Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A judge allowed a man, convicted of killing his infant daughter, to suggest his own punishment.
Christopher McNabb was found guilty of murdering his 15-day-old daughter, Caliyah, who was beaten to death. McNabb was sentenced in 2019 after initially claiming that Caliyah had been kidnapped. Despite the verdict, he continued to profess his innocence.
During the sentencing phase, the judge seemingly permitted McNabb to propose his sentence.
Caliyah’s remains were found in a Nike backpack in October 2017. At the time of this tragic event, McNabb and his partner, Courtney Marie Bell, were reportedly using crystal meth. They claimed that their daughter was abducted while they were asleep.
The couple lived in a trailer park in Covington, Georgia, approximately 40 miles from Atlanta. The court was informed that their home environment was unsanitary, as the couple abused drugs and engaged in physical altercations with each other.
McNabb was convicted of several charges, including malice murder, felony murder, murder in the second degree, aggravated battery, cruelty to children in the first and second degree, and concealing the death of another.
Bell faced convictions for second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty, and contributing to the dependency of a minor, receiving a 30-year sentence with the first 15 years in confinement.
Before the judge, McNabb repeated his claim of innocence, stating: “I would never do this. I’m innocent.”
The judge questioned him: “You claim you’re innocent, so you tell me what sentence the man or woman that you claimed did this should receive.”
In response, McNabb said: “If you ever find out who did this, they deserve to be under the jail,” leading the judge to ask: “So they should get the maximum sentence?”
Upon McNabb’s agreement, the judge declared: “On the crime of malice murder, I sentence you to life in confinement without parole.”
The prosecutor, dismissing any claims of innocence, described the crime in court.
District Attorney Layla Zon remarked: “That child didn’t do anything but need love, and her daddy killed her. All this fake crying and fake tears he did during the interviews about how much he loved his children and that he did in the courtroom are a joke. She was a gift to Cortney Bell and Christopher McNabb. That child was doomed the moment they left that hospital. They took pure innocence and brought that child into a life of hell.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to talk to someone about a child’s welfare, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)) is available 24/7 and accepts calls from the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.