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Judge removes himself from child's homicide case

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By HARRIET VAUGHAN

The Tennessean

FRANKLIN — Nearly 50 people showed up at Williamson County Circuit Court Monday morning to witness the sentencing of Jennifer Alvey, who has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the death of her daughter, or to speak on Alvey's behalf.

Instead, the assembled crowd saw Judge Robbie Beal remove himself from her case.

Alvey, 36, of Spring Hill, was arrested in December for the death of her 20-month-old daughter, Emma, adopted from China.

Emma died from a skill fracture in 2005. Originally, Alvey told police that Emma fell down the stairs while playing with a walk-behind toy. Statements included in the investigation reveal Alvey later admitted to shaking Emma when she wouldn't stop crying, causing the toddler to hit her head on a coffee table.

In June, Beal accepted Alvey's guilty pleas on charges of aggravated assault and reckless homicide.

Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges as part of a plea agreement in which a judge would decide how a 15-year sentence would be served.

But that judge won't be Beal, who immediately notified those in the court when he walked in Monday morning that he would be removing himself from the case.

He said District Attorney Kim Helper and Mark Puryear, Alvey's lawyer, asked him to step down minutes before entering the courtroom because of a previous comment he'd made in which he implied that anyone involved in killing a child should go to prison.

"I think it was a bit overblown, but I trust the lawyers. Far be it from me to deny that request," he told the court.

Puryear would not comment on Beal's actions.

Helper says removing Beal from the case was a proactive move to prevent any problems down the road dealing with sentencing.

"I don't think at all that there is an indication that the state believes that Judge Beal wouldn't be impartial to the sentencing, but we're certainly mindful that as these types of cases can go through the appellate process . . . there could be some issue that could come back," she said.

A new sentencing date for Alvey has not been scheduled.

Contact Harriet Vaughan at 615-771-5415 or hvaughan@tennessean.com.

2008 Sep 30