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SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/10/27/mom.guilty.ap/index.html
LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- A mother who claimed that her missing 7-year-old
son had run away was found guilty Friday of his murder.
Lisa Holland cried quietly as jurors found her guilty of first-degree felony
murder and child abuse in the death last year of her adopted son Ricky.
Felony murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole. Sentencing
was set for November 28.
Prosecutors said Holland struck the boy in the head and then neglected to
seek help as he slowly died of his injury.
Her lawyer had told jurors that the real killer was her husband, Tim. He
pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, second-degree murder, and testified
against his wife. The jury began deliberations on Wednesday.
When Ricky disappeared in July 2005, the couple said he ran away, sparking
an extensive nine-day search by 1,700 volunteers and hundreds of law
enforcement officers.
Then, in January, Tim Holland led police to Ricky's body in an Ingham County
game area and admitted dumping his son's remains. He told authorities his
wife hit Ricky in the head with a hammer.
The defense said Tim Holland, 37, couldn't be trusted because he lied many
times to police, the public and the media. He faces up to life in prison
with the possibility of parole when sentenced November 15.
During the seven-week trial, witnesses portrayed Lisa Holland, 33, as a
cruel mother who abused Ricky by hitting him with a wooden spoon,
duct-taping him to the refrigerator and making him wear a harness on the
school bus.
Her husband testified that on July 1, 2005, he came home from an errand and
found Ricky dead in bed, with vomit and traces of blood around his mouth,
and his wife screaming she "didn't mean to do it."
He said that a week earlier, he had returned from military training in
Virginia to find the boy with a cut on his head, listless and unable to
walk. He said he didn't take him to a doctor because he didn't want a
confrontation with his wife and thought his son would get better.
"I didn't want her to start pushing me around in front of the kids," Tim
Holland said.
The prosecution said Ricky likely suffered a brain injury a week or more
before he died, and his parents let him die a slow death.
The Hollands became Ricky's foster parents in 2000 and adopted him in 2003,
the year after the parental rights of his biological parents were terminated
because of neglect.
The couple also adopted Ricky's three younger siblings and in addition had a
child of their own.
LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- A mother who claimed that her missing 7-year-old
son had run away was found guilty Friday of his murder.
Lisa Holland cried quietly as jurors found her guilty of first-degree felony
murder and child abuse in the death last year of her adopted son Ricky.
Felony murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole. Sentencing
was set for November 28.
Prosecutors said Holland struck the boy in the head and then neglected to
seek help as he slowly died of his injury.
Her lawyer had told jurors that the real killer was her husband, Tim. He
pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, second-degree murder, and testified
against his wife. The jury began deliberations on Wednesday.
When Ricky disappeared in July 2005, the couple said he ran away, sparking
an extensive nine-day search by 1,700 volunteers and hundreds of law
enforcement officers.
Then, in January, Tim Holland led police to Ricky's body in an Ingham County
game area and admitted dumping his son's remains. He told authorities his
wife hit Ricky in the head with a hammer.
The defense said Tim Holland, 37, couldn't be trusted because he lied many
times to police, the public and the media. He faces up to life in prison
with the possibility of parole when sentenced November 15.
During the seven-week trial, witnesses portrayed Lisa Holland, 33, as a
cruel mother who abused Ricky by hitting him with a wooden spoon,
duct-taping him to the refrigerator and making him wear a harness on the
school bus.
Her husband testified that on July 1, 2005, he came home from an errand and
found Ricky dead in bed, with vomit and traces of blood around his mouth,
and his wife screaming she "didn't mean to do it."
He said that a week earlier, he had returned from military training in
Virginia to find the boy with a cut on his head, listless and unable to
walk. He said he didn't take him to a doctor because he didn't want a
confrontation with his wife and thought his son would get better.
"I didn't want her to start pushing me around in front of the kids," Tim
Holland said.
The prosecution said Ricky likely suffered a brain injury a week or more
before he died, and his parents let him die a slow death.
The Hollands became Ricky's foster parents in 2000 and adopted him in 2003,
the year after the parental rights of his biological parents were terminated
because of neglect.
The couple also adopted Ricky's three younger siblings and in addition had a
child of their own.
