(More shocking details on abuse suffered by four-year-old before death, began one breathless report.) I made sure that he saw that we had an identical set of Spider-Man sheets so he would calm down., That evening Larry laid a sleeping bag on top of Andrews plywood bed frame, where, he told the boy, he would have to spend the night while his mattress finished drying. Four subsequent investigations were triggered by reports of abuse or neglect, including one allegation that both his mother and maternal grandmother were incapable of properly caring for him because they used methamphetamines. Andrews adoption hadnt been finalized, Haller said. I wouldnt give up that time we had with him and that he had with us., As we sat across from each other in the dayroom, Hannah and I discussed her case and the anguish that had consumed her following Andrews death. I wasnt thinking, obviously, or I would have just taken him to the hospital, Hannah told the detective. (You can just tell by looking at her how evil she is, one wrote.) My only hope is that I will see him again. Overton spent seven years in prison before the Texas Court of Appeals overturned her capital murder charges on September 17, 2014. They convicted her based on the latter argument, that she did not seek help quickly enough. Overtons current defense attorney, Cynthia Orr, told ABC News she was thrilled to get the call from Skurka announcing his motion to dismiss had been granted by the judge. I know he will be missed by all his family and friends. Hoping to show him that his behavior was self-destructive, Larry told Andrew one morning that he could have as much as he wanted for breakfast. We shared wonderful times together as we mused over Rumi and different flavor ice creams. Yet the jury had never heard from him. In anticipation of his arrival, Larry built a three-tiered bunk bed for Andrew and the two Overton boys: Isaac, who was seven years old, and Sebastian, who was two. On October 3, while Andrew was still hospitalized, the agency removed Isaac, Isabel, Ally, and Sebastian from their parents custody, placing them in two separate foster homes in Beeville, sixty miles away. (In his 32 years of practicing law, Gilmore told me, he has never run across the charge of capital murder by omission before or since.) He was good to everyone he met. Dabney will be missed by a wide range of supportive friends and family. I worked with him at Branch Cabell years ago and also lived down the street from him for a while. But after Hannahs conviction, the DAs office offered him several plea deals, each of which required him to acknowledge that he had intentionally caused Andrews death. The case boils down to a woman who basically tortured a child, Eastwood continued. Corpus Christis introduction to Hannah came the following week, when she and Larry were arrested and led past a bank of TV cameras outside the Nueces County jail. He will be dearly missed. More:Hannah Overton, family celebrate her pregnancy months after she's declared innocent in boy's death. He was a great classmate and teamate at St Christopher's. Updated: June 20, 2015 . I feel so fortunate to have spent time with him. By the time Hannah took the stand, jurors appeared to have made up their minds. In May 2017, Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez officially declared Overton innocent in the death of 4-year-old Andrew Burd, the child Overton and her husband, Larry Overton, were in the process of adopting before he died more than 10 years ago. Those were great times. Witnesses outside the home said they had seen Andrew's bizarre habits, too. "We are over the top in love with our new blessing! When Michael put his fingers in his mouth, she would call his name softlythere was no anger in her voiceand he would smile and slowly slide his fingers out, Richard said. A church elder, who was himself an adoptive parent, invited the Overtons to dinner one night and encouraged them to consider bringing Andrew into their home. She is amazing!". Sending a prayer to all his family & friends. The daughter of a pastor and a homemaker, she had grown up longing for the companionship and boisterous energy of the big, churchgoing families she saw around her. After years of appeals and hearings the state'shighest criminal court overturned her conviction in 2014. And we do have some evidence of bruising to his nose [which could indicate] his nostrils were squeezed and he was made to drink it.. Then he asked for more. The Huntsville Times Homepage. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. It was, Hannah and Larry would later remember, one of the happiest times in their lives. Dabney always took time to talk to people and was a friend to many. The appellate court did not rule specifically on Overton's claims of prosecutorial misconduct, saying she deserved a new trial on claims of ineffective counsel. His mother was just sixteen, the file shows, when she gave birth to him in Corpus Christi on July 28, 2002. On October 2, 2006, 29-year-old Hannah Overton and her husband, Larry brought Andrew Burd, their four-year-old foster son whom they were in the process of adopting, to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas after the boy stopped breathing. Dabney Overton III Birth 30 Jul 1963 Death 9 Nov 2009 (aged 46) That Sunday, October 1, Larry took the other kids to church while Hannah devoted some extra attention to Andrew. He left me with that gift. I also could never begin to thank those who supported us, prayed and prayed for us, and walked with us along the entire way, Overton said. The three oldest Overton children had gone to their aunts house to see their cousins, who were visiting from out of town, and Andrew grew increasingly agitated and restless, throwing a tantrum at three oclock in the morning. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. I have mitigating testimony that I think would have been very useful to your client, he said in a voice mail he left for Gilmore. City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. EMTs and hospital staff had vigorously poked and prodded the boy as they attempted to revive him, first at the clinic, then in an ambulance, then at Christus Spohn Hospital, where he was initially taken, and finally at Driscoll, where he was transferred to the intensive care unit. The newly discovered documents, Moritz later told me, were a monumentally important piece of evidence., The discovery soon exposed strains among the prosecution team. He picked at mosquito bites on his body incessantly, prompting Larry to put socks on his hands; still, Andrew would not stop scratching and eventually developed a staph infection on his arm. No amount of money will ever bring back the years that were taken away, and the seven years of freedom I lost. At the clinic, she continued giving him mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions until paramedics took over, but the four-year-old lay motionless. As Andrews condition deteriorated, CPS barred the Overtons from visiting their son. Fernandez determined that the boy had died as a result of acute sodium toxicity, with blunt force head trauma as a contributing factor. By clicking or navigating the site, you agree to allow our collection of information through cookies. Hess, who investigated child abuse cases for the police forces family violence unit, had a very different impression of Hannah. All he needs is lots of love and attention, she told Larry. Shana Druckerman contributed to this report, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Larry taught Sunday school, Hannah led a Bible study, and their children, whom Hannah homeschooled, attended youth group and socialized with other members kids. I will take that trip and take my friends spirit with me. In 2007, Hannah Overton was sentenced to life in prison for the death of her 4-year-old foster son. Hannah R. (Saem) Overton . Hannah, we met a couple of times, and Dabney and I visited your grandparents several times in Tappahannock. Menu. (Hannahs mother and stepfatherwhom the courts had named managing conservators of the childrenwere then able to return them to Larrys custody.) Estelle and John The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the trial, Eastwood had suggested that the Overtons had withheld food as part of a larger pattern of abuse, and as she addressed the jury, she insisted that Andrew had scavenged for food because he was hungry. When Hannah was sent to prison, her daughter, Emma, was still a breast-feeding newborn. During the consultation the attorney can discuss whether our firm can assist you. January 21, 2023 By that point, they had already been shown numerous photos of Andrews small, bruised body postmortem. Ill put it this way. When a four-year-old from Texas died mysteriously of salt poisoning, his foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder and sent to prison for life. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. I always knew I'd be able to catch up with him on occasion at the Village Starbucks. He was kind and gentle with me, and he made himself available no matter how busy he was. Other couples they knew who had adopted foster children assured them that their kids had outgrown similar eating issues, and the Overtons assumed that, with time, Andrew would outgrow his as well. Once a month, Larry loads the kids into his van and they make the trip together, although on those visits, no contact is allowed. She and her husband Larry lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, and served faithfully in their church. 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. How can one person get probation and another get life without parole for the same thing? Larry said. 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. According to Overtons attorney, Cynthia Orr, the Texas comptroller told Overton on Tuesday that she would receive a check for $573,333.33 as compensation her for her wrongful incarceration. 