DA to file sex abuse charge in toddler's drowning death
June 2, 2007
www.stargazettenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070602/NEWS01/706020318
DRYDEN -- Marie A. Manos now stands accused of murdering her 2-year-old niece, Grace Manos, while committing the crime of sexual abuse against her, Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson and state police announced Friday.
Manos, 34, was charged with second-degree murder, a class A-I felony, in Dryden Town Court on Thursday. She is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charge in Dryden Town Court on Tuesday.
If convicted, Manos faces 25 years to life in prison.
Manos was originally arrested and charged with first-degree assault the night of May 15 after she allegedly held Grace under water in a bathtub while she was baby-sitting the girl at her apartment on Ringwood Road in Dryden.
Grace died the following afternoon at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, and a day later, Wilkinson announced that she was considering possible homicide charges against Manos.
Wilkinson said that Manos had confessed on videotape and that she was waiting for more evidence, including a post-mortem examination by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office, before charging Manos further.
In a statement Friday, Wilkinson and state police revealed early details of the post-mortem.
"Preliminary information ... reveals that Grace Manos died as a direct result of injuries, which include asphyxia, blunt force trauma, drowning and sexual abuse," the statement said.
There was trauma from the sexual abuse, Wilkinson said, which was a "contributing factor" in the child's death.
"I laid this charge at this time because I felt the state of the evidence warranted it," Wilkinson said.
"Second-degree felony murder is the highest charge supported by the evidence. The prosecution's theory is that Manos was committing the crime of aggravated sexual abuse, and in the course of the crime, Manos inflicted the injuries that were the cause of Grace's death," she said.
Wilkinson and state police said Manos, who was unemployed, had been baby-sitting Grace about twice a week for two months.
Jennifer Manos, Grace's mother, came to pick up her daughter May 15, saw Grace's condition and made the first of two calls to 911, Wilkinson said.
During the investigation, Marie Manos told investigators that Grace had been taking a bath and that she had left Grace briefly unattended, police said.
Marie told investigators that when she returned, she found Grace submerged in the water, police said.
The investigation led authorities to believe, however, that Marie Manos intentionally held the child's head under water while she was in the bathtub.
"The prosecutor did not see fit to advise me of the new charge, so I can't comment on it," said William B. Sellers IV, the assigned counsel for Manos. He said he is in contact with Manos' oncologist, however, and that he has to address the issue of Manos' health with the court.
"She has metastatic breast cancer," he said. "It's in her liver. There is no cure."
Manos is being held in Tompkins County Jail without bail.
June 2, 2007
www.stargazettenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070602/NEWS01/706020318
DRYDEN -- Marie A. Manos now stands accused of murdering her 2-year-old niece, Grace Manos, while committing the crime of sexual abuse against her, Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson and state police announced Friday.
Manos, 34, was charged with second-degree murder, a class A-I felony, in Dryden Town Court on Thursday. She is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charge in Dryden Town Court on Tuesday.
If convicted, Manos faces 25 years to life in prison.
Manos was originally arrested and charged with first-degree assault the night of May 15 after she allegedly held Grace under water in a bathtub while she was baby-sitting the girl at her apartment on Ringwood Road in Dryden.
Grace died the following afternoon at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, and a day later, Wilkinson announced that she was considering possible homicide charges against Manos.
Wilkinson said that Manos had confessed on videotape and that she was waiting for more evidence, including a post-mortem examination by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office, before charging Manos further.
In a statement Friday, Wilkinson and state police revealed early details of the post-mortem.
"Preliminary information ... reveals that Grace Manos died as a direct result of injuries, which include asphyxia, blunt force trauma, drowning and sexual abuse," the statement said.
There was trauma from the sexual abuse, Wilkinson said, which was a "contributing factor" in the child's death.
"I laid this charge at this time because I felt the state of the evidence warranted it," Wilkinson said.
"Second-degree felony murder is the highest charge supported by the evidence. The prosecution's theory is that Manos was committing the crime of aggravated sexual abuse, and in the course of the crime, Manos inflicted the injuries that were the cause of Grace's death," she said.
Wilkinson and state police said Manos, who was unemployed, had been baby-sitting Grace about twice a week for two months.
Jennifer Manos, Grace's mother, came to pick up her daughter May 15, saw Grace's condition and made the first of two calls to 911, Wilkinson said.
During the investigation, Marie Manos told investigators that Grace had been taking a bath and that she had left Grace briefly unattended, police said.
Marie told investigators that when she returned, she found Grace submerged in the water, police said.
The investigation led authorities to believe, however, that Marie Manos intentionally held the child's head under water while she was in the bathtub.
"The prosecutor did not see fit to advise me of the new charge, so I can't comment on it," said William B. Sellers IV, the assigned counsel for Manos. He said he is in contact with Manos' oncologist, however, and that he has to address the issue of Manos' health with the court.
"She has metastatic breast cancer," he said. "It's in her liver. There is no cure."
Manos is being held in Tompkins County Jail without bail.
