hannah overton obituary

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. Hannah Overton passed away in Peterborough, Lincolnshire. Peace be with you, Dabney. Overton's case drew national attention and she was the subject of the documentary "Until Proven Innocent.". The onus for the boys death fell on Hannah, who was charged with capital murder. In loving memory of Jonah Lee Overton, 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. Overton, 38, was convicted in 2007 after being accused of force-feeding young Andrew Burd enough salt to kill him, even though she had no previous problems with the law and was raising four children and was pregnant with a fifth. Mr. Overton was a U. S. Army Veteran and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Bryant. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Larry Overton was also charged with murder, but after his wife's conviction, he was offered a plea deal and was given probation. Hannah must sit on the opposite side of a metal divider, behind Plexiglas. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Jonah Lee Overton (Charlotte, North Carolina), who passed away on January 21, 2023, at the age of 92, leaving to mourn family and friends. The entire Davila family sends our heart felt condolences to Dabney's family. He would have been witness number one for the defense, Gilmore told me. He is in my thoughts and his family in my prayers. It is unlikely that any intervention would have made a significant difference as Andrew had already taken the most critical step to save himself [by consuming] copious amounts of fluid, he wrote. He always made time and never in too much of a hurry for a chat. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. They also discovered that Hannah was pregnant again. Not the brightest thing to do, Larry conceded. Then he corrected himself. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? Not long after his arrest, a grand jury upgraded the charges against him to capital murder, and he feared that he too might face life in prison. According to her family tree, she married Larry D. Overton on August 9, 1997 in Texas . My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Andrew accompanied his foster mother to services every Sunday, and with his thatch of blond hair and beaming grin, he was hard to miss. Mr. Overton was also very active in the local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. Regardless of how much food he consumed, he complained that he was hungry. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family and many friends. Dabney was a pleasant person to be around. Hannahs father was the Reverend Bennie Saenz, an evangelical preacher in Corpus Christi whose fall from grace profoundly altered the course of her childhood. Yet the image they conjuredof a woman grinning at the sight of a comatose four-year-oldwas devastating. She found him standing on a stool in the pantry, near the baking ingredients, having pulled something off the shelf. That left Overton entitled to seek state compensation funds for thewrongful conviction. Some people love stray animals, remembered her mother, now remarried. Every Easter and Christmas holiday was spent at the Reynosa orphanage, whose wards were primarily the unwanted children of prostitutes who worked the nearby red-light district. I came in the morning, and I left in the evening. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. When Gilmore polled the jury afterward, all twelve members stated that they had found Hannah guilty of capital murder by omission for not acting quickly enough to save Andrew; none believed that she had poisoned him. When she refused to give him a second helping, he threw a tantrum and shouted, I hate you! Finally, Hannah resorted to sprinkling some Zatarains into a sippy cup of water, hoping that the taste alone would appease him. . She's since createdSyndeo Ministries tohelp prisonerstransition back into society. A Texas mother who spent years in prison before she was exonerated for capital murder has welcomed a new child. Andrew flew into a rage. She and her husband Larry lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, and served faithfully in their church. Thank you Dabney for blessing my life with your presence. As Larry stood in the kitchen and peeled potatoes, the kidsexcited to have a visitorshowed me around their house, pointing out their favorite hiding places and the plaster cast of their footprints in the hallway, which includes the letter A for Andrew. At 4 a.m., she reports to the laundry, where she folds shirts and hands out clean clothes to inmates. I believe that the same God who made him is with him now in the most immediate sense. Overton was convicted of capital murder, an automatic life sentence in Texas because the child was under the age of 6. 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. The kids now range in age from four to twelve, and when I visited them late one afternoon, not long after I had seen Hannah, they seemed unencumbered by the tragedy that had engulfed their family. You can ask, Why didnt she go to the hospital sooner? but in hindsight, everything is obvious. We truly thought his obsession with food was a behavioral issue, not a medical one, Larry said. Hannah would never harm a child. Even setting aside her loyalty to her friend, the detectives theory made no sense to her. Being in the Overtons home had afforded Werkhoven an intimate view of the family. And thanks for the movie, even though it was kind of weird. Its not even a consideration, she said. 