Sitter charged with baby's dryer death

[cali]

GRETNA, La. (AP) - A Louisiana baby sitter is charged with second-degree murder after prosecutors say she put a baby into a spinning clothes dryer for disturbing her television watching.

Nineteen-year-old Arielle Smith was indicted by a grand jury Thursday for the baby's September death in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey.

Authorities said 5-month-old Andre Jenkins died at the scene from skull fractures and burns suffered in the dryer.

Prosecutors said Smith was watching the baby and two older children at her home. She told police the children were being rambunctious and interfering with her television watching.

Investigators said Smith put the baby in the dryer and turned it on for 3 minutes while the two older children were put in another room.

Smith's attorney declined comment.
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/national/nat_ap_la_sitter_charged_with_babys_dryer_death_2009010910002154709

[Submariner]

1. Life without parole in a cell with no TV should fit her well

Sick.

[whistler162]

77. Sorry I disagree....

life without parole and a big screen TV but NO electricity or electricity one a day with a picture of the child the only picture on the TV.

[gollygee]

2. Poor baby :(

How incredibly tragic. :(

It's reading this kind of thing that makes me afraid to hire babysitters.

[graywarrior]

3. Why second degree?

[cali]

4. I don't know. Perhaps because she didn't intend to kill the baby.

[Bolo Boffin]

5. If that had been my baby, I'd be the one up for second degree. n/t

[driver8]

12. Amen!

This story is so sad, and makes me so angry!

Poor little baby...

[walldude]

9. 1st degree murder is pre-planned..

Spur of the moment murder is second degree.

[graywarrior]

15. She pre-planned her tv show.

If she was watching Fox News she should be charged with 1st degree.

[madeline_con]

65. She had to take the baby to the dryer, set it, close the door and turn it on.

That's premiditation, IMO.

[varkam]

85. Clearly, she intended to put the baby in the dryer.

But the important point is an intent to kill. Even if she intended to put the baby in the dryer, she may not have intended to kill the baby.

[varkam]

29. I'm guessing because she didn't intend to kill the baby.

She probably meant the dryer thing as a punishment, certainly, but she probably didn't appreciate how dangerous it was.

[TahitiNut]

52. Fabric softener?

:hide:

[graywarrior]

58. Oh, that's bad/funny

:evilgrin:

[madeline_con]

66. Come on, that's really not cool.

:(

[TahitiNut]

88. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4797918&mesg_id=4798579

[Sanctified]

6. Something tells me that the sitter probably has some other issues, like a poor education. n/t

[cali]

8. a poor education hardly excuses this bullshit. The average 6 year old

knows better than this.

[Sanctified]

10. Average 6 year old who is not living in poverty, maybe.

I am betting this girl lives in the poorest part of New Orleans and probably has a junior high at best education.

[DS1]

13. poverty is no excuse

I'm so tired of people like you scraping for excuses for scum like this.

[Sanctified]

17. Not making excuses, pointing out that this death is a result of poor education and poverty.

I doubt the babysitter had any idea the baby would die, if she wanted to kill the child she probably would have used another method and definitely would not have set the timer on the dryer for 3 minutes.

[Withywindle]

20. WTF?

That's an insult to all the billions of poor and undereducated people in the world who somehow manage to get through life without putting a baby in a dryer. How patronizing is THAT? You don't need to finish high school to have a moral compass and ability to care for others.

This death is a result of selfishness and sadism. You can find it in people of all socioeconomic levels.

[Sanctified]

23. How many Harvard Grads in Manhattan put their kids in a dryer?

It's not popular but you will find a higher death rate for children by neglect in poorer uneducated neighborhoods than you will in affluent.

[JuniperLea]

36. Are you saying there are fewer sociopaths

who are also graduates of Harvard?

If she knew how to turn the dryer on, she knew what the dryer does.

