Babysitter guilty of manslaughter 40 years after hitting baby boy – who grew up with severe disabilities
A former babysitter has pleaded guilty to manslaughter 40 years after hitting a five-month-old baby numerous times in her care.
Benjamin Dowling died aged 35 in 2019, after a lifetime of severe disabilities caused by a brain haemorrhage he suffered in 1984 at Terry McKirchy’s home in Florida.
Investigators long believed she caused the injury by shaking him, but McKirchy, 62, denied hurting him – until a 2021 autopsy concluded he died from decades-old injuries.
She was accused of first-degree murder that same year, pleading guilty on Wednesday to the lesser charge of manslaughter in a deal struck with prosecutors.
“Benjamin’s presence was a constant source of inspiration,” his younger sister Melissa said.
“He never walked or talked or got the chance to say, ‘I love you’.”
Benjamin Dowling was never able to walk, talk or feed himself after the assault Pic: Broward State Attorney’s Office
Parents Rae and Joe Dowling had been married for four years when Benjamin was born on 13 January 1984 and hired McKirchy, then 22, to babysit from her Fort Lauderdale home.
Mrs Dowling told investigators when she picked up Benjamin from McKirchy on 3 July his body was limp and his fists were clenched.
She rushed him to hospital, where doctors concluded he had suffered a brain haemorrhage from severe shaking.
Benjamin Dowling died 35 years after he was injured Pic: Dowling family
McKirchy was arrested within days and pleaded no contest to attempted murder in 1985 – which means she refused to admit guilt but accepted punishment.
That punishment stunned Benjamin’s parents, as McKirchy – who was six months’ pregnant and faced up to 17 years in prison – was sentenced to weekends in jail until giving birth.
She insisted she was innocent, telling reporters at the time her “conscience is clear” and she took the deal to put the case behind her and be with her two other children.
Read more:
Hunter mauled by bear before being shot
Why bleeding man ‘refused to leave plane’
But a grand jury indicted McKirchy in 2021 and in a letter of apology she admitted she struck baby Benjamin after feeling overwhelmed by taking care of numerous children.
“It was in a state of impulse and anger that I struck Benjamin while he and other children were crying,” she wrote.
“Your life and Benjamin’s life were truly harmed by me and I am truly sorry.”
The New York Times reports she was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday, when Benjamin’s parents got to talk about his life in court with her present.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“Benjamin taught us all many valuable lessons, and everyone who knew Benjamin was better because they did know him,” Mrs Dowling told Circuit Judge George Odom Jr.
A photo montage was also shown of Benjamin, who spent his life in a wheelchair, through the years with his family.
McKirchy, who now lives in Sugar Land, Texas, showed no emotion in court as the pictures showed how Benjamin’s parents and two siblings worked to include him.
“He was so strong,” his mother said. “We thought he would live forever.”
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike