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.) We know that Hannah R. (Saem) Overton had been residing in Texas . 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. My job requires me to be an advocate for the state. We had been told to expect a lot of the things we were seeing with Andrew, Larry told me. Despite appearances, however, he was hardly a reprobate. But law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who treated Andrew thought otherwise. He left me with that gift. They declined to do any further chromosomal testing and turned to prayer instead. #16 Falsely Accused & Sentenced to Life in Prison - Hannah 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. He hoarded food and sometimes ate from the trash, she warned, and he threw intense temper tantrums, which could be tamed only by holding and rocking him. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? Much loved daughter of Andrew and Susan, dearly loved sister of. OBITUARY - HANNAH OVERTON (HUNTINGDONSHIRE) Bowls England regrets to inform you that former Women's Junior International captain Hannah Overton passed away on 23rd December at the age of 28, after. According to the ministry's website, Syndeo Ministries helps provide women in prison support including Bible studies, visitation and aftercare. Lane and her children moved to the East Texas town of Lindale, where a missionary organization, the Calvary Commission, allowed them to live in a modest apartment on its grounds free of charge. It is a small thing for one who has suffered so greatly.". I first met him shortly after the death of my husband 4 years ago and his kind, gentle spirit and wonderful sense of humor made such a difference at that time and ever since. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. He delivered sermons to a small but devoted following that met every Sunday, and during services he also played guitar. Alton Lewis Overton, age 66, of Bryant; passed away Wednesday March 7, 2007. So I got to see that.. 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. Hannahs father was the Reverend Bennie Saenz, an evangelical preacher in Corpus Christi whose fall from grace profoundly altered the course of her childhood. Haller was stunned by the accusation. Haller, who took notes documenting her conversation with Hess and later testified about it under oath, recalled the detectives certainty that Hannah had tried to kill Andrew. Share Obituary. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Please allow 24 hours for your entry to be reviewed for appropriate content. I knew Dabney through my daughter. Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. 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. By that point, they had already been shown numerous photos of Andrews small, bruised body postmortem. Only Hannah had been able to break through. Hess was allowed to return to the force and is now a patrol sergeant. There wasnt anything that I thought was dangerously wrong with him at that point. 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. Copyright 2023 GRB Studio | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions CPR had also been performed for an extended period by Hannah and later by medical personnel, who had squeezed the boys nose and administered chest compressions for 35 minutes. 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. Think of your other children, she urged the couple. But others at Calvary Chapel expressed their concern. Both womens accounts were problematic; Gonzalez had never made a statement to police and was testifying from memory after nearly a years worth of negative media coverage, while Zapata had failed to mention anything about Hannah smirking when she wrote her initial report about the incident. 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. The cause of death was determined to be salt poisoning, an extremely rare occurrence that, in children, results from either a child inadvertently ingesting too much salt or a caretaker deliberately forcing the child to do so. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. The burden on the state to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt was, Gilmore told me, perhaps less than it should have been. Sister Overton grew up in Tuscumbia and lived most of her life in Florence. Larry and Hannah were granted supervised visits. The boy was diagnosed with a toxic salt overdose and died the following day. We will always remember him fondly as a fellow Friend of Bandy Field. To Dabney and the Family: My heartfelt condolences and my thoughts and prayers go with each of you. After nearly eleven hours of deliberationduring which jurors sent out thirteen notes to the judge, primarily seeking to clarify medical testimonythe jury found her guilty of capital murder. Nevertheless, the idea that Andrew had sustained a head injury propelled the case forward, further casting Hannah as an abuser. Despite Eastwoods zeal, there were still basic questions that the prosecution could not explain. Theres An App for That. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. Does God want a child to go to bed hurting, in pain, fearful, being looked at by closed-circuit television? 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? She is also qualified to receive insurance and education benefits. They considered adopting a nine-year-old girl who was deaf, but when, after much prayer and deliberation, they decided to move forward with the adoption, they learned that the girl had been placed with another family. One woman said she didnt want to work with a child killer, Larry told me.) He was a great classmate and teamate at St Christopher's. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. Beginning next year, she will also receive an annuity. Before we ever tried to adopt, we had been warned that this was going to be difficult, that this was not going to be the Little Orphan Annie story, Larry told me. His foster mother, Hannah Overton, was charged with capital murder, vilified from all quarters, and sent to prison for life. The congregation quickly dissolved. information about the Registry, False or Misleading Forensic Evidence, Official Misconduct, Inadequate Legal Defense. 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. How had Hannah, who was six months pregnant and recovering from whiplash, managed to overpower Andrew? They asked us, Can you pray that we have discernment and wisdom in helping him through this?. He inspired me to take up running, and to go from owning 1 dog to 2! Obituary OVERTON, Dabney III, died peacefully on Monday, November 9, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. And a succession of witnesses, nearly all of them members of Calvary Chapel, recounted Andrews unusual eating habits and Hannahs attentive parenting. There are really no words. Channel Three, Channel Six, Channel Ten, the Caller-Timesthey all knew ahead of time, Gilmore 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. Round-trip, the journey is 632 miles. [I] fully disclosed the DAs offices case file to the defense, she wrote in the lengthy statement. Nueces County jurors found she'dfailed to seek timely medical care for the boy. The jury was not just going to let her walk. Capital murder carries two possible punishments in Texasthe death penalty or life without paroleand the district attorneys office had already decided not to seek death. Good-night kisses, bedtime stories, playing in the yard, birthdays, loose teeth, Christmas plays . At first, the transition with Andrew went smoothly. He had a speech delay and spoke haltingly, sometimes with a stutter, but every week, when his Sunday school classmates went around in a circle to say their prayer requests, he made the same wish aloud: that he would be adopted. Frantic, Hannah began administering CPR in the backseat. I remind them that the Lord loves him more than anyone could and we will see him again someday.. 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. Dick and Sue Kemper; St. Christopher's School, Share to let others add their own memories and condolences. He was good to everyone he met. It was later believed the boy suffered a rare medical condition called hypernatremia, which can cause fatal sodium levels in the body. May your memories bring you comfort. At 4 a.m., she reports to the laundry, where she folds shirts and hands out clean clothes to inmates. Hess suspicions had developed the previous evening during an interview with Hannah, who had consented to talk to him without an attorney present. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Sorry, I he began, when she asked him to put on his shoes. This small benefit will allow her and her sweet family to continue to share their goodness with all of us with some degree of comfort. Early in the pregnancy, Hannah and Larry were informed that the boy would likely have Down syndrome. How do you poison someone with a substance you dont know the contents of? That Hannah had not sought immediate medical attention did not change his view. Anne Turner Overton Haile died peacefully at home in Portland, Oregon on December 7, 2021. Pam Rooker. 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. 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. Her bedroom was just a few feet away from the childrens rooms, which were always open; their doors had been removed so that the kids could easily come and go as they pleased. At Sunday school, he became more expressive, stringing words into sentences and holding hands with his new sister Ally. He embodied the characteristics of a Saint and we will miss him very much. Ive missed, you know, so many things, she said at the time. 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. Absolutely not, Hannah shot back. Hannah R. (Saem) Overton was born c. 1977. 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. The ministry's name Syndeo is taken from a Greek word meaning "to connect" or "be connected." He was a nice guy. He had so many interests and was loyal to those he knew and was involved with, especially those he sailed with as that is where I knew him. AP. In 2005 the Overtons began to pursue the idea seriously. He was a member of Mt. But the damage was done: that Hannah had confessed to force-feeding Andrew and beating him was repeated, uncorrected, on the local news. After a week-long trial, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 23 years in prison. 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. They convicted her based on the latter argument, that she did not seek help quickly enough. According to her family tree, she married Larry D. Overton on August 9, 1997 in Texas . Dabney was born on July 31, 1963 and grew up in Essex County, Va. Ive seen doctors and nurses freeze up when a patient comes in convulsing or in extremis, he said. I was just trying to fix itto do anything I could to fix my baby, she said. He acted more like a toddler than a preschooler, they noted; if he wanted an object, he pointed to it and grunted.