ARIEYA MICHELLE LINDSEY - 7 Months (2009) - Roanoke VA

A man who said his 7-month-old daughter died after he tossed her into the air and dropped her was arrested Monday after a two-month search.Roanoke police, working with the U.S. Marshals Service, found Christopher Lloyd Saunders, 20, at a residence, police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. A grand jury indicted Saunders in August on charges of murder and neglect in the July 7, 2009, death of his daughter, Arieya Michelle Lindsey, at their home in the 2400 block of Crystal Spring Avenue Southwest. Saunders told investigators he tossed the infant into the air to try to calm her and she slipped through his arms and fell, according to a search warrant filed last year.The baby was breathing, but unresponsive, and the father tried to perform CPR for 10 minutes before calling for help, the search warrant said. Saunders ran out the back door when paramedics arrived at the house, according to the warrant. He showed up later at the hospital.

Slain baby was treated three times for injuries, Roanoke prosecutor says


In her seven-month life, Arieya Michelle Lindsey was in foster care twice and taken to doctors for injuries three times, a Roanoke prosecutor said today in circuit court, where her father faces a murder charge.

Areiya died during the last of her hospitalizations, on July 14, 2009, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Peter Lubeck said.

Her father, Christopher Lloyd Saunders, 20, became a fugitive after his indictment in August, but was tracked down in Roanoke by city police and U.S. marshals. Jailed since his October arrest, Saunders was in court today to ask for bail while he awaits trial on charges of murder and child neglect. Family members testified they would supervise him and make sure he attends court hearings.

Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein denied bond, saying Saunders had not overcome the presumption toward confinement that Virginia law sets for such charges.

More details of Arieya's life emerged at the hearing, as Lubeck outlined what he said would be presented at trial.

Arieya was with foster parents before Saunders gained custody, Lubeck said. In April 2009, she was taken to a doctor because she was holding her arm in a peculiar way. The doctor could find no injury, but an autopsy later showed a broken bone that occurred during this time period, Lubeck said.

In May 2009, emergency workers were summoned to Saunders' residence. He told them Arieya had fallen off a bed while he was showering, and that when he picked her up, she began to faint, Lubeck said. At the hospital, bruises were found across Arieya's abdomen. Some of her ribs were broken. Saunders then said he had attempted CPR, Lubeck said.

Arieya was returned to foster care. Saunders was instructed never to shake a baby, and to take a child first aid class, Lubeck said.

By July 2009, Arieya was back with Saunders. On July 7, medics were again called. Saunders told a rescue worker he found Arieya in bed with him and unresponsive, Lubeck said.

At the hospital, Saunders told a different story, saying Arieya had been fussy and he'd tried to feed her a bottle, Lubeck said. Then, Saunders said, he tried to calm Arieya by tossing her in the air. It was after a couple throws that she slipped through Saunders' arms and fell to the foor, Lubeck said.

Doctors found Arieya had injuries more consistent with shaking, Lubeck said. Confronted with this, Saunders told detectives and social workers he'd shaken the baby twice before tossing and dropping her, then again after she fell, Lubeck said.

Public defender Anna Bagwell, representing Saunders, said the medical evidence was not as clear as Lubeck was describing.

Saunders is scheduled for a three-day trial beginning July 26.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/281828

Thursday, October 13, 2011

No contest plea in baby's death
Christopher Saunders, dad to a 7-month-old girl, struck a deal with Roanoke prosecutors.
By Jorge Valencia
981-3334
Arieya Michelle Lindsey, a 7-month-old baby, was taken to an emergency room twice for head injuries toward the end of her short life.

She arrived by ambulance once in May 2009 and again some six weeks later in July. She died in the hospital July 14.

The cause of her injuries wasn't fully clear during a hearing in Roanoke Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon. What's clear is this:

Her father, Christopher Lloyd Saunders, 21, pleaded no contest to a felony homicide charge in her death. He faces up to 40 years in jail if convicted of the charge at a hearing scheduled for December.

Saunders entered a plea agreement Wednesday in which the commonwealth's attorney's office agreed to not prosecute a charge of felony child abuse that he was also facing.

Saunders met Arieya's mother in 2008 when they were both working at a Kmart. They slept together and eventually stopped speaking, according to an account presented by Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Peter Lubeck.

Saunders learned they'd had a baby after Arieya was born, the mother gave her to foster care, and he got a phone call about giving her up for adoption, according to prosecution and defense accounts. He said he wanted to raise her himself.

An emergency crew was summoned to his home in Roanoke County on May 22, and he told them Arieya had fallen 3 feet off a bed while he was taking a shower, Lubeck said. At the hospital, physicians found the baby had three broken ribs and bruises on her torso. Saunders later said he had tried CPR on the baby.

On July 7, Saunders called 911 from his parents' house in South Roanoke, and an arriving medic found the baby on the floor of a bedroom, not breathing, Lubeck said.

Saunders' statements varied among what he told the medic, a nurse and later a Roanoke police detective, Lubeck said. He eventually told a detective that the baby was fussy, so he gave her a bottle, and he tossed her in the air but she slipped through his hands and fell on the floor. He told the detective that he slightly shook the baby.

A hospital physician found that Arieya suffered extensive bilateral retinal damage that indicated she had been violently shaken, Lubeck said. And a medical examiner's report concluded "this child was subjected to repeated abuse."

But public defender Anna Bagwell gave a different story. She said Saunders' statements to medical staff and police were consistent with the injuries that doctors found.

"Arieya was by all accounts well nourished and cared for," Bagwell said.

At Wednesday's hearing were Saunders' father and mother, who cried before it started, and other friends and relatives. Also attending were the couple who cared for Arieya while she was briefly in foster care.

Judge Charlie Dorsey invited the defense to present additional medical evidence or testimony. Dorsey is expected to make a ruling at a hearing scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Dec. 12.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/299625

Roanoke man sentenced to 20 years in prison for death of toddler

Published: January 25, 2012

A judge handed a Roanoke man a 20 year prison sentence for the murder of an 18-month-old girl.

Christopher Lloyd Saunders will be on probation for ten years after finishing his two decade sentence.

Police say the toddler died on July 7, 2009.

Prosecutors dropped a child abuse charge.

http://www2.wsls.com/news/2012/jan/25/roanoke-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-death-toddle-ar-1640017/

why was this baby returned to the home of the monsters?