Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20

Thread: Stephon Lindsay - Alabama Death Row

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875

    Stephon Lindsay - Alabama Death Row







    March 15, 2013

    Relatives say slaying of Baby Maliyah may be satanic 'ritual' killing (updated)

    GADSDEN, Alabama — Relatives of a slain Alabama toddler said the girl's killing may have been a sacrificial ritual by her father, who is charged with capital murder in the child's death.

    Police this week arrested Stephon Lindsay, 35, in the death of 20-month-old Maliyah Lindsay, whose body was found at the end of a dead-end road days after she was last seen by her mother.

    Lindsay believes in satanic worship and recently bought daggers or a sword off the Internet, aunt Cathy Jackson told WBMA-TV.

    Another aunt, Khadejah Thomas, told the station the man's religious practices led to the killing.

    "He either had to sacrifice himself or his child so that's what he did," said Thomas, a sister of the child's mother.

    A police spokesman called the circumstances of the killing shocking and "gruesome," but declined to elaborate.

    Police have not revealed a possible motive in the slaying, but they have said knives or a sword may have been used.

    Lindsay is jailed without bond, and court records did not show Friday whether he has a lawyer. Records also do not provide any detail on how the child was killed.

    Police said Lindsay led them to the girl's body, which was found Tuesday near a dead dog in a weedy area littered with debris.

    Relatives last saw the child alive on March 5, when her mother told authorities the father said he was taking the girl to his sister's house for a few days.

    The mother, Tasmine Thomas, 19, tried to get her daughter from Lindsay on Monday and called the sister when that failed. The sister said she had not seen either the man or the child for several weeks.

    Thomas called police to report her daughter missing, leading to Lindsay's arrest.

    The couple has another daughter who is 1 month old, but that child was not harmed.

    http://blog.al.com/east-alabama/2013...g_of_baby.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

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Trial date set for man accused of killing 1-year-old daughter with sword

    ETOWAH COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - A trial date has been set for an Etowah County man accused of killing his toddler with a sword in March 2013.

    Stephon Lindsay is charged with capital murder
    in the death of his 1-year-old daughter, Maliyah Lindsay.

    Maliyah Lindsay’s mother reported her missing on March 11, 2013. She said Lindsay had taken their daughter about a week before, reportedly to his sister’s house. But when she called his sister, the sister said she hadn’t seen Maliyah, so she notified police.

    Gadsden police found Maliyah Lindsay’s body
    in a wooded area early in the morning on March 13, 2013 and arrested Stephon Lindsay in connection to her death.

    Officers described the crime scene as gruesome and said the weapons used in Maliyah’s death could have been either a sword or hatchet. Relatives said they believed the little girl was killed as part of a ritual.

    Etowah County Judge Billy Ogletree set the trial for Feb. 22, 2016.

    http://www.kmov.com/story/30092448/t...ter-with-sword
    "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

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Edited:

    Trials in toddler killing, running death delayed


    By Donna Thornton
    The Gadsden Times

    The trial for a man charged with killing his toddler daughter with a knife or sword has been moved to February, and will push the second trial in the death of 9-year-old Savannah Hardin to June.

    According to court files, Stephon Lindsay, 39, will face trial Feb. 22 on a capital murder charge before Etowah County Circuit Judge William Ogletree.

    Lindsay was arrested just before investigators discovered the body of his daughter, 20-month-old Maliyah Tashay Lindsay, on March 12, 2013, in a makeshift dumping area near the intersection of Plainview Street and Block Avenue.

    The investigation that led to Lindsay’s arrest began when the child’s mother, Tasmine Thomas, told police she had not seen her child since March 5, when Lindsay told her he was taking the child to visit his sister. She discovered Lindsay’s sister had not seen the child in weeks, and she notified police.

    Lindsay was indicted in June 2013 on a capital murder charge for the murder of a child under 14.

    http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/...51219968?tc=ar
    "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

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    FRANCE
    Posts
    3,073
    Lawyers for man accused of killing toddler in 'ritual' argue against death penalty

    Lawyers for a Gadsden man accused of killing his toddler daughter in 2013 with either a sword or knife have filed several motions to prevent his execution if he is convicted.

    Stephon Lindsay, 38, is accused of killing his daughter, 20-month-old Maliyah Tashay Lindsay.

    Gadsden police discovered the body of Maliyah Lindsay in a wooded area at the dead end of Plainview Street in Gadsden on March 12, 2013 after Stephon Lindsay was arrested in connection with the child's disappearance.