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. Hannahwho had already lost a child and was now living apart from her four older oneswas in a fragile state of mind. . At a subsequent family court hearing, in which Hannahs civil attorney argued that she should be given access to the infant so that she could continue nursing her, Judge Lewis returned Emma to her parents, but with conditions. Obituary | Alton Overton | Ashby Funeral Home memorial page for Hannah Ester Hall Overton (1660-1732), Find a Grave Memorial ID 160804572; Burial Details Unknown; . We truly thought his obsession with food was a behavioral issue, not a medical one, Larry said. But as devoted Christians, their desire to adopt a foster child was rooted in faith more than in practicality. The children liked to hang out in her room and talk to her, particularly Andrew, who always visited her for an extra hug before bedtime. He was a loyal Red Sox Nation member and I a Yankees Universe devotee. The states case would be predicated in part on the findings of Ray Fernandez, the Nueces County medical examiner, who ruled Andrews death to be a homicide. Still, the overall impression was a damning one. Hess disavowed Garcias account at a court hearing regarding the Overton children, and prosecutors never entered Garcias affidavit into evidence or called him to testify at Hannahs trial. . "I'm very thankful that this compensation is finally coming through," Overton told ABC News. When a four-year-old from Texas died mysteriously of salt poisoning, his foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder and sent to prison for life. A colleague of mine who attended the trial told me that the prosecution described Andrew again and again as a normal child, and that is a great distortion of the truth. Andrews preoccupation with eating intensified, and he began getting out of bed at night to forage for food in the kitchen. Dabney OVERTON Obituary (2009) - Richmond, VA - Legacy Whenever he got scaredand there was a long list of things that petrified him, from swimming to large crowds to the sound of balloons poppingthe Overtons worked to help him overcome his fears, reassuring him that they loved him and that he was in safe surroundings. Hannah and Larry had taken her in after her marriage ended in divorce, giving her their extra bedroom while she got back on her feet. hannah overton obituary I feel honored to have shared his presence. May your memories bring you comfort. As he grasped for the right words to convey the depth of pain a parent feels over the loss of a child, he noticed a row of unfamiliar faces. Yet to find her guilty, theyd had to believe that she knew he would die if she did not get him immediate medical attention. Despite appearances, however, he was hardly a reprobate. It did not matter that Haller, who had seen Andrew in the days leading up to his hospitalization and who was frequently in the Overton home, had never observed any suspicious bruises or indications of abuse. One paramedic recounted how he had seen two sores on Andrew that looked to me like cigarette burns because they were round. Another paramedic also believed the sores were cigarette burns, though he admitted he had only looked at them from a distance. Fernandez, the medical examiner, said he had observed burnlike scarring on Andrews arm that had likely been caused by contact with a hot surface. But neither Larry nor Hannah smoked. Gilmore and his defense team, which included two civil attorneys versed in the intricacies of medical testimony, tried to counter the prosecutions claims that Hannah had poisoned Andrew and purposely delayed medical treatment. Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Haller was stunned by the accusation. I pray that you will bring Mom home soon.. They were no different from other children their age: exuberant, funny, guileless. Rather than let him remain in his wheelchair most of the day, as previous caretakers had done, Hannah kept him moving; she took him into his familys pool to stretch and used massage to loosen his contracted muscles. I am so sorry to hear the news. I knew Dabney years ago while living in Richmond. Hannah, I am very sad to hear this news. 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. Overton spent seven years in prison before the Texas Court of Appeals overturned her capital murder charges on September 17, 2014. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. The best memory is of riding camp the following summer when Dabney and a friend opted for motorcycle helmets rather than riding hard hats. Being in the Overtons home had afforded Werkhoven an intimate view of the family. Just after five oclock, the Overtons put him in their car and rushed him to a nearby urgent care clinic. Hess suspicions had developed the previous evening during an interview with Hannah, who had consented to talk to him without an attorney present.