Grandmother guilty in suffocation death of 3-year-old

A jury took about 20 minutes to convict a grandmother in the killing of her 3-year-old grandson, about the same time it took for him to suffocate after he was disciplined by being tightly wrapped in blankets.

Gale Watkins was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter in the death of Michael McMullen. He died Oct. 19, 2013.

He died in what one prosecutor said was "like a little coffin."

Watkins, 57, is one of three people — along with Donella Trainor, 46, and the boy's 22-year-old stepfather Douglas Garrigus — charged in the death of the Michael. Watkins was the only one to go to trial and is set to be sentenced Jan. 12.

Trainor pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in July. Garrigus accepted a plea deal and will serve 10 years in prison.

The trio were disciplining the boy by wrapping him in blankets, something that had been done in the house before. Watkins was the primary care-giver and, while she did not wrap the boy , she knew what was going on, according to testimony.

Watkins did not take the stand during her trial.

"You never know," said prosecutor John Dommerich, "it could be good or bad," he said of the quick verdict.

The jury heard closing arguments at 1 p.m., broke for deliberations at 3 p.m. and announced their verdict just before 3:20 p.m.

They heard from multiple witnesses Thursday, including the medical examiner who conducted Michael's autopsy.

The boy's pale, dry muscles tipped medical examiner Wendolyn Sneed that Michael was "not well-hydrated." There was prior speculation that Micahel died from an allergic reaction, as he had eaten a peanut butter sandwich the day he was wrapped in the blankets. But Sneed testified that there was no evidence of an allergic reaction.

Authorities also thought Michael may have overdosed on either Benadryl or Melatonin — both common sleep-aids — but both tested at safe levels, Sneed testified.

Once the sheriff's office gave video to Sneed showing how the child was wrapped, she said the cause of death was obvious.

"It's clear to me he'd been restrained, placed in a position where an airway was obstructed and he couldn't breathe," Sneed said. Michael's cause of death was "asphyxial," she added.

Watkins lawyer, James Ermacora, argued that the state did not provide enough evidence to charge Watkins with culpable negligence, the crux of the charge. "The evidence you have heard has not even come close to that high standard," he said.

Ermacora went on to say that Watkins was not the best care-taker and even conceded she was negligent. "But it does not rise to culpable negligence."

The state, represented by Dommerich and Stephanie Russell, disagreed, arguing Watkins displayed "gross, flagrant disregard to human life," according to Dommerich.

"That's exactly what the defendant did. She did nothing. She knew it was going on, was the care-giver and did nothing," Dommerich said.