    Relatives later said Lindsay may have killed the child as a result of some kind of satanic ritual. An autopsy ruled the child died of blunt force trauma and that a knife or sword was used in her death. Lindsay is set for trial Feb. 22.

    According to court documents filed this week, Lindsay's lawyers challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection and the ability of the judge hearing the case, District Judge Billy Ogletree, to override the jury's suggestion of a life sentence in a penalty phase.

    In response, Etowah County Chief Deputy Marcus Reid argued in a motion that Stephon Lindsey had previously been convicted of at least one felony involving a threat of violence. In addition, Maliyah's death, he argued, was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel."

    Ogletree on Wednesday ordered that he would hear arguments on the issues during the trial's penalty phase, if it should be necessary.

    http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gads...ed_of_kil.html

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Lawyers for man accused in 'ritual' child killing say death penalty unconstitutional

    By William Thornton
    AL.com

    Lawyers for a Gadsden man accused of killing his toddler daughter in 2013 with either a sword or knife told a judge today that Alabama's death penalty statute is unconstitutional.

    Stephon Lindsay, 38, accused of killing his daughter, 20-month-old Maliyah Tashay Lindsay, was in court today before District Judge Billy Ogletree in Gadsden.

    His lawyers, Morgan Cunningham and Jacob Millican, have filed several motions contesting the death penalty, as well as the judge's prerogative to override the jury's recommendation in the trial's penalty phase.

    Gadsden police discovered the body of Maliyah Lindsay in a wooded area at the dead end of Plainview Street in Gadsden on March 12, 2013 after Stephon Lindsay was arrested in connection with the child's disappearance.

    Relatives later said Lindsay may have killed the child as a result of some kind of ritual. An autopsy ruled the child died of blunt force trauma and that a knife or sword was used in her death. Lindsay is set for trial Feb. 22.

    In a hearing today, Cunningham focused on one argument - that Alabama's death penalty statute is unconstitutional because it closely mirrors Florida's. On Jan. 16, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of Florida's death penalty statute because it did not give jurors a large enough role in determining whether defendants should be executed.

    Etowah County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marcus Reid said the court did not strike down all death penalty statues, but merely Florida's. He also said Alabama's statute had been held up by the court, and that the court had turned away an request for a stay from Alabama inmate Christopher Brooks, who was executed less than a week after the Supreme Court's Florida decision.

    "It's not as though the Alabama statute is unknown to the United States Supreme Court," Reid said.

    Ogletree said he would rule later this week on the motion. Ogletree also stated that both Lindsay's defense team and prosecutors are waiting on the results of a second medical exam as to Lindsay's mental state at the time of the crime.

    http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gads...rt_river_index
    "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

  6. #6
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Jury selection continues in capital murder trial of Stephon Lindsay

    By Donna Thornton
    The Gadsden Times

    The jury selection process is expected to continue Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Stephon Lindsay of Gadsden.

    Lindsay stands accused of killing his 20-month-old daughter, Maliyah, in March 2013. The indictment returned against Lindsay charges him with intentionally causing the girl’s death by multiple sharp force injuries to her neck. At the time of the slaying, the district attorney said the injuries were inflicted with a knife or sword-like weapon.

    Maliyah’s mother told police in March 2013 that she had last seen her daughter March 5, when Lindsay said he was taking the toddler to visit his sister. Several days later, Tasmine Thomas contacted Lindsay’s sister and learned that she had not seen Lindsay or Maliyah.

    Thomas reported the girl missing and police took Lindsay into custody. After his arrest, he led them to Maliyah’s body in a wooded area off Plainview Street and Block Avenue, a site littered with trash and debris that had been dumped there over time.

    Members of the child’s family said after the arrest that the slaying was a part of a sacrificial ritual — something authorities have not commented on.

    A gag order was issued in the early stages of legal proceedings against Lindsay and remains in effect for those involved in the case.

    Lindsay has been jailed since his arrest.

    Defense attorneys filed a motion asking that the judge bar the prosecution or witnesses from any mention of Lindsay’s prior criminal history or bad acts.

    Lindsay was convicted in August 1999 on six counts of first-degree robbery. He received 20-year sentences in each case, all to run concurrently, but obviously didn’t serve the full sentence.

    In a motion that will be considered before the start of the trial, Lindsay’s defense attorneys said the only reason for bringing evidence of the prior crimes before the jury would be to prejudice them against their client.

    Etowah County Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree on Friday ordered that any testimony making reference to issues addressed in the motion should be brought to his attention before that testimony comes before the jury, so he can determine whether it is admissible.

    http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/...9960?p=2&tc=pg
    "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

  7. #7
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Testimony begins in Gadsden toddler 'ritual' killing trial

    By William Thornton
    AL.com

    Etowah County prosecutors today told jurors that the body of a 20-month-old girl, hacked to death, was found in 2013 in a duffel bag cast among trash in a field next to a dead dog.

