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Thread: Talawrence Donyea Tennell Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 TX Murder of 7-Month-Old Hailey Unique Burleson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Talawrence Donyea Tennell Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 TX Murder of 7-Month-Old Hailey Unique Burleson


    Hailey Unique Burleson, 7 months old


    Talawrence Donyea Tennell


    February 27, 2015

    Bryan man charged in death of 7-month-old baby

    A three-time felon has been charged with killing his girlfriend's baby while under the influence of a hallucination-inducing drug, according to reports from the Bryan Police Department that are consistent with stories from neighbors and a family member.

    On Wednesday afternoon, Crystal Harris left the apartment on Prairie Flower Circle she shared with Talawrence Tennell to pick her 5-year-old daughter up from school and bring her to the doctor, according to a probable cause statement.

    When she left, seven-month-old Hailey Burleson was next to Tennell on the bed. When she returned several hours later, Tennell was holding an unresponsive Burleson and repeating her name over and over. The child was already blue, according to Harris, and Tennell had blood on his shirt.

    During an interview with police, Tennell told officers he had been napping next to the baby in bed, according to a police report. When he awoke, the seven-month-old was lying unresponsive on the floor. Tennell held

    Burleson until Harris returned home and called police, who were dispatched to the house just before 4 p.m., according to the police report.

    About an hour before that, Samantha Jones, a resident on the street, said she entered the apartment above Tennell to get a cup of milk for cooking. The couple who lived there confirmed Jones' story and said they left the door unlocked for her as they were not home at the time.

    Jones said as she climbed the steps to the apartment, she saw an agitated Tennell outside.

    "He was yelling, 'This is my house, my house,' growling like a dog. He started barking like he was a dog," she told The Eagle. "Then when I was upstairs, I heard him yelling at the baby like 'Is this what you want?'"

    The baby had swelling on her forehead and scrapes on her face, according to officials. Several X-rays and a CT scan showed a broken femur, a cracked skull, fractured ribs and her right wrist either broken or dislocated.

    There was bruising on her chest and the bottoms of her feet.

    A doctor at the hospital told detectives the injuries were not consistent with falling from the bed to the floor, but with blunt force trauma, according to the police report.

    Tennell told officers he was high on the drug phencyclidine, or PCP, after a bottle of the substance broke in his pants and was absorbed into his skin.

    Tennell's criminal record in Brazos County stretches back to 1998. Most of his charges involve alcohol, drugs or evading arrest. In 2006, he exposed himself twice to a minor in her home. He was found or pleaded guilty to five felonies, including evading arrest with prior convictions and possessing cocaine. He has been in prison three times according to Jessica Escue, an assistant district attorney. Each time he served no more than two years before receiving parole. He was last incarcerated from Aug. 29, 2011, to Nov. 5, 2012, and was on parole at the time of his arrest Wednesday.

    On Jan. 23, Tennell was arrested after removing tire rims in a parking lot and was placed in custody for evading arrest with prior convictions. He posted a $11,000 bond and was released on Jan. 24. Craig Burleson, the brother of Hailey Burleson's father, compared his niece to an angel.

    "She was one-of-a-kind," he said. "So sweet and lovable."

    Craig Burleson initially thought the news of his niece's death was exaggerated. He knew Tennell and while he was aware of some of his arrest record, he had a positive overall impression of Tennell.

    "I never thought something like this would occur," he said. "I always looked at him as a well-respected guy."

    Neighbors who were home early Thursday afternoon said they had little interaction with the couple since they moved into the apartment several months ago. Craig Williams, who lived in the fourplex next door, echoed several other neighbors who said Tennell keep to himself.

    "Every time I spoke to him, he never spoke back," said Williams.

    Harris did not respond to requests for comment. She posted a status on her Facebook Thursday thanking family and friends for their support and telling people to not assume what happened.

    "I loved Hailey and I would never leave her or Riley in harm's way. For my Baby girl Hailey Unique Burleson ..... Mama love you. With all my heart. And I know you are in a better place."

    http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/b...80aa57afc.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Bryan man indicted on capital murder charge in death of 7-month-old baby

    The Bryan man accused of killing his girlfriend’s 7-month-old baby while under the influence of drugs has been indicted on a capital murder charge.

    Talawrence Donyea Tennell, 36, was arrested on Feb. 25 after the baby girl’s mother called 911 to report that her child was unresponsive and turning blue, according to a probable cause statement for Tennell’s arrest.

    The woman told first responders she had left the baby with Tennell while she picked up her 5-year-old daughter from school and came back to find Tennell holding the baby with blood on his shirt, according to the court document.

    During an interview with Bryan police, Tennell said he had been “trippin’” on PCP since the previous night and did not know how the baby was injured. He recalled finding her unresponsive on the floor near the bed where they had both been sleeping, according to the report.

    Tennell was arrested on a murder charge but faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.

    An indictment is not an indication of guilt but a grand jury’s determination that enough evidence exists to prosecute a case.

    http://www.theeagle.com/news/crime/b...7276edd09.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Tennell ticks the box as a death penalty case and future trial. Murdering a child 10 years or younger is considered for the death penalty in the state of Texas...

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Texas man found guilty in beating death of 7-month-old girl

    BRYAN, Texas (AP) — A jury has convicted a Texas man who prosecutors say was high on drugs when he fatally beat a 7-month-old child who suffered a fractured skull and ribs.

    Thirty-eight-year-old Talawrence Tennell of Bryan was found guilty Thursday of capital murder by a Brazos County jury.

    He’ll automatically receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole for killing Hailey Burleson, who was the daughter of his girlfriend at the time.

    A prosecution witness testified that Tennell had admitted smoking PCP on the day the girl was killed.

    The Eagle newspaper reports that his court-appointed attorney had argued Tennell didn’t intentionally kill the child and that others had testified he never previously mistreated Hailey.

    http://kxan.com/2017/04/07/texas-man...onth-old-girl/
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Convicted baby killer asking for new trial

    By Rusty Surette
    KBTX News

    BRYAN, Tex. (KBTX)- A Brazos County judge will likely decide next week if a convicted baby killer will be granted a new trial.

    Defense attorneys for Talawrence Donyea Tennell claim the Brazos County District Attorney's Office withheld evidence during the capital murder trial. At a hearing on Friday, defense attorneys said an undisclosed statement from a witness would have been beneficial to their client.

    Tennell, 38, was convicted in April 2017 of beating to death his girlfriend's 7-month-old baby, Hailey Burleson, while he was high on drugs.

    The child's mother, Crystal Harris, left her alone with Tennell in 2015 while she was out running errands.

    Defense attorneys don't deny Tennell fatally injured the child, nor do they deny he was a recreational user of illegal narcotics.

    What they are claiming is Tennell accidentally spilled PCP on his jeans, and it was absorbed through his skin. It was after that, the defense claims, Tennell acted out and fatally injured Burleson. Court documents show that Tennell claimed to have no memory of what happened.

    In Friday's motion for retrial hearing in the 85th District courtroom, defense attorneys said those omitted statements from the child's mother would have helped prove their client never intentionally got high while he was babysitting.

    Crystal Harris told investigators that when she returned to her home in Bryan, she noticed Tennell had changed out of the pants she last saw him wearing, as she left the home.

    Defense attorneys said that statement was never disclosed to the the defense team.

    Brazos County District Attorney Jarvis Parsons took the stand on Friday to give his side of this case.

    Assistant District Attorney Brian Baker said the prosecutors never intentionally withheld any evidence that could have been used by the defense in its case.

    "That's something that never hit our radar as important," said Baker during closing arguments, referring to the statement about the blue jeans.

    A jury found Tennell guilty of capital murder and he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Defense attorneys are hoping he'll be granted a new trial and will seek a lesser charger, like involuntary manslaughter.

    District Judge Kyle Hawthorne said he'd review the case, and arguments over the weekend. He expects to have a decision no later than 5 p.m. next Tuesday.

    http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Con...429012053.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    June 20, 2017

    Judge denies new trial for convicted baby killer

    By Karla Castillo
    KBTX-TV

    BRYAN, Tex. (KBTX) - A Brazos County judge has denied a convicted baby killer's request for a new trial.

    District Judge Kyle Hawthorne announced his decision regarding Talawrence Tennell Tuesday afternoon. Tennell's lawyer confirmed to News 3 Wednesday morning that an appeal was filed in regards to that ruling.

    Tennell, 38, was convicted in April of beating to death his girlfriend's 7-month-old baby, Hailey Burleson, while he was high on drugs.

    The child was left alone with Tennell in 2015 while her mother, Crystal Harris, was out running errands.

    Last week, his defense attorneys filed a motion for a new trial, claiming the Brazos County District Attorney's Office withheld evidence during the capital murder trial. At a hearing Friday, the defense said an undisclosed statement from a witness would have been beneficial to their client.

    The defense claimed their client accidentally spilled PCP on his jeans, and it was absorbed through his skin. Attorneys claim it was after that Tennell acted out and fatally injured Burleson.

    During the initial investigation, Crystal Harris told investigators she noticed Tennell had changed out of the pants he was wearing when she left the house.

    The defense said that statement was never disclosed to them.

    Assistant District Attorney Brian Baker said the prosecutors never intentionally withheld any evidence that could have been used by the defense in its case.

    Tennell was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole following his conviction of capital murder.

    http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Jud...429767803.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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