Life Sentence: Kyle day care owner convicted in infant death

By Brad Rollins - HaysFreePress.com

July 5, 2012

The father of Benjamin Spencer took the stand Monday to address the woman convicted of killing his 10-week-old baby in November 2010.

“We collectively as a family are stronger than you. My son was a better human being during his short life than you could ever hope to be in your miserable existence,” said Duane Spencer, the band director at Simon Middle School.

Kyle day care provider Christina Lyons was found guilty of capital murder after more than a week of testimony. District Judge Bill Henry sentenced Lyons to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the automatic sentence for capital murder cases in which the district attorney does not seek the death penalty.

Jurors were given the option of leaving the courtroom for the portion of the trial where the victim’s family gets to address the defendant. One juror got up and left but the others remained while Duane Spencer spoke.

“Our trust for any human being has been shattered so much so that we had to overcome the untruth that we were inadequate parents and couldn’t tell the difference between the monster you were and the loving mom you pretended to be. We are stronger than that and we know the truth,” Duane Spencer said.

“You will always have the satisfaction of knowing the truth of what you did and why you will rot in prison,” he said. “We will never know … why such an innocent child had to suffer at the hands of a monster.”

After 2 weeks, Kyle daycare murder case near jurors’ hands

By Brad Rollins - Smmercury.com

June 28, 2012

The last person to testify on Thursday in the capital murder trial of Kyle daycare provider Christina Lyons was the accused murderer herself.

During eight days of testimony in 428th District Judge Bill Henry’s court, prosecutors have sought to portray the 33-year-old Lyons as a pill-popping, emotionally unstable shirker who blames her young daughter for injuries that killed 10-week-old Benjamin Spencer in November 2010.

Defense attorneys cast her as a conscientious and hardworking daughter of a Comal County sheriff’s deputy who made a deadly mistake by leaving the baby alone within reach of her daughter while she used the restroom, sorted laundry and smoked a cigarette in the garage.

Answering questions today from court-appointed defense counsel Ariel Payan, Lyons acknowledged she failed in her duties as a childcare provider but said she didn’t kill or otherwise harm the baby.

Lyons testified she returned from her break to find her young daughter in the backyard holding a baby with a knot on his head. Spencer died of injuries that included skull and rib fractures a week later.

“Whose job was it to protect him?” Payan asked.

“It was mine,” Lyons said.

“Did you do that?” Payan asked.

“No,” Lyons said through tears.

She testified she did not tell Kyle Police Det. Pedro Carrasco that she found her daughter holding Spencer because she wasn’t thinking clearly and didn’t want to involve the girl. She did, however, tell a Child Protective Services agent that her daughter was holding the baby when she reported the incident to daycare licensers the next morning.

Under cross examination, prosecutors asked Lyons about her prescriptions to anti-depressant Cymbalta, anxiety drug Xanax and sleeping aid Ambien.

Lyons said she began seeing a psychiatrist in 2008 when she became depressed after the birth of her daughter. At the time of Spencer’s injuries, Lyons said she was taking her anti-depressant daily as prescribed and the others sparingly.

Lyons testified she sneaked away once or twice every day from the seven or eight children she watched to smoke a cigarette in the garage.

She admitted she left Spencer lying unattended on the living room couch while she did this on more than one occasion. But said she only did so during nap time when the older children were lying down elsewhere at her Steeplechase home.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Lockhart, who is prosecuting the case with Cathy Compton, asked if she was sacrificing her daughter to save herself.

“I am not saving myself. I’m trying to get the truth out that I do not know what happened that day,” Lyons said.

A Dell Childrens’ Hospital radiologist who reviewed Spencer’s medical images testified that most likely his injuries could not have been caused by a four-year-old girl.

Lockhart and Compton have also grilled three of Lyons’ relatives who testified they saw Lyons’ daughter slamming a baby doll’s head against a table on two separate occasions.

Prosecutors have pointed out that Lyons’ husband Robert’s and her mother Cindy’s versions of one of those baby doll episodes differ. Robert Lyons said she was holding the toy by its legs; Cindy Cook said she was holding the doll by its middle, a discrepancy that may or may not call the account into question.

Closing statements begin tomorrow and, by early afternoon, a jury is expected be deciding Lyons’ fate. According to instructions Henry will give to jurors, they will have the option of convicting Lyons on lesser charges than capital murder.

Accused murderer takes the stand in Kyle daycare death

By Brad Rollins - Smmercury.com

June 27, 2012

A tearful Christina Lyons testified on Wednesday that she left 10-week-old Benjamin Spencer unattended while she smoked a cigarette in the garage.

She returned from her smoke break and found her daughter, who was four years old at the time, holding Spencer in the backyard, Lyons testified. She returned the baby to her living room couch where she had left him and then noticed a large bump on the side of his head.

