Testimony heard in child's death trial; Accused of abusing 2-year-old, mother faces murder charge

Accused of abusing 2-year-old, mother faces murder charge

Author: Stephen Gurr Staff Writer

The wails of a dying 21- month-old child brought several people to tears Tuesday in Forsyth County Superior Court.

As a recording played in court of a 911 call made by Jill Ellen Depaillat seeking treatment for her gravely injured daughter, Mia, Depaillat cried at the defense table where she is on trial for a charge of murder.

On the witness stand, the operator who took the call cried as nearly six minutes of sustained crying by the child was played. In the jury box, at least one juror cried. In the gallery, spectators wept.

The heart-wrenching sounds punctuated the first full day of testimony Tuesday when prosecutors sought to prove that Depaillat killed her adopted daughter in April 2004 during a fit of rage.

Depaillat has insisted the developmentally challenged toddler fell down wood and tile stairs at her house in the Brookwood Plantation subdivision.

By the time she arrived at Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Atlanta, Mia had severe swelling of the brain from internal bleeding, injuries that one brain surgeon termed "non-survivable." She was disconnected from life support two days later.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Sandra Partridge told the jury in her opening statement that injuries to the girl's intestines and brain, and telltale hemorrhaging in the retinas of her eyes, would point to no other answer than child abuse.

"The medical examiner said this is either a fist or a stomping injury to the belly," the prosecutor said of the intestinal injuries, slamming her foot down on the carpeted courtroom floor for emphasis. "That it could not happen from a fall down the stairs."

The retinal hemorrhages, Partridge told the jury, "are a sign that there's been an episode of violent shaking."

"This was no accident," Partridge said. "This was no fall down the stairs. It was an act of rage that took the life of a 21-month-old child."

Depaillat's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, countered in her opening that Mia's death was "a nightmarish tragedy that started off as an accident."

Bernstein said her client was at the top of the stairs with Mia in her arms and leaned down to pick up her 16-month-old son Julian, "and Mia starts to wiggle and she tumbles out and falls down the stairway. It was any mother's worst nightmare."

Bernstein said Depaillat became a suspect in her daughter's death early on without any hard evidence.

"Look at how quickly the red flags go up and stay up without any real investigation," Bernstein said.

The attorney noted that Depaillat cooperated fully with authorities who wanted her to show them what happened inside her house.

"She's talking about what happened - not getting a lawyer," Bernstein said.

Bernstein questioned the timeline that had her client flying into a violent rage sometime between the time her adolescent sons arrived home from school around 4 p.m. until the time the child was injured while the boys were outside playing, shortly before 5.

She also noted that it took a GBI medical examiner months to conclude that the death was a homicide. Depaillat was charged with murder in October 2004, six months after her child's death.

Partridge called several emergency responders to testify about Depaillat's demeanor as they arrived at the home.

Forsyth County firefighter Ben Wilson said he "didn't recall the mother being very hysterical, which you would expect in a call involving a child."

Paramedic Wendy Ramseur described Depaillat as "very quiet - almost catatonic" during the 20 minute ride to the hospital.

Ramsuer said she couldn't recall Depaillat asking about her child's condition during the ride.

Both witnesses acknowledged under cross-examination that different people react to stress differently.

William Boydston, a pediatric neurosurgeon with Scottish Rite, testified about the procedures he used to try to save the child's life, including relieving pressure on the brain by removing a portion of the skull.

Boydston said the wounds were recent and not the result of an old injury.

He said his first impression of the case was that "potentially you could make the argument that, yeah, it could happen from falling down the stairs."

But once the doctor learned of the retinal hemorrhaging and intestinal injuries found in an autopsy, he was more skeptical.

"In my experience, I have not seen that constellation of injuries from a fall down the stairs," Boydston said.

Depaillat's husband, Christophe, was the last witness of the day.

The French-born computer consultant testified about his seven-year marriage to the defendant and their decision to adopt baby Mia from China when she was 9 months old.

Christophe Depaillat acknowledged having financial difficulties immediately prior to the child's death to the point that the family could not afford health insurance.

He also acknowledged placing a call to a state-run health care program for developmentally challenged children shortly before the injuries occurred.

Under cross-examination, he told Bernstein that, "I never have seen Jill striking Mia at all."

"You never personally saw Jill do anything violent to little Mia?" Bernstein asked. "To anybody," he responded.

E-mail Stephen Gurr at stephengurr@forsythnews.com.