggerstaff called emergency personnel after she arrived back at the residence they shared, he said.
Miller said the fatal injury was so powerful "it could only be inflicted by a male," implying Benitez.
Miller said Benitez had a history of abusing a child of his own in South Carolina and was under a court order to stay away from Kayleigh. Kimberly Biggerstaff allowed him to stay at her home because she was under almost complete domination by the man, Miller said.
Jason Randolph, attorney for Benitez, said there is no direct proof that his client inflicted the fatal injuries or that the child was abused.
Biggerstaff and Benitez are set for trial Nov. 17 in Sevier County Criminal Court.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/28/report-blow-to-abdomen-killed-gatlinburg-girl/

A Gatlinburg man accused of killing his live-in girlfriend's
4-year-old daughter is slated to stand trial this week on first-degree
murder and aggravated child abuse charges.


Rico Manuel Benitez, 30, will go on trial in Sevier County Circuit
Court in connection with the Feb. 16, 2009, death of Kayleigh Brianna
Biggerstaff. He has been held on $1 million in the Sevier County Jail
since his May 2009 arrest and faces a potential life prison sentence if
convicted of both charges, prosecutors say.


An autopsy on Kayleigh reveals she died of widespread inflammation in
her body brought on by a blow to her abdomen so hard it ruptured her
colon. She also was "dehydrated and slightly undernourished," according
to an autopsy report.


Benitez and Kayleigh's mother, Kimberly Biggerstaff, were indicted in
May 2009. Both were charged with first-degree murder and aggravated
child abuse in connection to Kayleigh's death at the couple's Gatlinburg
home.


Court records show Biggerstaff pleaded guilty July 6, 2010, to one count of facilitation of aggravated child abuse.


She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.


The case, which prosecutors say is set to start Tuesday, is being
handled by assistant district attorney generals Barry Williams and Tim
Norris.


Jason Randolph, Benitez's defense attorney, could not be reached for
comment, but during previous court hearings has said there is no direct
proof that his client inflicted the fatal injuries or that the child was
abused.


Kayleigh was a blue-eyed blonde, weighing 31 pounds and not quite 3
feet tall. At the time of her death, she had significant bruises on
her right arm and bloody fluid in her lungs. The autopsy report does not
indicate how the abdominal injury was delivered or what instrument may
have caused it. It does state that Kayleigh's colon was almost
completely transected near the liver.


Courtroom statements during a 2009 bond hearing indicated Benitez
called Kimberly Biggerstaff while she was on her way to work at a
restaurant to say that he thought Kayleigh was dead.


According to Ed Miller, the public defender who represented
Biggerstaff, Benitez "did not call 911 or anybody" but the girl's
mother.


Biggerstaff called emergency personnel after she arrived back at the residence they shared, Miller previously said.


Benitez had a history of abusing a child of his own in South Carolina
and was under a court order to stay away from Kayleigh, Miller said.
Kimberly Biggerstaff allowed him to stay at her home because she was
under his almost complete domination, Miller has said.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/oct/03/sevier-man-set-for-trial-this-week-in-connection/

Sevier jury pool evaporates, delaying child murder trial
By Natalie Neysa Alund
Posted October 4, 2011 at 3:14 p.m.

SEVIERVILLE — During jury selection today a judge postponed the first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse trial of a Gatlinburg man accused of killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter.

Sevier County Circuit Court Judge Rex Henry Ogle announced that not enough potential jurors showed up for the trial of defendant Rico Manual Benitez, which had been set to start after jury selection.

Circuit Court Clerk Rita Ellison said that 250 potential jurors had been summoned to court to serve during this session of jury duty and only 40 showed up.

Lawyers in the case questioned those 40 potential jurors throughout the morning, but Assistant District Attorney General Barry Williams, who is prosecuting the case against Benitez, said the judge had to release too many of them for reasons including medical issues or because they had prior knowledge about the case.

Williams said lawyers have 30 days to reschedule the trial date.

"I'm ashamed," Ogle said after he released the jurors. "There's a lot of people who can't serve due to illness and that's completely understandable, but there's a group of people who all they want to talk about is their constitutional right and not their obligation as citizens. "And when we have American soldiers fighting and dying everyday in a far away land where they don't want to be for very little pay, the rest of us should be willing and able to show our appreciation for what they are doing."