“‘Where did you drop him?’” Lyons said she asked her daughter. “She didn’t answer me. I said, ‘Where did you drop him?’ and she pointed to the deck.”

The defendant said she initially didn’t tell the police that she found her daughter holding Spencer because she didn’t want to blame the incident on the child.

Lyons had testified earlier in the afternoon that her daughter showered Baby Ben with attention and often tried to hold him.

“If I turned my back, she would pick him up,” Lyons said.

The defendant took the stand late Wednesday afternoon and testified for less than an hour before 428th District Judge Bill Henry recessed for the day.

Her testimony will resume tomorrow including cross-examination by prosecutors who say Lyons caused the skull and rib fractures that killed Benjamin Spencer a week after he was injured.

Three relatives of an accused murderer testified today that that they saw defendant Christina Lyon’s young daughter roughhouse a baby doll in the hours and days after a 10-week-old baby was fatally injured while under Lyon’s care.

Lyons, who ran an at-home daycare in the Steeplechase neighborhood of Kyle, is accused of causing injuries that killed 10-week-old Benjamin Spencer in November 2010. Spencer died a week later of the injuries, which included skull and rib fractures.

Lyons told investigators that she left Spencer unattended on a couch while she used the restroom, later admitting she was smoking a cigarette in the garage. She said she returned to find her daughter, who was four years old at the time, holding the injured baby.

Defense attorneys have suggested that Lyons’ daughter was responsible for Spencer’s injuries, possibly by pushing the newborn down a slide in the backyard. Doctors who previously testified in the trial said they did not think a four-year-old was strong enough to cause Spencer’s injuries nor that they could be caused under circumstances the defense suggest.

Lyons’ husband, Robert Lyons, and her mother and sister, Cindy and Mikayla Cook, testified that they saw — on two separate occasions — the little girl slam a baby doll’s head against a table. Prosecutors pointed out that none of them told investigators about what they saw; they said that they were never asked and didn’t trust the Kyle Police Department.

Mikayala Cook was poised to testify that she heard the little girl say things the day Spencer was injured that Mikayala Cook took to mean the girl had hurt the baby. The testimony was not admissible because it is hearsay and doesn’t fall within exceptions to the hearsay rule, District Judge Bill Henry ruled.

At one point in the afternoon’s testimony, assistant District Attorney Cathy Compton introduced a jailhouse recording of Cindy Cook telling her daughter that she had to “play it cool and play it dumb” and that she was “really going to have to put on a show.”

Upon questioning, however, Cook said the conversation was about marital problems Lyons was having with her husband and was not related to Spencer’s death; Compton essentially conceded as much. The recording was not played in the presence of the jury but was referenced in an attempt to cast doubt on Cindy Cook’s credibility.

If convicted, Lyons faces as much as 99 years in prison on the capital murder charge. Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe did not seek the death penalty in the case.

State rests, defense calls witnesses in Lyons trial

By Veronica Gordon - HaysFreePress.com

June 27, 2012

The state rested its case Tuesday as the defense called witnesses to the stand in the capital murder trial of Kyle day care worker Christina Suzanne Lyons.

Lyons is charged in the death of 10-week-old Benjamin Spencer.

In November 2010, Benjamin suffered severe head and chest injuries while under Lyons’ care at the Little Lyons Cub Daycare at 561 Keystone Loop in the Steeplechase subdivision. He died a week later on Thanksgiving from the injuries he sustained. Lyons was charged on Feb. 3, 2011.

At the time of the death, Lyons told police that she left the child unattended on a sofa, approximately 24 inches high, while she went to the restroom. When she returned, she saw the child on the hardwood floor, laying face up.

The District Attorney’s office is not seeking the death penalty in the case. Lyons faces life in prison if found guilty.

Tuesday, Benjamin’s father Duane Spencer told jurors about his son’s death.

Spencer recounted how he and his wife, Robin, were told there had been an accident and their son was hurt at day care.

“It was about 2:30 p.m. when the receptionist at work told me there was an emergency call from my wife,” Spencer said. “We were told Benjamin had rolled off the couch and hit his head.”

Spencer said he expected his son would get stitched up for a cut and be able to go home that night.

“We started to realize it was more serious than we thought when we saw the cop cars at her house,” Spencer said.

Spencer and his wife were told that their son was taken to Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin.

“As soon as we got to the hospital, a doctor came up to us and told us we had to sign a waiver to allow them to operate on Benjamin or he would die,” Spencer said.

Doctors told the couple later that they were concerned Benjamin wouldn’t make it through the night because of the extent of his head injuries, Spencer added.

“They also found fractures on his ribs that were most likely not accidental,” Spencer said. “I felt sick, confused and disoriented.”

Benjamin was on life-support from November 18 until he died on November 25.

“I was holding Ben when he died,” Spencer said, wiping tears from his eyes.

