Arkansas woman guilty of negligent homicide in 1-year-old's death

A Sherwood woman was found guilty of negligent homicide Wednesday and given one day of jail credit with a yearlong suspended sentence in the death of her foster grandson in February 2016.

A blood test revealed that 1-year-old Thurman Billings died from consuming a fatal dose of oxycodone, a medicine Denise Thomson had been prescribed because of back and neck surgeries that began in 2004 and left her disabled.

Thomson, 49, was originally charged with manslaughter, a felony, but the charge was reduced to misdemeanor negligent homicide in May 2016, two months after her arrest.

She was found guilty in Sherwood District Court by Judge Milas Hale III after a four-hour bench trial.

Thomson was taking care of Thurman for her son and his wife while they worked, her daughter-in-law Madison Thomson testified Wednesday.

Denise Thomson had not been feeling well that day and stayed in bed while her husband, Eric Thomson, watched the baby, Thurman's sister and one of the couple's biological grandchildren, according to court documents.

Thurman was nodding off over his bowl of dry cereal, so Eric Thomson took him back to the bedroom to nap next to Denise Thomson.

The baby's breathing was raspy before he was put to bed, but Eric Thomson did not think too much about it because the child had been troubled by health problems since he came to the Thomson family in September 2015, according to court filings.

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Thurman had started staying with his foster grandparents during the week because he seemed to catch every illness that made its way through his day care.

When Denise Thomson woke up and got food about three hours later, she checked on Thurman, she said in a video-recorded police interview that was played in court.

The child's arms and legs were cold, and he was unresponsive, Thomson said in the interview.

She called 911 and started performing CPR on him, she said.

Heather Meadows, a detective who responded to the call, said that based on his temperature, Thurman had been dead for a couple of hours.

When police arrived, Thurman was limp and his lips were blue, Meadows testified under questioning from deputy prosecutor Marti Parker. He had thrown up on the pillow next to him. The pillowcase and sheet would later become evidence.

No charges were filed in the death until March 2016, when the blood test results came back, because there were no signs of abuse or mistreatment on the baby's body.

It was unclear how many pills Thurman swallowed, Dr. Frank Peretti, who examined the baby's body for the state Crime Laboratory, said under questioning from defense attorneys Patrick Benca and John Kennedy.

Denise Thomson went to the police station for an interview, where a detective broke the news that the oxycodone had caused Thurman's death.

"He must have found them [the pills] on the ground," Denise Thomson told police. "Oh God, oh God."

She said she had switched purses just a few days before, dumping all the contents out of the old purse to move them to the new bag. During the transition, her pills spilled out on the living room floor, she said.

She said she thought she had picked them all up, although she didn't count to make sure.

"This was my biggest fear," she said in the interview with police, sobbing into her hands.

Her son Zachary Thomson and his wife had plans to adopt Thurman and his sister, Madison Thomson said.

After Thurman's death, Madison Thomson had another baby, who stays with Denise Thomson during the day.

The judge cited Madison Thomson's testimony as one of the reasons Denise Thomson would not pay a fine or serve time in jail.

"Basically, you've suffered enough," Hale said.

Misdemeanor negligent homicide is punishable by up to one year in jail as well as a fine of up to $2,500.

As the trial closed, members of Thurman's biological family stood, pushing past squeaky brown chairs and weaving through groups of supportive friends to hug Denise and Madison Thomson.

"Her getting time or going to prison isn't going to solve anything," said Leola Calvin, Thurman's great-grandmother. "We all make mistakes."

Metro on 06/01/2017

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