Victoria Lilly Viner
Justin Blakeney
2 face charges in girl's death
Jones County Sheriff's deputies made two arrests Monday in connection to the August death of a 2-year-old girl.
Justin Barratt Blakeney, 26, has been charged with capital murder in the death of Victoria Viner.
The child's mother, Lidia Guadalupe Ruiz Viner, 34, has been charged with contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child; felonious abuse and/or battery of a child.
The suspects remain in the Jones County jail. Bond has been denied for both.
Jones County District Attorney J. Ronald Parish said the two suspects were dating and living together at the time of the incident.
According to affidavits signed by Jones County Sheriff's Investigator Nick Messersmith, he responded to South Central Regional Medical Center on Aug. 10 for a possible child abuse call, where doctors said Victoria was suffering from a brain injury.
Victoria was unresponsive at the time and had no visible signs of body trauma.
The victim was transported to University Medical Center in Jackson the same day. She died there Aug. 12 from her injuries.
A state crime lab autopsy report said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and listed the manner of death as homicide.
Parish said no weapons were recovered in the investigation.
The affidavits said investigators learned Victoria had sustained several injuries since Blakeney began baby-sitting her during the day while her mother was at work. They also stated investigators saw photographs of the child with with black eyes and large bruises on her head.
Blakeney was alone with Victoria at the time she sustained the fatal injury, according to the affidavits.
Blakeney faces a maximum penalty of death if convicted of capital murder, which is defined as murder committed in the course of another felony. The affidavits say Victoria died while Blakeney was engaged in "felonious abuse and battery."
Viner faces a maximum 10 years in prison.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/a...n-girl-s-death
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