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It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Frustrated with a naughty child, prosecutors said, she tried to punish him with seasoning mixed in water. Sister Overton grew up in Tuscumbia and lived most of her life in Florence. According to Haller, he told her, Look, shes pregnant and she has all these kids, but it was just too much for her. Andrew accompanied his foster mother to services every Sunday, and with his thatch of blond hair and beaming grin, he was hard to miss. 'We all miss her' - tributes to Peterborough teacher and bowls player I may harbor doubts, but a jury heard this case and made a decision, and everyone has to respect that decision, he told the Express-News. He was a gentle and kind person always willing to help others. People who knew the Overtons were certain that Andrews bewildering death was accidental. Disclaimer: We created this website to give you general information about a variety of criminal offenses and possible defenses that might apply to those charges. I worked with Dabney at Browder Russell just after he graduated from W & L, and saw him often at FBYC. I will miss Dabney greatly, having spent hours drinking coffee & talking with him; a kind, gentle soul who made the world a better place and who always had time for people in his life. When she was fifteen, Hannah returned to Corpus Christi with her family to visit, and Larry, who had not seen her since they were kids, was immediately smitten. I am glad to have had the chance to know him and will pray for your family during this difficult time. The Overtons moved forward with the adoption process, and in the spring of 2006, they received word that Andrew would be coming to live with them for a six-month trial period before the adoption was finalized. To the Overton Family and friends of Dabney: I first met Dabney in the fall of 1972 when he was in fourth grade at Aylett Country Day School. 1 x 120' / Produced for Discovery Networks. The absence of their mother and their late brother was quietly acknowledged. The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. Why Does He Get to Make That Call? He will be remembered fondly. But there were many other things she had missed from behind bars. When Hannah was sent to prison, her daughter, Emma, was still a breast-feeding newborn. Andrew flew into a rage. He is survived by : his children, Valerie Overton Castano (John), Glenn Overton (Donna) and Allen Overton (Amy); his grandchildren, Morgan Castano Petty (Kyle), Jordan Castano, Zack Castano (Andie), Julia Overton Kahsar (Alex), Alyssa Overton McSteen (Dylan) and Drake Overton; his great grandchildren, Overton Petty, Cotten Petty, Davant Petty, Preston McSteen and Layton Kahsar; his brothers-in-law, Bruce Preston Cotten and Grant Cotten; his friends, Jimmy, Sarah Trado, Joyce, Jerry Dellinger, Betty Jo Mullis and Bob Butler; and also, Scott and Tana Lloyd. Funeral arrangement under the care ofHeritage Funeral Home. I kept denying that Hannah could do such a thing, she told me. He delivered sermons to a small but devoted following that met every Sunday, and during services he also played guitar. Until then, she said, Andrew was doing nothing that my other kids hadnt done with the flu. Andrews adoption hadnt been finalized, Haller said. A funeral for Andrew followed at Seaside Memorial Park, alongside Corpus Christi Bay, at which Pastor Rod Carver officiated. Kids loved her. Perplexed, Larry installed a baby monitor equipped with a video camera in the boys room so that he and Hannah could observe if Andrew was wandering into the kitchen at night. In the eyes of law enforcement, Hannah and Larry were not grieving parents but perpetrators of an appalling crime. Pleading out to that was much better than having my children grow up without a mother or a father. In exchange for his plea, Larry was given five years probation and a $5,000 fine. Gilmore urged Hannah more than once to agree to have the jury consider a lesser charge, but she was uneasy with what she perceived as an underlying suggestion of wrongdoing. -- Sarah Albiston, I enjoyed working with Dabney from time to time. Andrews foster mother, who had provided refuge to roughly three hundred children over three decades, was also supportive. Dabney and I had spirited conversations about baseball. With her first husband, whose name was Stephens, she lived in Iowa, and had one daughter. Bowls England - OBITUARY - HANNAH OVERTON | Facebook Or had the tragedy claimed its second victim? There were so many bruises and scratches that it would be difficult to describe them all. Rotta allowed that the appearance of Andrews body may have been due in part to the fact that he was coagulopathic, or not able to clot blood properly, a condition that occurs after a person has gone into cardiac arrest and can cause excessive bleeding and bruising. To never have been producedit was very strange.. The original prosecutor in the Overton case, Sandra Eastwood, was terminated for reasons unrelated to this case years after the trial concluded. The world was a better place because of him. I am so sorry to hear the news. My two boys will remember him always as "that tall man with the super cool motorcycle". There's also Syndeo Ranch, a faith-based home to help women transitioning out of prison in Palestine. (During the third week of the trial, moments before the case was sent to the jury, Eastwood had asked Judge Longoria if she could call Cortes as a rebuttal witness, but the judge, who had grown impatient with the length of the trial, denied her request.) The key issues in this case were knowledge and intent, and his opinion went directly to those issues. Hannahs attorneys would later argue on appeal that the doctors opinionthat Hannah had never intended for the boy to dieamounted to exculpatory evidence that the state had withheld from the defense. During a wide-ranging