[Whoa_Nelly]

79. There's a bunch of sociopaths that came from Yale

Sociopathy. Narcissism. What the babysitter did was inhumane.
Am surprised it isn't First Degree. She wanted that baby to hurt.
Had a kitten years ago that got into the dryer and I didn't know it.
The thumping was terrible and immediate. Her neck was broken.
A horribly sad and tragic moment.

Now.

Can only imagine the thumping of that poor baby in the dryer.
The sitter is cruel with intent.

Hope her ass is nailed to the wall.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

53. Neglect maybe but not necessarily abuse.

Sick sociopathic fucks exist at all socioeconomic levels.

[JI7]

104. there have been many cases of College Students giving birth and killing the baby

and many other horrible things.

[woo me with science]

69. Yup. This mentality reminds me of the woman who put the baby in the oven

and was ordered to take parenting classes:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x630958

I mean, how was she supposed to know not to put the baby in the oven without some parenting classes?????????

[dorkulon]

98. Wow, that is unbelieveable.

The post on that thread are insane. Something tells me that is that were a man baking his baby because his wife was leaving he'd be in jail right now.

[LanternWaste]

21. So what do you believe...

"I doubt the babysitter had any idea the baby would die..."

So what do you believe she thought the consequences would be?

[Sanctified]

27. Honestly I believe she thought the baby would do a little tumble number like sheets or towels.

She set the timer for 3 minutes which to me indicates she did not plan on the child dying or having any harm. Obviously if you have any intellect you would realize that children do not tumble nicely like linens or towels and that a dryer produces heat which is how those towels and linens dry.

Do I think the woman should walk from this? No, but I do think that we as a society have failed when we offer a shitty education system to people living in poverty and then feign shock when they do dumb ass stuff.

[RiverStone]

48. Wrong - I have worked with kids below the poverty line for years

You assume poverty breeds a lack of ability to assume personal responsibility for one's actions.

Don't blame society or the lack of education for that kid killing a baby. Poverty is no excuse!

This is not rocket science.

Poverty creates lots of problems, but in 15+ years working for a district in an area so economically depressed that 100% of our students receive a free and reduced lunch - not one kid has ever done anything like this.

My heart goes out to both families.

[Sanctified]

50. What State do you work in? n/t

[RiverStone]

51. Washington state - rural area east of the Cascades

Beautiful geographically - but very economically depressed. Used to be tons of timber jobs, no more.

[Sanctified]

54. I believe WA ranks number 17 for public schools while LA ranks 47.

Education plays a huge role for child welfare, children growing up impoverished and uneducated are more likely to do something dumb like put a baby in a dryer. I don't want to defend her actions but I do want to say if we keep kids dumb and poor we will see more shit like this happening in the future over less of it.

[RiverStone]

56. I'm all for greatly increasing funding for education....but

Going off topic for a sec - NCLB has been a total waste and detriment to teachers, students, and schools. Like the ol saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.

How then Milton, do you propose we don't keep kids dumb and poor? Again, the "we" is your word.

Kids are faced with difficult decisions every day and as a big proponent of personal responsibility, I place far more "blame" on the kid herself and to a lessor degree, her parents for allowing a teenager who obviously is not mentally capable of caring for young kiddos to babysit.

[Sanctified]

60. My solution would probably not be that popular.

I really think we should be paying teachers 100k-125k a year but if you are going to draw that kind of salary you need to be the best and brightest our Universities have to offer. Imagine how our country would look when corporations had to compete with Public schools for the cream of the crop. Now obviously teachers are not the only ones responsible for a child's education so I would throw in tax incentives for parents to be more involved with their child's education. One way would be to give tax credits to parents of children who have a 'B' average and increase the credits for children with an 'A' average. I think when parents correlate their child's education with a healthy bit of money they will take education more serious and put more effort into helping their child succeed. I would also dump a shit load of money into public schools, I honestly would like to see Public High Schools receiving the same kind of funding as our Colleges and Universities. Finally I think the first 4 years of college should be covered by the Government for all children.