After Spencer’s testimony, the state rested its case.

Lyons is being represented by court-appointed attorneys Ariel Payan and Ira Davis.

Tuesday, the defense called a witness who also used Lyons’ day care business. Chief Craig Kolls of the Kyle Fire Department, was sent to the scene of the call.

“My boss heard the call on the radio and asked me if that was Christina’s address,” Kolls said. “He said why don’t you head over there? So I did.”

When Kolls arrived at the house, he said Lyons was crying and distraught. He asked Lyons where his daughter and the other children were.

“I checked on the other kids and they were fine,” Kolls said.

Kolls was getting snacks and drinks for the other children when Kyle Police officers arrived.

Kolls said he saw Lyons the next day when he dropped off his daughter at her house.

“She asked me if I thought Abby was safe with her,” he said. “I said yes.”

The trial continues in the Hays County Government Center in San Marcos and could last until next week.

Medical examiner testifies in day care worker trial

By Veronica Gordon - HaysFreePress.com

June 25, 2012

The state could rest its case Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Kyle day care owner Christina Suzanne Lyons.

Lyons is charged in the death of 10-week-old Benjamin Spencer.

In November 2010, Benjamin suffered severe head and chest injuries while under Lyons’ care at the Little Lyons Cub Daycare at 561 Keystone Loop in the Steeplechase subdivision. He died a week later on Thanksgiving from the injuries he sustained. Lyons was charged on Feb. 3, 2011.

At the trial in Judge Bill Henry’s courtroom Monday, Travis County chief medical examiner Dr. David Dolinak testified about Benjamin’s injuries.

Hays County Assistant District Attorney Amy Lockhart handed a doll to Dolinak to point out the injuries for the jury.

Dolinak marked the areas of the doll’s head that he reported fractured and bruised. Dolinak documented multiple skull fractures on the doll corresponding to Benjamin’s injuries.

Lockhart asked Dolinak if one impact from a fall could have caused the injuries he described.

“No,” Dolinak said. “That would not explain it. It would be easier to explain it with more than one impact.”

Lockhart asked Dolinak if his findings were consistent with inflicted abusive trauma.

“Yes, I found that the infant died as a result of blunt force trauma,” he said.

Dolinak also testified that he reported finding healing fractures on the infant’s ribs that were consistent with ongoing or prior abuse.

At the time of the death, Lyons told police that she left the child unattended on a sofa, approximately 24 inches high, while she went to the restroom. When she returned, she saw the child on the hardwood floor, laying face up.

Lyons is being represented by court-appointed attorneys Ariel Payan and Ira Davis. If found guilty, Lyons faces life in prison. The District Attorney’s office is not seeking the death penalty in the case.

The trial resumes Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the Hays County Government Center in San Marcos.

Daycare owner indicted for capital murder in baby’s death

By Sean Kimmins - HaysFreePress.com

February 16, 2011

A Hays County grand jury has handed down a capital murder indictment of a Kyle daycare owner charged in the death of the 10-week-old son of a Simon Middle School teacher who was injured while under her care, court records show.

Christina Suzanne Lyons, 32, had previously been charged with injury to a child, a first degree felony. An indictment for capital murder, which allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty, was granted by a grand jury on Feb. 3.

Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe said that her office will not pursue the death penalty.

Benjamin Spencer suffered severe head and chest injuries while under Lyons care at the Little Lyons Cub Daycare at 561 Keystone Loop in the Steeplechase subdivision. He died a week later on Thanksgiving from the injuries he sustained.

Lyons’s attorney, Jason Trumpler of Austin, said she gave an inaccurate, contradictory initial statement to police but later told Child Protective Services that she left the napping infant unattended on the couch while she went to smoke a cigarette, use the restroom and sort laundry.

When she returned 15 to 20 minutes later, she found the infant in the backyard being haphazardly clutched by her four-year daughter, which is when she noticed the injuries.

“You don’t have to spend more than five minutes with Christina to know that there’s no way possible that she could harm anyone, let alone a baby,” Trumpler said Tuesday.

He doesn’t deny that his client may have been negligent that day; however, he argues that this wasn’t an intentional murder.

“There are a variety of charges that she may be guilty of but not capital murder,” says Trumpler, who added that negligent homicide, a state jail felony, could be one of them.

If a person kills a child under six years old with intent, a capital murder charge could be applied, investigators say.

According to an affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant, first responders told police the victim was unresponsive and was being assisted with his breathing. The infant sustained multiple bilateral posterior rib fractures and later had surgery due to “severe head trauma.” Police said that given the severity and location of the injuries, they were likely non-accidental.

Lyons told police that she left the child unattended on a sofa, approximately 24 inches high, while she went to the restroom. When she returned, she saw the child on the hardwood floor, laying face up, she said in the affidavit.

Police said they believe the force used to cause the injuries could not have been committed by a child. The victim, along with six other children, was under the sole care of Lyons at the time, the affidavit states.

Lyons was released from Hays County Jail on a $50,000 bond Nov. 20, the day after she was arrested, but later turned herself into authorities after the Hays County District Attorney’s Office successfully sought a bond increase to $500,000. She remains in custody.

District Attorney Sherri Tibbe declined to comment on the case, citing her office’s policy of not commenting on pending cases.

Spencer’s father, Duane Spencer, is the head director of bands at Simon Middle School, Hays CISD officials say. His wife, Robin, is employed at a Lockhart nursing and rehabilitation center. The couple also have a three-year-old daughter.

Kyle daycare owner back in jail after infant death

By Sean Kimmons - HaysFreePress.com

December 3, 2010

The Kyle daycare owner who is charged in the death of the 10-week-old son of a Simon Middle School teacher turned herself into authorities last week after the Hays County District Attorney’s Office increased her bond to $500,000, officials said Friday.

Christina Suzanne Lyons, 32, had previously been released from Hays County Jail on a $50,000 bond Nov. 20, the day after she was arrested for injury to a child, a first-degree felony.

Benjamin Spencer suffered severe head and chest injuries Nov. 18 while under Lyons care at the Little Lyons Cub Daycare at 561 Keystone Loop. He died a week later on Thanksgiving from the injuries he sustained.

His father Duane Spencer is the head director of bands at Simon Middle School, Hays CISD spokesperson Julie Jerome said Monday.

His wife, Robin, is employed at a Lockhart nursing/rehabilitation center. The couple also has a three-year-old daughter.

As of Monday, Lyons remains in jail and the injury to a child charge against her has not changed. Lyons has not yet filed for legal counsel or hired a lawyer, according to court records.

Lyons could be charged with more serious crimes, including murder, by the Kyle Police Department and the Hays County District Attorney, Kyle officials have previously said.

If a person kills a child under six years old with intent, a capital murder charge could be applied. If there is no intent, it could be reduced to a manslaughter charge, investigators say.

According to an affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant, first responders told police the victim was unresponsive and was being assisted with his breathing. The infant sustained multiple bilateral posterior rib fractures and later had surgery due to “severe head trauma.” Police said that given the severity and location of the injuries, they were likely non-accidental.

Lyons told police that she left the child unattended on a sofa, approximately 24 inches high, while she went to the restroom. When she returned, she saw the child on the hardwood floor, laying face up, she said.

Police said they believe the force used to cause the injuries could not have been committed by a child. The victim, along with six other children, was under the sole care of Lyons at the time, the affidavit states.

A memorial service for Spencer was held Friday at Remembrance Gardens in Austin, according to news reports.

Child dies from injuries sustained at Kyle daycare

Smmercury.com

November 29, 2010

A 10-week-old infant died last week from injuries he sustained in a Nov. 18 incident at a Kyle home daycare, officials announced Monday.

Benjamin Spencer was transported to Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin after he suffered head injuries at the Little Lyons Cub Daycare at 561 Keystone Loop.

Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Spencer died on Thanksgiving Day.

Christina Suzanne Lyons, 32, who owns the daycare, has been charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony. She was released from Hays County jail on Nov. 20 on a $50,000 bond, authorities say.

The Kyle Police Department, in conjunction with the Hays County District Attorney, is still investigating the incident, Kyle city officials said Monday.

Kyle police arrested the owner of a Kyle daycare on Nov. 19 for the serious injury of a child, a first-degree felony, police say.

Christina Suzanne Lyons, 32, who owns Little Lyons Cub Day Care at 561 Keystone Loop, was booked into the Hays County Jail and released Nov. 20 on a $50,000 bond, authorities say.

On Nov. 18, Kyle police responded to the home daycare for reported injuries to a 10 week-old infant. The child was transported by ambulance to Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin with head injuries, police say.

According to the arrest affidavit, first responders told police on scene that the victim was unresponsive and was being assisted with his breathing. Later, the infant had surgery due to “severe head trauma” and had also received multiple bilateral posterior rib fractures. Police believe that, given the severity and location of the injuries, they were likely non-accidental.

Lyons told police that she left the child unattended on a sofa, approximately 24 inches high, while she went to the restroom. Once she returned, she saw the child on the hardwood floor, laying face up.

Police believe that the force used to cause the injuries could not have been committed by a child. The victim was one of seven children under the sole care of Lyons at the time, the affidavit states.

Lyons could not be reached for comment.

The parents of the infant have been notified as well as the licensing division of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, police say.

Family and Protective Services spokesperson Julie Moody said Nov. 22 that the daycare had a clean record since being registered in December 2009.

“This is the first and only incident that the licensing division has had to investigate at this particular child care facility,” Moody said.

Christina Suzanne Lyons