interview with a social worker to determine if he had ever been abused, Isaac mentioned that he and his siblings had been given pepper, which he described as spicy stuff, as a punishment for lying. But as the afternoon wore on, his symptoms grew troubling; his breathing became congested, and he became less and less responsive. Overton spent seven years in prison for the murder of a young foster child that she says she didn't commit. The information on this website does NOT constitute legal advice and you may not rely on it as such. He died at 9:30 p.m. Or had the tragedy claimed its second victim? It seemed to me, based upon the wording of the charge, that we had no choice but to find her guilty of capital murder. But, Warfield added, I do not believe that Mrs. Overton knew that her actions (or lack thereof) would kill Andrew Byrd [sic]. Melinek, the defenses expert witness, testified about pica and an array of factors that could have contributed to Andrews death, including undiagnosed diabetes. Always with a Northern Neck Gingerale for me--I still can't buy a 12 pack without thinking of him. They speculated Andrew might have had pica, an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive appetite and that Andrew accidentally poisoned himself by consuming a fatal amount of sodium. It is unclear, read the courts ruling, whether the state actually knew of Dr. Cortess opinion. The court also ruled that the wording of the jury charge was free from error. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined the opportunity to reconsider the decision. January 21, 2023 If not for a Corpus Christi couple named Larry and Hannah Overton, Andrew might have lingered in state custody, shuffled from one foster home to another. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. All rights reserved. The Overtons daughters, four-year-old Isabel and three-year-old Ally, reported back to their parents that the new boy in their class needed a family. Larry and Hannah knew that Andrew loved Spider-Man, so they made sure to have all manner of Spider-Man-themed necessities for him: sheets, pajamas, a toothbrush, a towel, a swimsuit, and even a plate embossed with the superheros image. Because the court has not been inclined to intercede so far, members of Calvary Chapel have begun a letter-writing campaign to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in hopes of securing a pardon or a commutation. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. Find Hannah Overton obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com I feel so fortunate to have spent time with him. In the midst of the chaos that followed, no one recognized how distressed Andrew was by the sight of Hannahs bloodied face. Created by: Red; Added: 9 Apr 2016 . Only Hannah had been able to break through. A church member who homeschools her daughters educates the Overton children, using lesson plans Hannah sends her. Murder Charges Dropped Against Hannah Overton, Texas Mom - ABC News Or had the tragedy claimed its second victim? Hannah, my sister, Carolyn, and John and I are very sadden to learn about Dabney's passing. He was preceded in death by his mother, Hannah Spencer Haile Overton and infant brother, Charles. Exhausted from the previous night, she briefly dozed off, then awoke to discover that Andrew had slipped out of the room. During closing arguments, Gilmore emphasized that Hannah had no motive to kill Andrew and that the state had failed to prove that she had intentionally caused the boys death. Witnesses outside the home said they had seen Andrew's bizarre habits, too. Michael, who had been born prematurely, was severely impaired; he had cerebral palsy, was blind, and could not walk or talk. My sons in high school now. Although the adoption agency that had worked with CPS to find Andrew a home had described him as developmentally on target except for his speech delay, Larry and Hannah observed otherwise. She is amazing!". I was assured that they would be seeking lesser charges. During the trial, he said, I sat at the courthouse for five days, waiting to testify. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Miller's Tavern, Va. on Sunday, November 22nd at 2 p.m. "Wow, we don't even know where to begin," Hannah Overton told ABC News exclusively after she heard that her case had been dismissed and she would not have to endure another trial. Every Saturday for the past several years, Larry has ridden his motorcycle from Corpus Christi to the Murray Unit, the maximum-security womens prison west of Waco where Hannah is incarcerated: a squat, concrete building walled off from the world with cyclone fencing and coils of razor wire. A more thorough investigation would have uncovered ample evidence to suggest that Andrew had an undiagnosed eating disorder, raising the possibility that he had unintentionally consumed too much salt on his own. He and the kids return home the same day so that he can teach Sunday school the next morning. The families shared an unofficial open-door policy, and when Andrew had begun acting up the previous afternoon, Hannah had called Haller for help, asking if she could look after Sebastian for a little while. We thought that he would stop turning to food for comfort when he learned that he could trust us.. She is awakened every morning at 2:45 a.m., rarely sleeping well; the overhead light above her bed never shuts off, and announcements blare throughout the night over the loudspeaker. Until we specifically agree to act for you on a matter, you should not provide us with any confidential information or material. Although he hung back when his siblings embraced their parents in group hugs, Larry and Hannah learned that if they asked Andrew to join in, he would do so enthusiastically, throwing his arms around them. As a frequent witness for the state in child abuse cases, Cortes was not in the habit of reaching out to defense