Ogle said he planned to issue contempt of court citations to those residents who failed to appear in court.

If found guilty they face up to 10 days in jail and a $50 fine, he said.

Benitez, 30, had been set to go on trial in Sevier County Circuit Court in connection with the Feb. 16, 2009, death of Kayleigh Brianna Biggerstaff.

He has been held on $1 million bond in the Sevier County Jail since his May 2009 arrest and faces a potential life prison sentence if convicted of both charges, prosecutors say.

An autopsy on Kayleigh Biggerstaff revealed she died of widespread inflammation in her body brought on by a blow to her abdomen so hard it ruptured her colon. She also was "dehydrated and slightly undernourished," according to an autopsy report.

Benitez and the girl's mother, Kimberly Biggerstaff, were indicted in May 2009. Both were charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the child's death at the couple's Gatlinburg home.

Court records show Kimberly Biggerstaff pleaded guilty July 6, 2010, to one count of facilitation of aggravated child abuse.

She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Jason Randolph, Benitez's defense attorney, has said there is no direct proof that his client inflicted the fatal injuries or that the child was abused.

More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/oct/04/sevier-jury-pool-evaporates-delaying-sevier/

Murder trial delayed: Judge calls halt to trial due to lack of jurors
by JEFF FARRELL
1 day 10 hrs ago
SEVIERVILLE — Jurors who failed to show up Tuesday for a first-degree murder trial involving the slaying of a 4-year-old child can expect to get a citation for contempt of court after forcing Judge Rex Henry Ogle to reschedule the trial when he determined he wouldn’t be able to seat a jury.

The jury was summoned to hear the case against Rico Benitez, who has been in the Sevier County Jail on a $1 million bond since 2009. Benitez is accused of killing Kayleigh Biggerstaff, the 4-year-old daughter of his live-in girlfriend, Kimberly Biggerstaff, by striking the child in the abdomen so severely that it ruptured her colon, causing a fatal infection because it was untreated.

Ogle spent the morning questioning the jurors who were present on issues including exposure to media coverage of the case and whether they would have problems serving on a sequestered jury; about 10 had been eliminated for various reasons. But after a lunch break, Ogle met with attorneys for both sides in his chambers and decided they didn’t have enough jurors to move forward. There were about 30 prospective jurors remaining at that point, and Ogle noted they needed a jury panel of at least 16 — 12 jurors and four alternates — and the attorneys hadn’t used any of their 16 possible challenges.

He said he couldn’t recall another time in his 21-year career that he had to reschedule a criminal trial because he couldn’t seat a jury, and he said he would cite any of the absent jurors who didn’t have a legitimate excuse for failing to show up.

“It’s an embarrassment; I’m ashamed and it’s a disgrace,” Ogle said. “It makes me very angry.”

It was a disappointment for the family of Kayleigh Biggerstaff, including the family of her mother, Kimberly Biggerstaff, who already pleaded guilty to facilitation of child abuse and neglect and is expected to testify against Benitez. Some of them traveled to Sevierville from other states and expected to be here at least through the week for the trial. And it was a frustration for attorneys and investigators who had been preparing for the case, as well as witnesses subpoenaed for the trial who were in court Tuesday.

The county summons a new jury pool every two months, and Circuit Court Clerk Rita Ellison said they send 250 summons each time. But people can be excused if they show an undue physical or medical hardship, and many letters are returned by the postal service because the addressees have moved.

Typically, they have 60 to 70 jurors who make it to orientation, and are expected to call in for the next two months to see if they’re expected to come to court.

Ellison said it wasn’t clear Tuesday exactly how many remained and hadn’t been excused; the pool is nearing the end of its term. But the members of the pool who hadn’t been excused as of Tuesday and failed to show up can expect a citation for contempt of court, meaning they could face a fine and up to 10 days in jail.

Ogle said the missing jurors should remember that it could one day be their rights that depend on the willingness of a randomly selected group of citizens to do the same job. “They talk about their rights, but not their responsibilities,” he said. “This is a disgrace.”

Ogle didn’t set a new date for Benitez’s trial Tuesday. Attorneys for both sides said they needed to see when their expert witnesses would be available. The most likely date appeared to be sometime in February.

http://themountainpress.com/view/full_story/15893256/article--Murder-trial-delayed--Judge-calls-halt-to-trial-due-to-lack-of-jurors-?