A 325-pound woman who k*illed her cousin after sitting on her as a form of punishment will spend the rest of her life in prison.
Veronica Posey sat on 9-year-old Dericka Lindsay’s back for 5 to 10-minutes. Reports differ on the amount of time the 64-year-old Posey sat on Dericka’s back but what is known is the result was tragic. Dericka screamed and cried in pain, at least twice telling her adopted parents, James and Grace Smith, that she could not breathe. Dericka fell unconscious and stopped breathing several minutes later.
The medical examiner determined Dericka died from mechanical asphyxia.
THE 9-1-1 CALL AFTER POSEY CRUSHED 9-YEAR-OLD TO DE*ATH
Grace Smith called Veronica Posey in October 2017, asking the woman to come to the house to help discipline Dericka and her younger sister. Grace told Posey the children were “misbehaving.” Although Posey was sleeping when the call came in, she got out of bed, got dressed and drove to the Smith home to help out.
The 9-1-1 call reporting an unresponsive child at the home came in a short time after Posey’s arrival. Posey can be heard on the recorded 9-1-1 call telling the dispatcher that she didn’t know if the child was “faking it” or not. The 9-1-1 dispatcher gave Posey instructions to perform CPR. At this point, Posey tells the dispatcher that Dericka swung a knife at her parents earlier in the day and had been acting “badly.”
On the 9-1-1 call, Posey told the dispatcher she “doesn’t know” how the girl became unresponsive.
DERICKA DIES FROM INJURIES
Dericka was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Her autopsy results showed she had been abused in the days leading to her d*eath. The Medical Examiner said she found “injury on top of injury, on top of injury” as she examined the girl’s body.
Medical examiner Andrea Minyard found brain swelling and noted bruising and abrasions to areas of Dericka’s head, neck, torso and extremities. She said it appeared the child, who weighed 109 pounds, was well-nourished, and her fingernails were neatly trimmed.
As police began their investigation, they learned what really transpired that day: Posey visited the home after Grace called and asked her to help discipline Dericka and her 8-year-old sister who had been misbehaving all day. Posey was sleeping when Grace called but put on clothes and headed to the home. Posey forced Dericka to bend over an armchair and then sat down on top of the girl.
Grace and James admitted to “striking” the child before her de*ath. Police took all three individuals into custody at this time.
CASE AFTERMATH
The 66-year-old Posey was convicted of first-degree mur*der. She is ineligible for parole. She denied trying to hurt the child on that fateful day and said she only wanted to get her to stop misbehaving.
In May 2019, Grace was sentenced to 20 years in prison on convictions of child abuse in the case. James was sentenced to 10-years in federal prison for aggravated manslaughter of a child in late 2018. Grace had been declared unfit to stand trial several times before the conviction.
Rest easy, Dericka. My sincere condolences to her loved ones affected by this tragedy.
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