attorneys, but he was so angered by the verdict that he picked up the phone. DABNEY OVERTON OBITUARY OVERTON, Dabney III, died peacefully on Monday, November 9, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. Reaching for his shoes, he announced, I can do all things. Larry remembered, We felt like we were really making headway with him.. Hannah Overton and her husband hold up one of their Christmas presents. When Andrew started breathing funny, she told Hess, she had administered asthma medication with a nebulizer, hoping to open up his airways. Mom convicted in salt poisoning death to get nearly $600K for wrongful My Mother and Father will miss his visits to the house and his heartfelt caring and concerns for all of us. But both mother and daughter are doing fine. He has carried us through.". Dabney and I were great friends while I lived in Richmond back in the late 80s - Browder,Russell days. Can Andrew be our brother? the girls pleaded. After your child dies to be told that somebody think its your fault. She was born April 24, 1945 to Dabney Overton Sr. and Henrietta Mallory Overton and grew up in Warsaw, VA. She was graduated from St. Margaret's School in 1963 where she was awarded the Bishop's Prize all four years. The supervisor suggested that Andrew might have an eating disorder called pica, which is characterized by a desire to consume things that have no nutritional value, and she recommended that he be evaluated by a specialist if his behavior continued. We were in awe.. Theres An App for That. Lane earned her college degree and became an elementary school teacher, while Hannah played with, and later babysat, the children of missionaries who used the campus as a home base between trips abroad. At the time, Overton had four children and was pregnant with a fifth, and had no prior trouble with the law. As you know, Dabney and I had a lot of good times and he was a dear friend and fraternity brother. His mother was just sixteen, the file shows, when she gave birth to him in Corpus Christi on July 28, 2002. And its full of great reads, yall. God bless you Dabney, we'll miss you. I am sorry to hear of Dabney's passing. Knew him well growing up. Being in the Overtons home had afforded Werkhoven an intimate view of the family. Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. They get to see her for two hours, once a monthtwenty-four hours in a year, Larry said. The boys symptoms that afternoonvomiting, chills, and lethargyinitially suggested to the Overtons that he had a routine ailment, like a stomach bug. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. He reached Doug Norman, who was part of the prosecution team at Hannahs trial and who is now responsible for fighting her appeal. If I failed in my duties of disclosure before the Hannah Overton trial (which the record corroborates I did not), then so did Ms. Jimenez., Orr filed the writ in April 2011, and soon afterward San Antonio Express-News reporter John MacCormackwhose reporting has raised questions about the fairness of Hannahs convictionmade a routine call to the office to gauge the reaction to the recent developments in the case. Overton spent seven years in prison before the Texas Court of Appeals overturned her capital murder charges on September 17, 2014. Despite all the pain, she told me that if she could do it over again, she would not change their decision to bring Andrew into their home. (He was subsequently fired by CPS after having three car accidents on the job in less than six months.) There was no evidence of external bleeding or injuries to Andrews head, however, and at a pre-trial hearing, Fernandez conceded that the hemorrhaging could have been related to elevated sodium in the blood. But at a hearing on the defenses motion for a new trial, Eastwood stated under oath that Cortes had always been a passionate advocate for the prosecution; he had even remarked to her that he thought Hannah should fry. Cortes does not dispute that story. probably to punish his behavior, that then goes into cardiorespiratory arrest.. We truly thought his obsession with food was a behavioral issue, not a medical one, Larry said. But others at Calvary Chapel expressed their concern. The nondenominational church, on the south side of Corpus Christi, drew many young evangelicals with its emphasis on a verse-by-verse understanding of the Bible, and Larry and Hannah were well-regarded members. If anything had been wrong, I would have known it, she insisted. movie nights, waking up to their beautiful faces. The Court of Criminal Appeals is currently reviewing her writ, which contends that the information about Andrews gastric contents are grounds for a new trial. A Texas mother who spent years in prison before she was exonerated for capital murder has welcomed a new child. "After further review of all the evidence and meeting with her defense attorneys and everyone involved, my office decided that we're going to dismiss the case and include language in there that would actually indicate that she's not guilty of the charge that we charged her with, or the previous administration," Gonzalez said at the time. OVERTON, Dabney III, died peacefully on Monday, November 9, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. Larry attempted to restore order upon his return, putting Andrews soiled sheets in the garbage and hosing off the boy and his foam mattress in the backyard. Most striking to the Overtons, and to their neighbors and friends, was his preoccupation with eating. We had known each other for ten years, and I dont think Id ever seen her mad, Haller told me. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. Finally he agreed to plead no contest to criminally negligent homicide. There's also a pen pal program and Overton is often featured inFacebook videos in which she talks about ways to help women in prison.

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