Now I know this is going to cost a shit load of money but if we can figure out how to spend Billions in Iraq killing people we should be able to figure out how to pay our teachers an adequate wage for what they do and ensure every child can attend college.

[LisaL]

62. Are you suggesting

that unless someone has a good education it's not possible to figure out not to put babies in dryers? O'key.
:eyes:

[Dorian Gray]

105. Seriously

It reads like that person is saying: "The poor are too dumb to know that it's a BAD thing to put a baby in the dryer!" How arrogant and condescending can that poster be?

[JuniperLea]

26. How would an education help in this case??

I don't know about you, but I never took a clothes dryer class... or a don't put a baby into a clothes dryer class...

[tkmorris]

34. No, but basic science helps understand things like this

The advantages of education go far beyond the limited scope of material taught in the classroom. It changes the very ways in which we analyze and make judgments about simple day to day events.

[JuniperLea]

35. Ridiculous

You're willing to cut her slack for this? You honestly think she didn't understand that things get hurled about and heated when you put them into a dryer?

Anyone who knows how to turn a dryer on understands the workings of a dryer.

[LisaL]

63. Are you for real? Are you seriously saying that someone

can not figure out to not put babies in a dryer, unless that someone has taken some basic science?
Seriously?

[Sanctified]

67. Well there are those who don't know to turn off a lawnmower

before trying to dislodge debri from it. Common sense would dictate that you will lose your fingers or hands but it still happens and lawnmower manufacturers get sued for it.

[dorkulon]

94. That happened to the dean of an exclusive private school here.

Ivy league professor-type. Lost four fingers. So much for that theory.

[Chulanowa]

33. Uhm... Wow

I don't care how poorly-educated you are. The result of putting an infant into a fucking dryer should be instantly obvious to any goddamned person.

[gollygee]

37. What do you think she wanted to happen to the baby?

She must have known he would be severely injured at least. She didn't do it because she thought he'd like it.

[TK421]

38. What...you mean like setting the thing to air-fluff?

:shrug:

[charlie]

39. Ever put shoes in the dryer

and hear the hellacious racket it makes? Stuffing an infant in there would sound like a bowling ball falling down stairs. A screaming bowling ball.

You can be pig ignorant and still recognize the sound of someone getting pasted. She's just flat out mean, a real sociopath.

[Cronopio]

92. Such a fine and moveable line between a sadist and a murderer.

As far as I'm concerned a sadist is just as bad, if not worse. It is possible to end a person's life out of a (misguided or uninformed) compassionate motivation, but compassion and sadism can never coexist.

She wanted a child to experience extreme pain because she wanted to watch T.V.? Education and poverty has nothing whatsoever to do with that. If the child didn't die, she should have been charged with attempted murder.

[dorkulon]

95. Exactly. At the very least she wanted the child to suffer extreme pain.

I have no sympathy for this monster.

[bevoette]

81. WTF??

i'll be honest...this post is an example of why many people i know would never call themselves a democrat



sheeesh

[Vektor]

91. Oh geez, please don't blame political affiliation for the absurdity of that post.

I think it's safe to say that the VERY vast majority of Dems would have nothing good to say about this crime, nor would they be inclined to make excuses for it.

[cali]

14. I've known an awful lot of poor kids

doesn't make them stupid or heartless.

[bevoette]

82. 'poor' does not equal stupid. neither does 'uneducated'.

the notion is ridiculous


we live in a selfish, self-centered world

[Gemini Cat]

42. Here's a list of things I knew at age six:

Don't pull a cat or dog's tail.
Don't talk to strangers.
Stop, look and listen when crossing a street.
And don't ever ever fucking place my baby brother in the dryer, no matter how much he got on my nerves.
At age 19 her alleged ignorance is no excuse.

[gollygee]

45. I just asked my 6-year-old daughter

"What do you think would happen to a kitty cat who was put in a dryer?" I didn't want to freak her out by saying a baby.