    Today saw the beginning of testimony in the trial of Stephon Lindsay, 38, accused of killing his daughter, Maliyah Tashay Lindsay, almost three years ago in what some family members termed a "ritual" killing.

    Gadsden police discovered the body of Maliyah Lindsay in a wooded area at the dead end of Plainview Street in Gadsden on March 12, 2013 after Stephon Lindsay was arrested in connection with the child's disappearance.

    Chief Deputy District Attorney Marcus Reid said testimony would show Stephon killed Maliyah in accordance with his religious beliefs, using a long knife while the child's mother was sick following giving birth a few weeks before.

    Stephon's lawyer, Morgan Cunningham, told jurors they would feel "infinite sadness" hearing testimony, but asked them to put aside emotion.

    The first witness this morning was the child's mother, Tasmine Thomas. She met Lindsay when she was 17 and he was in his 30s. She said Stephon had substance abuse problems and would occasionally get mad if someone referred to him as Maliyah's daddy, but this was due to his religious beliefs.

    Stephon would occasionally read and write in a dark green binder that he called his Bible, she said. He had a passion for horror, zombie and martial arts movies, she said, and would occasionally run outside into the rain to "do the stuff they do in the movies." He collected knives and swords, she said, but also had a sense of humor and helped cook and clean and care for Maliyah.

    While Thomas testified, Stephon Lindsay kept his head down, occasionally wiping his face.

    The couple lived in a two-bedroom apartment with sleeping quarters upstairs. In early February, Tasmine gave birth to their second child by cesarean section, leaving her weak. On the evening of Feb. 5, 2013, she said, Stephon offered to take Maliyah to his sister's house for a few days. She laid down with Maliyah until he came to take her.

    "Did you ever see your baby alive again?" Prosecutor Carol Griffin asked.

    "No," Thomas said.

    For the next few days, Thomas believed Maliyah was at Lindsay's sister's house. But she remained sick, vomiting, unable to eat. Still, Thomas noticed a pungent odor of bleach coming from downstairs in the apartment. Stephon told her he was cleaning.

    A week later, she said she wanted to get Maliyah. Stephon said he would go with her to pick the baby up, but he left to get gas. After about three hours with no word from Stephon, Thomas said she called the sister, who told her she had not seen Stephon or Maliyah. When Thomas tried to call Stephon, she got no answer. She then contacted police.

    It was only later that a detective told her that Maliyah was dead. She said she has never heard how the child died, and does not plan to listen to testimony.

    "I didn't want to hear it," she said. "It was too painful."

    http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gads...rt_river_index
    "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

  8. #8
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    'He made me do it': Jurors see confession in ritual toddler slaying trial

    By William Thornton
    AL.com

    Jurors in an Etowah County murder trial this afternoon saw the taped confession of a man accused of hacking his daughter to death.

    On a video played for the jury, Stephon Lindsay was heard saying "He made me do it," referring to his god, Yahweh, who he told police instructed him to kill his 20-month-old daughter Maliyah in 2013.

    Today was the first day of testimony in the trial of Lindsay, 38, accused of killing his daughter, Maliyah Tashay Lindsay, almost three years ago in what some family members termed at the time a "ritual" killing.

    Gadsden police discovered the body of Maliyah Lindsay in a wooded area at the dead end of Plainview Street in Gadsden on March 12, 2013 after Stephon Lindsay was arrested in connection with the child's disappearance.

    Earlier in the day, Maliyah's mother, Tasmine Thomas, told the jury that Stephon had told her his god was different than the God of the Bible.
    She said he often would read and write in a dark green binder that he said was his Bible.

    After police established on March 11, 2013 that Maliyah had been missing for a week, they began looking for Stephon. Gadsden Police Det. Wayne Hammonds said it took a day to locate him. When police found him at a home in Alabama City, Lindsay calmly told them Maliyah was dead and that he would tell them "everything in due time." He also instructed them to record it.

    The video of the confession played with Lindsay sitting at the defense table.

    "I only did what he told me to do with her," he said on the video. "He told me to get rid of her," referring to Yahweh.

    His words interrupted by long pauses and long sighs, Lindsay told police he had cut his daughter's throat in a downstairs room of his apartment while the child's mother was asleep upstairs. He then said they would find the body of his daughter in a green bag in a wooded area near Gadsden's Tuscaloosa Avenue. He held her mouth as he killed her, he said, to keep her from screaming.

