Michigan Couple Convicted Of Murder In 5-Year-Old Girl's Starvation Death
PORT HURON (AP/WWJ) - A Michigan couple accused of abusing, torturing and starving a 5-year-old girl to death have been convicted of murder and other crimes.
A jury in St. Clair County returned the verdicts Friday against Andrew Maison and Hilery Maison — his wife and the girl's stepmother — after a six-day trial.
Andrew Maison's daughter, Mackenzie, was unresponsive when an emergency crew was called to their home in Port Huron last May.
Medical experts said Mackenzie weighed 25 pounds at the time of her death, and was also suffering from pneumonia and a genital infection. Her 3-year-old sister, who weighed 17 pounds, has doubled her weight since Mackenzie's death. She's now in foster care.
Prosecutors described both children as "severely neglected" and "severely malnourished," having been denied food over the course of "weeks to months."
Michael Boucher, Hilery Maison's defense lawyer, told jurors there was no evidence that the couple intended for Mackenzie die. He also said the girls' health problems predated their time with their stepmother. Her two biological children, who were found to be healthy, were removed from the home.
Andrew Maison's attorney, Frederick Lepley, says his client is a hard-working father who loved his kids.
Both defendants face life in prison with no opportunity for parole.
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