Her answer: "Uh, it would get killed."

[madeline_con]

68. The Bad Excuse Meter's going nuts. n/t

[ZombieHorde]

70. My highschool never covered what to do or not to do with babies, yet I somehow knew

that putting babies in a dryer is a bad idea.

[Arkansas Granny]

73. Sorry, that just doesn't work. I raised my kids in poverty in the poorest part or town.

Way before they reached the level of junior high education I'm sure they knew it was dangerous to put a baby or any other living thing in the dryer. Maybe she didn't mean for the baby to die, but I'd be willing to bet that she knew that putting the baby in the dryer was the wrong thing to do.

[AlCzervik]

16. you don't have to be educated to know putting a baby into a dryer is a bad idea.

[DS1]

30. Nobody puts baby in the dryer!

[EOTE]

43. I can't believe you went there.

I'm totally going to hell for laughing at that.

[Contrary1]

55. Leave some room for me...I'm right behind you. n/t

[dorkulon]

96. Me, too.

Very inappropriate, and funny.

[AlCzervik]

44. The uneducated do!

and damn you for making me laugh.

/going to hell
//slashies

[tammywammy]

46. LOL!

I'm so going to hell, but that was funny. :rofl:

[sniffa]

71. !!!

:rofl:

[closeupready]

32. Nonsense.

n/t

[Unrepentant Fenian]

100. SO WHAT ??????

[WI_DEM]

7. I know it's LA and all, but putting a baby in a dryer and turning it on for 3-minutes

what did she expect? And then tells the cops that the bb was interfering with her TV time! Fiction writers couldn't make this stuff up.

[DS1]

11. wood chipper. feet first.

tomorrow please

[slackmaster]

18. That only takes 6-7 seconds

Not harsh enough.

[varkam]

24. Maybe you can rub her bits all over yourself when you're done. eom

[DS1]

25. nah, then I'd have to thrown myself in the washing machine

[varkam]

28. Afraid of getting your hands dirty? eom

[DS1]

31. You seem to have difficulty with cause and effect

[varkam]

61. What?

Your main problem with rubbing her bits all over you when you finished feeding her to the wood chipper was, apparently, that you would be all messy. Was I wrong?

[DS1]

74. Yes, you were wrong

It wasn't about getting my hands dirty, it was about putting myself in a laundry machine. Therefore, I'm okay with getting my hands dirty, it's just cleaning up via a washing machine that bothers me.

Hence, cause and effect.

[varkam]

84. And why would you *have* to clean up via a washing machine? eom

[DS1]

89. Because I would have been more than happy to send

that person through the wood chipper. And in doing so get my hands wet with blood. But I'd rather not go through a washing machine to clean it, because that's normally fatal.

[varkam]

102. Maybe you should send her son through first and make her watch.

You know, just to up the punishment a little.

[LanternWaste]

19. My God...

My God... she did this because a newborn was "interfering with her television watching"?

Is this uncaring, unthinking, self-absorbed behavior part and parcel of what the human race is devolving into? Dare I disturb an individual while they're playing a video game? Dare I even ask the merest of questions of someone tuned out into their I-pod?

I'd thought that when I worked for TX CPS that I'd seen and heard the basest and most vile of activities, but this is beyond anything I can even wrap my brain around...


Jesus wept...

[Withywindle]

72. Well, I admit I can get a little snippy when you interrupt me reading.

Can't say I've ever dryered anyone, though.

[DS1]

75. Uday Hussein was executed for quicker deaths

Why stop there?

[bevoette]

83. "Is this uncaring, unthinking, self-absorbed behavior part and parcel..."

in a word, yes

for her, it was a baby disturbing her tv

for others it's bilking people out of billions

or starting a war to settle a family grudge

[sinkingfeeling]

22. Arielle Smith is 19 years-old and a mother of a one year old child. She had been dating the

uncle of the baby for many years. Surely, a month of a small child would know better, even if she had no education!