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. Following college, he worked as a financial consultant and more recently as a consultant for Terrestar Networks. One woman said she didnt want to work with a child killer, Larry told me.) The media coverage of the case stirred widespread outrage. DABNEY OVERTON OBITUARY OVERTON, Dabney III, died peacefully on Monday, November 9, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. lakers celebrity seating chart 2019 bottle caps candy root beer only bottle caps candy root beer only "I could never thank my attorneys enough for fighting endlessly to prove my innocence and bring me home," she said. Until then, she said, Andrew was doing nothing that my other kids hadnt done with the flu. The next morning, Corpus Christi police detective Michael Hess paid a visit to Kathi Haller, the Overtons next-door neighbor, who knew the family well. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 GRB Studio | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Obituary - Middle Island, L.I., December 5 - Mrs. Hannah M. Overton died yesterday morning after a short illness. (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 has carried us through.". And given that abuse and neglect during the first year of life can profoundly affect behavioral development, they were not surprised that Andrew was different. His dogs and ours were "buds". Larry called out that dinner was ready, and we gathered inside around a rough-hewn oak table he had made years ago. Anne Turner Overton Haile died peacefully at home in Portland, Oregon on December 7, 2021. Fleeing for Your Life? The congregation quickly dissolved. 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. Hess became exasperated. When they took him along on errands, they had to keep him from eating the old gum and cigarette butts he found on the ground. He was a good guy and a good friend. 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. Left: Andrew and Isabel playing together. She and her family do so much good with nothing. A family birthday celebration in the summer of 2006. But law enforcement officials are accustomed to handling child abuse cases, not medical mysteries, and salt poisoning is rare enough that most emergency room doctors will never encounter a case during their careers. One of the recent fundraising efforts involves providing "chill towels" to incarcerated women this summer because most Texas prisons are without air conditioning. Overwhelmed, the Overtons sought guidance in prayer. Brother Paul Campbell will officiate the service. Andrew seems very happy in this home.. 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. 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. "We are so excited about all God has done in and through all of this. I plan their birthday parties from here, she told me. He was loved by many for his gentle nature and loyalty. Andrews foster mother, who had provided refuge to roughly three hundred children over three decades, was also supportive. Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Todd Yates/AP Photo, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Orr forwarded the paperwork to a leading expert on salt poisoning, Michael Moritz, and asked him to explain its significance. I knew it would probably make him sick, but I wanted him to understand why we were setting limits, Larry explained. My sons in high school now. He moved unsteadily, and he was so clumsy that Hannah had him wear a life jacket whenever he splashed around in their inflatable kiddie pool. We were having a hard time, but we knew it was going to pass. Im supposed to be done crying, she said apologetically at one point, brushing away tears. While behind bars,Overton relied on her faith, family and supporters and led Bible studies. How can one person get probation and another get life without parole for the same thing? Larry said. Hannah did describe how she and Larry had at first tried to treat the boys symptoms themselves, often volunteering more information than the detective had asked for. I asked Hannah if her faith had been shaken by Andrews loss and the suffering that she and her family had experienced. celebrity wifi packages cost. This was not a child that came into the office looking well, with a story of, you know, Hes just a tomboy, and he falls and hits himself, Rotta would later testify. I was privileged to know Dabney at W&L and as a fraternity brother at LXA. Looking for any information that might bolster the appeal, Orr requested access to the prosecutions case file. They declined to do any further chromosomal testing and turned to prayer instead. He was a loyal Red Sox Nation member and I a Yankees Universe devotee. -- Sarah Albiston, I enjoyed working with Dabney from time to time. us about an exoneration that we may have missed, Correct an error or add information about an exoneration Round-trip, the journey is 632 miles. At the time of his retirement, he was one of the three oldest practicing attorneys in the Commonwealth. I miss everything, she later wrote to me. The original prosecutor in the Overton case, Sandra Eastwood, was terminated for reasons unrelated to this case years after the trial concluded. The death of a childparticularly a sudden, unexplained death in which abuse is suspectedevokes strong emotions, even among seasoned investigators, doctors, forensics experts, and prosecutors. My only hope is that I will see him again. State district judge Jose Longoria, who would oversee Hannahs trial the following fall, would later rule Fernandezs finding of blunt force trauma to be inadmissible because it was not based on sufficient data or reliable methodology. He will be dearly missed. Hannah Overton and her family spend Christmas together for the first time in seven years. When people are under severe stress, their judgment becomes poor., Cortess perspective was revelatory. But there were many other things she had missed from behind bars. Larry left for work the following morning, and Hannah, who was still in considerable pain from the car accident, gave Andrew and Sebastian breakfast before bringing them into bed with her to watch cartoons. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. Larry outside his family's home, in Corpus Christi, on November 22. Shana Druckerman contributed to this report, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. If you need legal advice, then retain an attorney to discuss the facts of your case. (Larrys parents, who were friends of the Saenzes, were parishioners.) What a loss for all of us; he will be missed. He left me with that gift. 2023 www.caller.com. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. And how had she forced him to choke down the lethal slurry through a sippy cupa drinking container that is, by design, able to release its contents only when sucked on? Overton's original trial attorneys admitted at an appeals hearing that they had made errors. He seemed a peaceful man. Then, abruptly, Andrew grew quiet and stumbled to the floor. Anita and John Dabney Overton III Birth 30 Jul 1963 Death 9 Nov 2009 (aged 46) They were no different from other children their age: exuberant, funny, guileless. Our lives are richer having known him. So she had to find a way out. (Hess did not respond to interview requests for this article but has previously denied Hallers version of events.) The very dilute gastric sodium contents suggest . The family will receive friends Tuesday, November 23, 2021 from 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Cullman Funeral Home. I wish you and your family peace in this difficult time. . He was a very sweet and kind person. By that point, Hannah had completely broken down emotionally.. I remind them that the Lord loves him more than anyone could and he is with Him now and we will see him again someday.. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Not until Sebastian was born did doctors discover that his only impairment was a hole in his heart, which healed on its own. Short on time as the trial drew to a close, the defense had asked Moritzwho needed to return to Pittsburghto sit for a videotaped deposition; when the deposition ran long and could not be completed, the defense was unable to enter it as testimony. OVERTON, Dabney III, died peacefully on Monday, November 9, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. Our paths crossed later in life and we renewed our friendship. 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. The Overtons are nurturing, loving, patient, and very family-oriented, an adoption supervisor noted in her paperwork. Both sides worked hard independently to determine the truth and achieve justice for the Overton family, the entire family. Mr. Overton continued in private practice until the age of 80. I'm so saddened to here the news but I know that Dabney is walking his dogs in the park right now in another very special place. There is no photo or video of Jonah Lee Overton.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. When Andrew started breathing funny, she told Hess, she had administered asthma medication with a nebulizer, hoping to open up his airways. Estelle and John Finally she relented, heating up what she had on hand: leftover vegetable-beef soup flavored with Zatarains Creole Seasoning. Prosecutors exploited that uncertainty in final arguments, asserting that Andrew did not have pica. The boy was diagnosed with a toxic salt overdose and died the following day. He was kind and gentle with me, and he made himself available no matter how busy he was. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. But after the girls, the Overtons conceived their fourth child, Sebastian. Cynthia Hujar-Orr, Gerry Goldstein and John Raley were apart of Overtons appellate team that helped overturn the conviction. To find Hannah guilty, jurors had to believe either of two scenarios: that Hannah Overton force-fed Andrew salt knowing it would kill him or that she neglected to get medical help fast enough knowing that it would kill him. Can Andrew be our brother? the girls pleaded. He was preceded in death by his mother, Hannah Spencer Haile Overton and infant brother, Charles. The kids took me out back, where they jumped on the trampoline and played hide-and-seek in the salt grass. ), As the Overtons wait on the appellate courts, Larry goes about the task of raising their five children, while also trying to rebuild his business. Its free. His mother was just sixteen, the file shows, when she gave birth to him in Corpus Christi on July 28, 2002. The Huntsville Times. He died at 9:30 p.m. Orra formidable legal mind whose work recently helped exonerate Michael Morton, a Williamson County man who was wrongly convicted of his wifes 1986 murderhad begun preparing a writ of habeas corpus, a last-ditch effort to persuade the courts to review Hannahs case. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Larry was charged with injury to a child for failing to get Andrew timely medical attention. Overton spent seven years in prison before the Texas Court of Appeals overturned her capital murder charges on September 17, 2014. Dear Overton Family and Friends of Dabney. 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. She looked after dozens of children, including my grandchildren, and in all the years she was here, I cant recall one negative thing being said about her, the commissions founder, Joe Fauss, told me. Dabney will be missed by so many. 1 x 120' / Produced for Discovery Networks. Sign . Overton was released on bond in December 2014 after a Texas appellate court overturned her conviction and life sentence. He inspired me to take up running, and to go from owning 1 dog to 2! Left: Hannah Overton at the Murray Unit, west of Waco, on November 21, 2011. There are two phones that the kids can speak into, and they eagerly pass the receivers back and forth, recounting the months events in stereo. This was usually on a road trip up or down the Valley. The Huntsville Times Homepage. Meny Lukk national monument bank uk; will arnett brothers and sisters If anything had been wrong, I would have known it, she insisted. It was later believed the boy suffered a rare medical condition called hypernatremia, which can cause fatal sodium levels in the body. Hess, who investigated child abuse cases for the police forces family violence unit, had a very different impression of Hannah. If you would like to discuss your case with an