Missouri Man Convicted Of Killing Toddler
Last updated Wednesday, November 19, 2008 8:34 PM CST in News
By THE ASSSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI, Okla. -- An Ottawa County jury on Wednesday convicted a 31-year-old Missouri man of first-degree murder in the death of his former girlfriend's 15-month-old daughter.
The jury recommended that Travis Steed of Seligman, Mo., receive a life prison sentence for the killing, which prosecutors said occurred in a Miami motel. Steed will be formally sentenced on Jan. 6.
McKenna White was found dead in her crib in February 2006. A medical examiner ruled she died of blunt force trauma to the head. The toddler also had bruises on her body, according to records.
In Steed's first trial in June, Ottawa County District Court Judge Robert Haney declared a mistrial because the jury could not reach a verdict.
McKenna's mother, Catherine White, left the girl with Steed for more than five hours Saturday night while she went to Goodman, Mo., to pick up her three older children, according to an arrest affidavit signed by Detective Todd Hicks.
White testified in the first trial she and Steed both used methamphetamine before she left the girl with Steed.
White pleaded guilty in June to child neglect and received a 25-year prison sentence, although a judge suspended all but 10 months of it. She received credit for time served and is now out of prison.
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