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Thread: Crystal Ballenger and Jeffrey Hugh Brown Sentenced in 2014 AL Sexual Torture Murder of 1-Year-Old Hoss Wayne Benham

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Crystal Ballenger and Jeffrey Hugh Brown Sentenced in 2014 AL Sexual Torture Murder of 1-Year-Old Hoss Wayne Benham


    Hoss Wayne Benham, 1


    Crystal Ballenger and Jeffrey Hugh Brown


    Cullman woman, boyfriend now charged with capital murder in death of child, 1

    By Erin Edgemon
    AL.com

    A Cullman woman and her boyfriend now face capital murder charges in the death of their child on his first birthday.

    A Cullman County grand jury recently indicted Crystal Ballenger, 24, and Jeffrey Hugh Brown, 38, were indicted on charges of sexual torture, capital murder of a child, and capital murder during sexual abuse, the Cullman Times reported.

    They were both originally charged with aggravated child abuse.

    Hoss Wayne Benham, 1, died on March 11, 2014. According to the autopsy, the child suffered 89 injuries to his body.

    Among the findings of the autopsy, the child suffered 38 injuries to the head and neck from blunt-force trauma; four injuries each to the left and right eyes; 19 to the legs and arms; six to the torso; seven to the genitalia and anus; seven burns to the right foot and four burns to the left foot.

    Ballenger and Brown originally told police Hoss accidentally drowned in a bathtub, but police said the child had bruising all over his body that indicated possible abuse, the Times reported. Police said the boy's skull was fractured.

    http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...l#incart_river
    "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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    Defendants in murder case to get mental evaluations

    By Benjamin Bullard
    The Cullman Times

    A mother and her boyfriend, each accused of torturing and murdering the woman’s infant son, have been ordered to undergo mental evaluations as their separate legal teams plan a defense strategy before the Cullman County Circuit Court.

    Crystal Ballenger, the child’s mother, and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Hugh Brown, were arrested immediately following the March 11, 2014 death of one year-old Hoss Wayne Benham, and have remained incarcerated without bond ever since.

    Released in August, Benham’s autopsy indicated the child had suffered 89 injuries prior to his death. That report let to the addition of capital murder indictments in October against both suspects.

    Ballenger and Brown were arrested a few days after the death and have remained incarcerated since that time. According to Brown’s court records, the state intends to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

    Ahead of the release of state-conducted mental evaluations on each suspect, Brown’s defense team has requested Circuit Judge Martha Williams to forbid anyone connected to his case from releasing information to, or discussing it with, the media.

    Attorneys Sara Baker and Josh M. O’Neal motioned the court this month to impose “an order prohibiting all attorneys, parties, witnesses, law enforcement personnel and court personnel who are connected to the prosecution or investigation of this case from extra judicially releasing information in any form, to any agent or employee of any news media, concerning any aspect of these proceedings.”

    Over the past six weeks, the circuit court has ordered separate mental evaluations for each suspect. Ballenger’s case is set for Circuit Judge Greg Nicholas’ docket; Brown’s is set for Williams’ docket.

    The mental evaluations will be performed by the Alabama Department of Mental Health. No timetable has been given for when the results will be returned.

    Ballenger and Brown were each indicted in October on charges of sexual torture, capital murder of a child and capital murder during sexual abuse.

    Both suspects remain held without bond in the Cullman County Detention Center.

    http://www.cullmantimes.com/news/def...d600b962d.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

  3. #3
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    Capital murder trial in death of 1-year-old Hoss Benham continued

    By David Palmer
    Cullman Times Online

    The capital murder trial of a man accused in the death of a 1-year-old boy in 2014 has been continued to an unspecified date in Cullman County Circuit Court.

    Jeffrey Hugh Brown's trial was slated for the August docket, but his attorney requested the continuance.

    Brown, along with Crystal Ballenger, the mother of the victim, Hoss Wayne Benham, who was 1 at the time of his death.

    Brown and Ballenger initially told hospital officials the child accidentally drowned in a bathtub in the residence they shared at Monk’s Trailer Park on U.S. 31 North, according to the Cullman County Sheriff's Office. Both Brown and Ballenger were later indicted on capital murder charges in 2015.

    Ballenger and Brown also tested positive for methamphetamine and other drugs after Benham's death.

    Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock sought the death penalty after releasing the autopsy report, which showed Benham suffered 89 injuries, 38 injuries to the head and neck from blunt-force trauma; four injuries each to the left and right eyes; 19 to the legs and arms; six to the torso; seven to the genitalia and anus; seven burns to the right foot and four burns to the left foot.

    The child died on his first birthday.

    "The defense asked for the continuance," Blaylock said. "At this point it will not be back on the docket until after September."

    https://www.cullmantimes.com/news/ca...479824480.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

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Brown was sentenced for murder and has a minimum release date in 2055
    http://www.doc.state.al.us/In

    Ballenger received the same.

    http://www.doc.state.al.us/In

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