Gilmore urged Hannah more than once to agree to have the jury consider a lesser charge, but she was uneasy with what she perceived as an underlying suggestion of wrongdoing. Now, she is 8 years old. Overton has accused Eastwood of acting unethically in her case, something Eastwood has denied repeatedly. Hannah must sit on the opposite side of a metal divider, behind Plexiglas. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. Find Hannah Overton obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com I was assured that they would be seeking lesser charges. During the trial, he said, I sat at the courthouse for five days, waiting to testify. Overton's original trial attorneys admitted at an appeals hearing that they had made errors. Former prosecutor Anna Jimenez, who had assisted Eastwood as second chair at Hannahs trial, subsequently wrote a letter to Orr claiming that a sheaf of medical records that Eastwood had asked her to fax to an expert witness before trial had not included the documents that Orr had uncovered. He is in my thoughts and his family in my prayers. He picked at mosquito bites on his body incessantly, prompting Larry to put socks on his hands; still, Andrew would not stop scratching and eventually developed a staph infection on his arm. Todd Yates/Corpus Christi Caller-Times/AP. Peace & Strength to your family at this time. Once a month, Larry loads the kids into his van and they make the trip together, although on those visits, no contact is allowed. Myron attended Longfellow elementary, Panama Union and Kern She and her husband Larry lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, and served faithfully in their church. After dinner the kids settled down in front of the TV to watch a movie that was Isabels pick: a Japanese animated film that her brothers and sisters showed less enthusiasm for, fidgeting as they lay next to each other on the carpet. "We cannot say thank you enough for all who have helped especially the attorneys who worked endless hours to prove my innocence and gain my freedom," Overton told ABC News today. There are two phones that the kids can speak into, and they eagerly pass the receivers back and forth, recounting the months events in stereo. That official statement granted her access to state funds that are provided to the wrongfully convicted and also prevented her from being tried for the crime again. Unlike the three physicians who had testified for the prosecution, Cortes was the only doctor who had seen Andrew before his hospitalization; he had evaluated the boy during a routine checkup when Andrew was three years old and still living with Hamil. Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Todd Yates/AP Photo, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Skip to main content. (Larrys parents, who were friends of the Saenzes, were parishioners.) Hannah Overton |Goldstein & Orr He had a speech delay and spoke haltingly, sometimes with a stutter, but every week, when his Sunday school classmates went around in a circle to say their prayer requests, he made the same wish aloud: that he would be adopted. While behind bars,Overton relied on her faith, family and supporters and led Bible studies. Standing just five feet tall, with wide-set brown eyes, a girlish laugh, and a warm, easy manner, Hannah was almost childlike herself. He will be remembered fondly. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? Andrew flew into a rage. Finally she relented, heating up what she had on hand: leftover vegetable-beef soup flavored with Zatarains Creole Seasoning. Hannah Overton, far right, sits next to her attorney, Cynthia Orr, center, and prosecutor, Doug Norman, April 26, 2012, in Corpus Christi, Texas. In Marchshetold ABC News she would receive nearly $600,000 in compensation, along with other benefits, though she acknowledged no sum could give her back the years of freedom she lost. We lived in the same neighborhood a few years back and after meeting at the Dog Park, spent some great time together running, kayaking and meeting for a few cold ones at Melitos. What a loss for all of us; he will be missed. He delivered sermons to a small but devoted following that met every Sunday, and during services he also played guitar. I was convinced that we were in the presence of a crime.. My job requires me to be an advocate for the state. Weeping, they told the children that their brother had gone to be with Jesus. Orr forwarded the paperwork to a leading expert on salt poisoning, Michael Moritz, and asked him to explain its significance. But just as the prosecution could not show exactly how Hannah had forced Andrew to ingest a lethal dose of salt, neither could the defense give precise details for how the four-year-old had come to have so much sodium in his body. Impatient to return to the boys bedside, she gave a hurried, disjointed account of the day that omitted critical details, such as how she had found Andrew in the pantry unattended, and she made only fleeting mention of his unusual eating habits. Left: Andrew and Isabel playing together. Andrew was a sweet boy who had significant neurological and developmental disorders. His foster mother had taken him to a pediatrician for an adoption screening shortly before he had come to live with them, and the checkup had raised no red flags. I feel so fortunate to have spent time with him. Good-night kisses, bedtime stories, playing in the yard, birthdays, loose teeth, Christmas plays . He was kind, he was gentle, he had a great smile. Overton had to have a blood transfusion and her new. He was preceded in. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. In October 2006 a four-year-old from Corpus Christi named Andrew Burd died mysteriously of salt poisoning. The jury found that Mrs. Overton failed to procure medical care within a reasonable time frame, she wrote in an affidavit that was later filed with Hannahs appeal. Today I will thank God that I knew Dabney, if only a little. Mr. Overton was also very active in the local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. Dabney Overton Jr. | Obituaries | dnronline.com - Daily News-Record Overwhelmed, the Overtons sought guidance in prayer. My husband enjoyed sailing with him at FBYC and running into him during a few running events in Richmond. The best memory is of riding camp the following summer when Dabney and a friend opted for motorcycle helmets rather than riding hard hats. January 21, 2023 Before they started a family, Hannah worked as a private-duty nurse for disabled children, and her longest assignmentwith a four-year-old named Michael Subialdeabecame as