Apr 19, 2008 2:31 pm US/Eastern
Couple Sentenced In Death Of Son
BEL AIR, Md. (WJZ) ―
-
-
A husband and wife from Harford County have each been sentenced to 22 years in prison in the starvation death of their 8-year-old adopted son.
The sentence is in for the Harford County parents convicted in the starvation death of their adopted son.
The boy died in January in the couple's Whiteford home. He weighed just 37 pounds.
Suzanne Collins reports the parents will spend 22 years behind bars, which exceeded the suggested maximum.
The Merrymans already had their own kids when they went to Russia and adopted four brothers and sisters. The youngest of those was abused and starved to death. Now, his parents are going to prison.
Dennis Merryman, 8, died weighing 37 pounds, which was two pounds less than when he was first adopted with three siblings in Russia five years before.
The Merrymans also had their own children. They have just been sentenced for child abuse leading to the starvation death of Dennis.
The prosecutor on the case says the family did not seek medical care and were inhumane to the child, according to the siblings.
"They talked about physical beatings of Dennis, as well as him being kept in what they called the cold room in a crib with no mattress, bound up," said prosecutor Lisa Marts.
Donna Merryman home schooled the children. For the most part they were seen only at church or by relatives.
Church members testified in court of the couple's goodness.
"They're wonderful people. I've known them for years," said one church member.
"In my opinion I think they're victims of circumstances," said another church member.
Prosecutors asked the supporters how they could not notice the boy wasn't growing, and they were shown autopsy photos.
The judge sentenced the pair to 22 years in prison. Judge Emory Pitt said of the photos, "They bear a striking resemblance to the photographs we have all seen of German concentration camps."
Prosecutors say as punishment, Dennis was forced to eat a mixture of noodles, lime yogurt and asparagus because those were the three foods he hated the most.
Donna Merryman said it was an attempt at discipline for extreme behavior problems.
The case got a lot of attention in Russia. Moscow TV interviewed the prosecutors Friday. This case and another were the reason there was a temporary moratorium on adoptions.
Prosecutors say six other Merryman children are doing well in foster care and with relatives.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Great NFL Hair
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