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/harvey_teen_charged_with_killi.html

In the first case, Arielle Smith, 19, is accused of killing Andre Jenkins, 5 months old, on Sept. 11. Smith was watching the infant, his 18-month-old brother, and her 1-year-old son in her home at 512 MacArthur Drive. She was caring for the two brothers for her friend, who was at work, authorities said.

Detectives booked Smith with first-degree murder Sept. 11, a charge that allows the death penalty, but a magistrate judge last year found evidence sufficient to hold her on the lesser charge, records show. If convicted of second-degree murder, Smith would face a mandatory life sentence in prison.

[TK421]

40. She should be stuck in a dryer...for a couple of hours

see if she cares what she missed on TV then.....

[Fire1]

41. THY NAME IS SATAN!

[anonymous171]

47. Wow. This is really close to being evil.

[derby378]

49. No fucking excuse - put her in a cell with a TV that only plays COP ROCK reruns

That'll learn her...

[dorkulon]

99. You monster! /nt

[dddem]

57. Oh...My...God

what the hell was in this woman's head?

[tammywammy]

59. Not much apparently. n/t

[DS1]

76. However it does take cleaning one's mouth out with soap to a new level

yes yes yes, Hell, I'm going there

I'm driving the bus

[madeline_con]

64. A rambunctious 5 month old. Imagine that. This is why the DP

should be applied in certain cases.

[JerseygirlCT]

87. Yes, really. Just how "rambunctious" can a 5 mo be?

Not likely to be able to go anywhere on his own... so he could have been fussing and crying, perhaps.

Good heavens... You know what? Let the child sit there and cry if it's that all-fired important you watch a television show. And then hand your own child over to someone who wishes to actually care for children, and never ever leave yourself alone to care for another child.

[Blue_Tires]

78. why do i have the feeling her show was Judge Judy?

[Liberal_in_LA]

80. gasp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JerseygirlCT]

86. Where and how do people learn to be like this?

Both that stupid and that cruel?

Makes me scared to leave my child alone sometimes!

[Cronopio]

90. The deeply programmed contempt for vulnerability plays itself out yet again.

Andre Jenkins, Baby P ... the mental detachment from the reality of other sentient beings has become an epidemic. Arno Gruen and Alice Miller are so right about this.

It's the result of buried rage at the autonomy of others. Andre's spirit wasn't yet broken like Arielle's was, so he had to pay.

[cali]

93. Perhaps. I think it's more likely the action of someone with no

impulse control or ability to empathize who just wanted immediate gratification in the form of their soap operas.

[Cronopio]

97. Poor impulse control is belting someone in the face on the spur of the moment.

Locking two children in another room, taking a screaming child to the utility room, throwing him in the dryer, setting the dryer to a short amount of time, and turning it on is not a spur of the moment action.

I totally agree with the inability to empathize, but rage of the autonomy of a child who won't mind would explain that. She may not have been in control of her rage or her lack of empathy, but it's clear to me that her actions were the result of careful thought.

[cali]

106. rage often leads to poor impulse control. How long does it take

to do what she did? 1 minute, 2? Yeah, it's impulse control or rather the lack of it. She hardly carefully thought this out. It was pretty clearly spontaneous. Thus the charge against her.

[Lil Missy]

101. Noooooooo! OMG ....

that is not uneducated or stupid. That's plain fuckin' evil.

Put a helpless baby into a dryer and turn it on? Have you ever washed and dried a pair of tennis shoes? That horribly noisy banging sound - that's what happened to the baby!

Good fucking christ. Even dumb animals tend to the sick or helpless, and often out of their own species. If a human cannot figure that out, then put her out of her misery. Death penalty would be to good for this person.

Damn!

[Dorian Gray]

103. Wow

She's selfish, stupid and a murderous asshold.

Three great qualities in a person.

II hope she gets life in prison.