absorbing to her as her time in Reynosa. Skurka ended up dropping the new case against her in 2015 but Overton remained in legal limbo until Gonzalez officially declared her innocence last year, thus closing a significant chapter on this decade-long case. The following day, family court judge Carl Lewis awarded temporary custody to Hannahs mother and stepfather. Lane and her children moved to the East Texas town of Lindale, where a missionary organization, the Calvary Commission, allowed them to live in a modest apartment on its grounds free of charge. But Hannah, who was bewildered by Andrews condition, had no ready answers. I wasnt thinking, obviously, or I would have just taken him to the hospital, Hannah told the detective. Larry with (from left) his children Ally, Isaac, Sebastian, Emma, and Isabel. Our condolences to his family and friends. Andrews foster mother, who had provided refuge to roughly three hundred children over three decades, was also supportive. Despite all the pain, she told me that if she could do it over again, she would not change their decision to bring Andrew into their home. Before Hannah got married, when she was still Hannah Saenz, she knew she wanted a large familyat least six kids, she used to tell people. Hoping to show him that his behavior was self-destructive, Larry told Andrew one morning that he could have as much as he wanted for breakfast. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. Until we specifically agree to act for you on a matter, you should not provide us with any confidential information or material. When Andrews condition worsened, she and Larry had debated whether to call 911 or go to the nearby urgent care clinic, a concern because Andrew lacked health insurance. My husband Al and I were shocked and saddened to hear of Dabney's death. Because the court has not been inclined to intercede so far, members of Calvary Chapel have begun a letter-writing campaign to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in hopes of securing a pardon or a commutation. Push him? Throughout the interrogation, which spanned more than two hours, Hannah insisted that she had never harmed Andrew. More outspoken was Andrews Sunday school teacher, who sat Hannah and Larry down and told them that he was a troubled kid. They wed a year later and moved to Corpus Christi. (A former pastor of Hannahs had advocated reprimanding children when they were dishonest by putting a single red pepper flake on their tongues.) They considered adopting a nine-year-old girl who was deaf, but when, after much prayer and deliberation, they decided to move forward with the adoption, they learned that the girl had been placed with another family. . We were just waiting for someone to look at it and say this is just an accident, Larry Overton added. A funeral for Andrew followed at Seaside Memorial Park, alongside Corpus Christi Bay, at which Pastor Rod Carver officiated. Some people love stray animals, remembered her mother, now remarried. Murder Charges Dropped Against Hannah Overton, Texas Mom - ABC News The jury was not just going to let her walk.. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Larry turned them down. There are really no words. Peace be with you, Dabney. This was usually on a road trip up or down the Valley. Larry called out that dinner was ready, and we gathered inside around a rough-hewn oak table he had made years ago. We were in it for the long haul.. He was a good friend and a great dancer!! There have been a few tear-filled nights because one of the kids misses Andrew, Larry told me later. "I could never thank my attorneys enough for fighting endlessly to prove my innocence and bring me home," she said. It was Emma whom Hannah was pregnant with when Andrew died, and she is the child Hannah knows least. My prayers to the family. He visited us in the country and brought his serinity along. I made sure that he saw that we had an identical set of Spider-Man sheets so he would calm down., That evening Larry laid a sleeping bag on top of Andrews plywood bed frame, where, he told the boy, he would have to spend the night while his mattress finished drying. Andrews standard answer whenever he was asked to perform a simple task was Sorry, I cant, but Hannah was heartened one day that summer when he deviated from the script. Dabney was always smiling, no matter what was going on in his life. Please allow 24 hours for your entry to be reviewed for appropriate content. The thoughts and prayers of your co-workers are with you and your family. Overtons conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal. She is awakened every morning at 2:45 a.m., rarely sleeping well; the overhead light above her bed never shuts off, and announcements blare throughout the night over the loudspeaker. Yet the Overtons were not too concerned. When Hannah was sent to prison, her daughter, Emma, was still a breast-feeding newborn. Sue and I were certainly saddened to learn of the death of Dabney. Mr. Overton continued in private practice until the age of 80. Love Carl Robertson, My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. Corpus Christis introduction to Hannah came the following week, when she and Larry were arrested and led past a bank of TV cameras outside the Nueces County jail. Any God, Christian or not, would have wanted a better mother for Andrew.. The jury was not just going to let her walk. Capital murder carries two possible punishments in Texasthe death penalty or life without paroleand the district attorneys office had already decided not to seek death. I regret that I didnt push harder from the beginning to find out what was wrong with himthat I believed his problems were just due to his previous abuse and neglect, and that, when I finally decided he needed to see a doctor about his pica, we didnt get him in quicker. When I pressed her to explain why she and Larry had not called 911, she leaned forward, as if pleading with me to understand. But was this churchgoing young woman a vicious child killer? As I read the comments of so many I realize he touched everyone's lives just the same. With her first husband, whose name was Stephens, she lived in Iowa, and had one daughter. Home; Memorials; Cemeteries; Famous; Contribute; Register; Sign In; Register; Sign In; Memorial updated successfully. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. I am so sorry to hear about Dabney. I am a better person for knowing him. Search by Name. She was native of this place and had been twice married. In October 2006 a four-year-old from Corpus Christi named Andrew Burd died mysteriously of salt poisoning.