attorney at Goldstein & Orr, then please contact us to schedule a consultation. Does God want a child to go to bed hurting, in pain, fearful, being looked at by closed-circuit television? He defecated on the floor of his bedroom, then smeared feces on the bed, the dresser, and the walls. Fueling the publics antipathy was an affidavit written by a CPS child abuse investigator named Jesse Garcia, who claimed that Hannah had admitted to forcing Andrew to drink two cupfuls of chili with water and quoted her as saying that she then beat the shit out of him. Garcia never produced any documentation or witnesses to corroborate his claim, and internal police memos show that law enforcement officials doubted the veracity of his story. I was one of those who was lucky enough to share a friendship with this kind, strong and loving man. News reports that followed, prominently featuring their grim-faced mug shots, cast the Overton home as a house of horrors. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. Rotta stopped short of describing the manner in which he believed Andrew had been made to eat a lethal amount of salta dose that, after analyzing Andrews blood, he determined would have consisted of 23 teaspoons of Zatarains Creole Seasoning or 6 teaspoons of salt. Hannah Overton is expected to receive compensation for wrongful incarceration. He. (92 years old). Hannah Overton, far right, sits next to her attorney, Cynthia Orr, center, and prosecutor, Doug Norman, April 26, 2012, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Although Cortes had been scheduled to testify for the prosecution, he was never put on the witness stand. He was a great classmate and teamate at St Christopher's. If you would like a copy via email, please let me know. Our thoughts, hugs and prayers are with you. 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. As long as I can make a nonfrivolous argument, Ill make it, but nothing in my job prevents me from praying for a more just outcome., There have been a few tear-filled nights because one of the kids misses Andrew, Larry said. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. Andrew seems very happy in this home.. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? Dabney is a graduate of Aylett Country Day School, St. Christopher's School, and Washington and Lee University. 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. 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. He displayed hyperactive behavior and possibly had some cognitive delays as well. The doctors assessment of Andrew as developmentally delayed was significant because it dovetailed with Hannahs testimony. Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed. I am truly saddened to hear of Dabney's sudden passing. Dabney was loved and treasured for his gentle nature, ready smile, and intelligent wit. Hess remained skeptical of Hannahs account. Hannah Overton, a south Texas mother of five whose wrongful conviction for the 2006 death of her foster son was overturned last year, is expected to receive over $500,000 in compensation from the state for the years she spent in jail. She had only one sibling, a brother who was seven years her junior, and a father who was largely absent from her life. The new charges were dismissed because of a myriad of factors which came about after a careful review of the previous trial, re-interviewing some of the key witnesses, consulting with some of the medical experts involved in the case, reviewing evidence adduced at recent hearings and staffing the case with the current prosecutors assigned to the case, Skurka said in a news release Wednesday. He visited us in the country and brought his serinity along. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Then District Attorney Mark Skurka dropped the case. "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. 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. He reached Doug Norman, who was part of the prosecution team at Hannahs trial and who is now responsible for fighting her appeal. What a great sense of comfort to know that I could be greated on the other side by such a kind person. The following evening, Andrew was dead. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Search; Sponsored by Ancestry. In October 2006 a four-year-old from Corpus Christi named Andrew Burd died mysteriously of salt poisoning. Dabney always took time to talk to people and was a friend to many. She had been released on bond in December after a Texas appellate court overturned her conviction and life sentence for the death of 4-year-old Andrew Burd, the child Overton and her husband, Larry, were in the process of adopting before he died. (Andrew was told that he could not have any food at McDonalds, since he had already eaten.) Obituaries Section. 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. I am happy that he has gone before us because I know if God has taken him before so many other people then he must be going to someplace better. People who knew the Overtons were certain that Andrews bewildering death was accidental. Knowing Hannah, it was inconceivable that she would ever hurt a child, said Noreen. I pray that you will bring Mom home soon.. With guns drawn, police officers had surrounded Hannah and Larrys car as they returned from an errand, forcing them to the ground and handcuffing them. I feel honored to have shared his presence. On several occasions his fits had grown so extreme that she had resorted to asking a male parishioner to physically remove him from the classroom until he could regain self-control. Home; Memorials; Cemeteries; Famous; Contribute; Register; Sign In; Register; Sign In; Memorial updated successfully. At Sunday school, he became more expressive, stringing words into sentences and holding hands with his new sister Ally. Hannah went into labor with her first child, Isaac, at the Subialdeas house, and though she had planned to come back to work after her sons birth, she found the separation from him too wrenching.