Derrick Dimone Woods (West Sacramento Police Department).
Following the dismissal of his confession by the court, a man in California agreed to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder for the death of his former girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter. Derrick Dimone Woods, aged 47, received a sentence of 15 years and eight months in prison for the killing of Amanda Owens, who was just 16 months old, as per an announcement from the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Furthermore, he admitted to committing physical abuse against Amanda’s 3-year-old brother, Elijah, and to the act of false imprisonment involving both children.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig remarked, “These were brutal and heinous crimes against vulnerable children, by a very disturbed man. No amount of prison time will ever be enough in this case. We are heartbroken for the family.”
Prosecutors say that the siblings’ mother left them in Woods’ care at a motel in the city of West Sacramento on Feb. 15, 2021. She returned three hours later, only to find Woods running off into a getaway vehicle. He had left her children battered.
“Amanda was found on a bed inside the motel room, covered with a sheet, cold and not breathing,” prosecutors wrote. “Amanda’s face was swollen and covered in bruises. Elijah was sitting on a chair inside the room. Both his face and body were bruised, and he had red welts from being whipped with an electrical charging cord.”
Authorities found Woods the next day in nearby Sacramento. The defense argued he was incompetent to face trial due to an intellectual disability, and though the court restored him to competency, the judge also tossed his confession.
“In a pre-trial ruling, because of Woods’ intellectual disability and a prolonged delay between the arrest of Woods and the reading of Miranda warnings, Judge McAdam excluded Woods’ confession,” prosecutors wrote. “Despite the district attorney’s disagreement with the ruling, based on how the court interpreted the facts, a successful appeal was unlikely.”
The D.A.’s office highlighted statements from Amanda’s family at the sentencing.
“At yesterday’s sentencing hearing, multiple family members of Amanda and Elijah spoke to Judge McAdam,” prosecutors wrote. “They expressed their rage and devastation over the loss of Amanda and the injuries suffered by Elijah. The mother of the children told the court that the entire court experience has been incredibly traumatic, exhausting and emotionally draining. She stated, ‘Every life deserves to be valued and protected.””
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