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Originally published 01:17 p.m., November 17, 2006
Updated 03:23 p.m., November 17, 2006
Closing arguments in the murder trial of Jay Decker are over and the case has gone to the jury.
A prosecutor flashed a series of photos showing the bruised head and neck of a 5-month-old infant during closing arguments this morning in the trial of her father, who's accused of killing her through repeated child abuse.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Risha Lafferty is dead. She is dead at the hands of Jay Decker," assistant Dist. Atty. Amy McGowan said. "Risha is here. She speaks to you through these injuries that she had. ... Her voice is here in court."
Defense attorney Tom Bartee said in a closing argument that the series of injuries the baby suffered in the weeks leading up to her death — all while in Decker's care — could have been accidental. He argued that the baby's mother, Brandi Mae Hendrickson, had been abusive in the past and that the timeline of events suggested she could have abused the baby in the hours before she was found dead.
"Jay Decker did not do this. Brandi Hendrickson did. He's not guilty," Bartee said.
Decker has been on trial all week. Risha Lafferty was found dead Oct. 14, 2005, at Edgewood Homes, 1600 Haskell Ave. Decker had been watching the baby while Hendrickson was at work.
UPDATE: Jay Decker has been found guilty of muder in the first degree. Sentencing will be January 3rd, 2007.
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