    "I had to carry this out," he said, when asked by a detective if it was hard. "Yahweh has revealed every secret to me concerning the Scriptures...This is the only way. I tried to stay away. He was everywhere. I couldn't get away. It wasn't easy. It still troubles me. I'm not crazy. I didn't go off the deep end."

    "Do you think she's better off?" the detective asked.

    "Yes," he said. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. He told me that this present life, he said that it is death."

    Later on, however, Detective Terri Farris said it took police several hours to find swords, knives and a hatchet Lindsay had left in an area about six blocks away from where he left his daughter's body. Across the road, police found torn pieces of paper that Lindsay said were his religious writings.

    "He said he didn't want them anymore," she testified.

    http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gads...rt_river_index
    "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

  9. #9
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Jurors hear details of girls' wounds, DNA evidence

    By Donna Thornton
    The Gladsden Times

    A state forensic pathologist testified the wounds Maliyah Lindsay suffered severed her trachea, her esophagus, her major blood vessels and cut into vertebrae in her neck so that the spinal cord was visible in autopsy photos.

    The 20-month-old girl’s father, Stephon Lindsay, is on trial for capital murder in the girl’s 2013 death.

    Valerie Green, with the Alabama Department of Forensic Science, told jurors she could not be sure of the exact number of sharp force blows that were inflicted on the child, but based on marks on the bones there were at least seven.

    She also suffered defensive wounds on both hands, and had bruises on her face consistent with someone pressing a hand over her mouth.

    Green’s testimony aligned with what Lindsay told investigators in the case — that he put his hand over Maliyah’s mouth so she couldn’t scream or cry out and cut her on the throat with a hatchet.

    Using graphic photos of the injuries, Green pointed out how the blows from sharp-edged blade cbut through muscles in the front of the girl’s neck, the thyroid cartilage, the trachea, the esophagus and into the bones of her spine. The girl’s head remained connected to her body by tissue and some bone, Green explained.

    Teryn Bostick, a scientist with the Department of Forensic Science’s DNA section, told jurors she tested evidence in the case and found a match for Maliyah Lindsay’s DNA in a swab from blood splattered on the wall at Tasmine Thomas’ White Avenue apartment. A swab from the door contained a mixture of Maliyah’s DNA and Stephon Lindsay’s.

    Bostick compared DNA samples from a shirt found and could not exclude Maliyah, her mother, her father or her baby sister, Yahria, because of the relationship between the parties.

    DNA from a mop found at the apartment belonged to the defendant.

    Bostick said it’s unlikely someone could clean up blood from a crime scene well enough to eliminate DNA evidence, but it is possible. She said bleach is an effective way to clean up DNA; it is used in the lab to clean work surfaces to prevent contamination.

    Mark Hopwood, senior forensic scientist at the Jacksonville State University Center for Applied Forensics, told jurors about searching the wooded areas on the north and south sides of Bretwood Drive for evidence on March 13, 2013, after Lindsay directed police to Maliyah’s body nearby on Plainview Street, then told them to look for weapons off Bretwood.

    Two swords were found, he said, but despite using leaf blowers to clear the area, the hatchet described as the murder weapon was not found.

    The swords were found on the north side of Bretwood, Hopwood said, and on the south side, a Clorox bottle that “looked cleaner than the other trash in the area” and pieces of torn-up cardboard or poster board were found.

    When pieced together, the cardboard had handwritten words or phrases, including “zombie killer,” “stay misery,” “Psalm 3B 1-3” “the axe,” “lest a boy,” “souly sense,” “eliyay,” and “run for real” in capital letters.

    Jurors heard last week from Thomas that Lindsay had ordered swords for a collection from the Internet, and that he had a green binder with handwritten pages about his belief in “Yahweh,” a god that was not the God of the Holy Bible.

    In his confession, Lindsay said, Yahweh told him to kill his daughter.

    Testimony will resume this afternoon, and the defense is expected to begin presentation of its case.

    http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/...9843?p=2&tc=pg
    "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

  10. #10
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Prosecution rests its case in Stephon Lindsay capital murder trial

    By Dixon Hayes
    WBRC News

    ETOWAH COUNTY, AL - The state has rested its case in a trial over a murdered child and testimony shared Monday was graphic.

    Stephon Lindsay is on trial for capital murder in the death of his 20-month-old daughter Maliyah.

    Monday, a state pathologist told the jury Maliyah apparently died of bleeding to death and asphyxiation.

    The trial could wrap up and the jury could begin deliberating this week.

    http://www.wbrc.com/story/31348358/p...ZdA0Nw.twitter
    "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

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •