LILY GRACE CROWELL - 21 Months (2009) - Mineral Springs (SE of Charlotte) NC

LEXINGTON - A man has been charged with first-degree murder in
connection with the death of his girlfriend's daughter in November,
authorities said yesterday.



Travis Christopher Lemmond, 20, was charged Monday with first-degree
murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in the
death of Lilly Grace Crowell, who was 21 months old, according to the
Davidson County Sheriff's Office and court records.

Lemmond was caring for Lilly when she was injured, the indictment says.

Lilly's birth certificate identifies her mother as Hannah Colby Crowell.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Lemmond in Mineral Springs.

Lilly was taken to Lexington Memorial Hospital on Nov. 20, the
sheriff's office said. Doctors attempted to revive the child, but were
not successful.

Lilly had a blunt-force injury to her head that resulted in severe
bleeding around her brain, the back of her eyes and within an optic
nerve, according to one of the indictments against Lemmond.

Investigators took the case to the district attorney's office after they received the final autopsy report.

Lemmond was being held last night in the Davidson County Jail. with no bond allowed.

A man pleaded guilty in Davidson Superior Court this morning to
second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend's toddler daughter.

Travis Christopher Lemmond of Mineral Springs was initially charged
with first-degree murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious
bodily injury in the death of Lilly Grace Crowell. Lemmond was dating
Lilly's mother, Hannah Colby Crowell.

He was caring for Lilly when she was injured on Nov. 20, 2009.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Brown said an autopsy showed that
the infant had blunt force injury to her head and bleeding around the
brain, the back of her eyes and within an optic nerve. Brown said the
autopsy showed that Lilly's head had been hit repeatedly by a fixed
object. The injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome, when a
baby is violently shaken.

Judge Chris Collier continued the sentencing until the week of Aug.
30, Brown said.

First-degree murder and child abuse charges have been dropped as part of
a plea deal with a Mineral Springs man previously indicted by a
Davidson County grand jury in the death of a 21-month-old girl.

Travis Lemmond pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder in the
death of Lily Grace Crowell, who was taken to the emergency room and
pronounced dead at Lexington Memorial Hospital on Nov. 20.

Deputies said the baby's mother, Hannah Crowell, left her daughter in
Lemmond's care at the Meadow Creek apartments in Lexington. Lemmond told
investigators that a lamp rolled off a toy chest and hit the baby in
the head.

"In no way, shape, or form did he intend for this child to die," said
Lemmond's attorney, Joe Chesire. "He is enormously sad and remorseful
and obviously he has owned up to his responsibilities."

Prosecutors said the infant's injuries did not match Lemmond's story.
According to the district attorney's office, the girl suffered
blunt-force trauma injuries to her head and her death was likely the
result of her head being repeatedly hit against a fixed object.

"I just can't see our court system doing the thing like it shouldn't be
doing," said Don Plemmons, Lily's great great grandfather, one of
several family members who felt betrayed by the court's decision to
accept a plea deal.

"(Lemmond) knew he didn't have a way out, so he had to take the easy way
out," said Donna Prow, Lily's aunt. "We're going to have to suffer as
her family."

According to family, the girl's mother has stuck by Lemmond throughout
the whole ordeal without offering an explanation.

Lemmond is free on $150,000 bond and is scheduled to be sentenced August
30.


A Davidson County grand jury indicted a Mineral Springs man Monday on
one count of first-degree murder and one count of felony child abuse in
the death of a 21-month-old child last November.

Deputies in Union County arrested Travis Christopher Lemmond, 20, in
Mineral Springs and transported him to Davidson County on Monday night.
He was jailed without bond and was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

According to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, the 21-month-old
child was taken to the emergence room and pronounced dead at Lexington
Memorial Hospital on Nov. 20. An autopsy was performed in Chape Hill.

On Monday, a grand jury indicted Lemmond on one count of first-degree
murder and once count of felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily
injury.

According to family, the girl's mother has stuck by Lemmond throughout
the
whole ordeal without offering an explanation.

Poor choices by this mother led to Lily's death. She has not learned anything from this and I am very worried that any other children she has or will have will be subjected to a string of boyfriends again in the future placing them at risk.

A Mineral Springs man was sentenced to 12-to-15 years in prison
Wednesday for the second-degree murder of a 21-month-old baby in
November.Travis Christopher Lemmond, 21, turned and said, “I love
y'all,” to family members as he was led from the Davidson County
courtroom following sentencing.“I love you, baby,” his mother immediately responded.The
sentencing by Superior Court Judge W. David Lee followed almost two
hours of often-emotional testimony. Lemmond had pleaded guilty in July
to the murder of Lily Grace Crowell and returned to court Wednesday to
be sentenced. Lily was pronounced dead at Lexington Memorial Hospital on
the morning of Nov. 20. Testimony indicated the child was badly beaten
prior to her death.Lee admitted the sentence would likely do
little to ease hard feelings shared by people on both sides of the
crowded courtroom. Members of Lemmond's family and church sat on the
left side of the courtroom behind the defendant.On the other side
were individuals who wore buttons bearing pictures of Lily. Two of
those people — both relatives of Lily's — spoke prior to the sentencing,
encouraging Lee to administer a harsh sentence.About 10 Davidson County deputies flanked the courtroom.Lee
said his sentence was “not going to dissolve all the hurt and
disappointment I see in the face of almost everyone in the courtroom
today.”At the beginning of Wednesday's proceedings, Assistant
District Attorney Greg Brown described an autopsy of the child that
indicated the infant died as a result of blunt-force injuries to the
head. He described injuries caused by rapid acceleration and
deceleration, sustained when the child's head “repeatedly impacted a
fixed object.”Brown said a state medical examiner determined the
injuries were “classic for head injuries due to child abuse.” The
blunt-force injury to the head resulted in acute subdural hemorrhage,
acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, multiple retinal hemorrhages and
hemorrhage of the optic nerve.Brown outlined the circumstances
that led to the baby's death. According to Brown, Hannah Colby Crowell,
Lily's 22-year-old mother, asked Lemmond to keep her child the night of
Nov. 19 while she traveled to visit a cousin in Asheville. She left
about 3:45 p.m.Lemmond told officers that sometime during the
afternoon. a hurricane lamp rolled off a toy chest and hit the baby in
the head. Later he took the child to visit her grandparents, then
returned to the apartment he shared with Crowell in Lexington.According
to Brown, shortly after 9 p.m., a neighbor who was a law-enforcement
official heard a baby cry out from the apartment. The cry stopped
quickly.Lemmond told officers he put the baby to bed, then drank
several beers while he watched television. He said that about 4:30 a.m.
Lily awoke and he gave her apple juice before she returned to sleep.
Lemmond said he awakened at 6:15 a.m. to find Lily's lips blue. He said
he called a family member and administered CPR.According to
Brown, the baby was taken to the emergency room of Lexington Memorial
Hospital about 6:55 a.m. She was pronounced dead at 7:15 a.m.Brown
said there were several things about Lemmond's testimony that were
suspect. He said an analysis determined that a lamp striking Lily's head
as Lemmond described couldn't have resulted in injuries that killed the
child. “It appeared very clearly that was not the situation that caused
that child's death,” Brown said.He said that had the child
already suffered such injuries before Lemmond took her to her
grandparents' house, it would have been impossible for Lily to play and
interact as she reportedly did.“To this day, no one but the defendant knows how he caused” the baby's death, Brown said.He
said Lily's mother, who didn't attend Wednesday's court proceedings,
continued to side with Lemmond even after her child's death.“The state had to stand up for the baby,” Brown said.Lemmond's
attorney, Joe Cheshire of Raleigh, thanked Brown on several occasions
for allowing his client to plead guilty to second-degree murder, but he
said the child's death was anything but intentional.“There's no doubt there was no specific intent of Mr. Lemmond to kill Lilly,” Cheshire said.He
had members of Lemmond's family and church stand in the courtroom, and
also had those who'd written letters of support for the defendant stand.
Cheshire even had members of Lemmond's softball team stand.“The truth is, this is a fine, fine young man,” Cheshire said. “We never heard bad things about Travis Lemmond.”But
Michael Crowell, Lily's grandfather, testified that his opinion about
the case changed drastically after he read an autopsy report and viewed
photographs taken during the child's autopsy. Crowell said he was the
one called to the apartment the morning of Lily's death. He said that
while en route, he was told only that the child wasn't breathing.Crowell
said that upon his arrival, it was obvious Lily had been dead for quite
some time. He said the child was cold and her lips blue.“When I arrived, he was holding her, trying to wake her up,” Crowell testified.He said he realized such efforts were for naught.“I knew she was dead,” Crowell said.He said the case has caused a great deal of strife for a number of people.“I
am not in support of Mr. Lemmond,” Crowell said, his voice breaking.
“He's never had the respect to say anything to us. He has yet to
explain. And I don't see remorse from him.”Donna Prow, Lily's
great-aunt, said she'd live forever with guilt that she didn't keep the
baby the night she died. Prow said she was sick that evening. Before she
read a statement to the court, Prow showed the judge an
8-inch-by-10-inch picture of Lily.“I'm sure she's an angel watching over us,” Prow said, wiping away tears.She
called for a harsh sentence for Lemmond, saying, “Not only for murder,
but for the child abuse he inflicted before her death.”Marilyn
Wooten, Lemmond's aunt and a Methodist minister, testified for her
nephew. She said Lemmond played with Lily, read to her and often brought
her to church.“If people have seen no remorse, it was because
they haven't been around him,” Wooten said. “No matter what happens here
today, Travis' heart is forever broken. He loved that child like his
own. I knew he never did anything intentionally to hurt her.”Dr.
Claudia Coleman, a psychologist, testified that Lemmond suffered Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the baby's death. She said he
suffered classic PTSD symptoms — sleep disturbance and flashbacks.“They're
centered around his not being able to wake Lily that morning,” Coleman
said. “It doesn't happen in individuals who don't have remorse for their
actions.”Lemmond's mother, Patty Lemmond, testified that her son
wasn't mature enough to handle all that happened the night the infant
died. She referred to “this tragic event” and said her family loved
Lily.“She had steadfastly become a part of our family,” Patty Lemmond said. “Travis loved Lily like a daughter.”Travis Lemmond also testified. He admitted to making mistakes the night the baby died.“I
made some horrible choices that night and I'm going to live with that
for the rest of my life,” he said. “I'm truly sorry. I loved that baby
like my own.”Cheshire said that while Lily's mother didn't attend Wednesday's sentencing, she continues to support Lemmond.“She knew Travis loved (Lily) and would never have done anything to hurt this young girl,” Cheshire said. The attorney said he believed as much.“This
young man has as much remorse for what he has done as anyone I've
represented in my 37 years of law,” Cheshire said. “This is a young man
who, really, is sorry.”Members of the two groups who were divided
in the courtroom were equally divided as they left the building. Most
of those wearing buttons supporting Lily lingered and talked.Prow,
Lily's great-aunt who spoke during the sentencing, said the reason
Lemmond couldn't sleep at night was because, “He knows what he did.”She said she was happy the case was behind them. “It gives us some sense of closure,” Prow said.A
number of those who sat behind Lemmond boarded a bus from Mineral
Springs United Methodist Church in Monroe and left without speaking.
When a reporter tried to speak to a woman who had testified on Lemmond's
behalf, Lemmond's mother told the woman to keep quiet.A man who
left holding hands with Lemmond's mother nudged the reporter aside and
said, “These people are stupid, anyway,” referring to the reporter.