Case Background
David Edenfield is accused of child rape and first degree murder in the March 8, 2007 sexual assault and murder of 6-year-old Christopher Barrios, Jr. of Brunswick, Georgia. Also charged in the indictment are his wife, Peggy Edenfield, and their adult son, George David Edenfield.
It is alleged that George Edenfield lured Christopher to the mobile home he shared with his parents, David and Peggy Edenfield. While in the process of both George and David Edenfield taking turns sodomizing the boy, it is alleged that someone choked him to death. Peggy Edenfield is being charged for her part in the sexual molestation of Christopher as well as his murder.
A friend of the family, Donald Dale was also arrested and charged with aiding the Edenfields in hiding Christopher’s body. He entered into a plea agreement and was earlier this year. He had no involvement in the murder or sexual assault.
The Disappearance
Christopher Barrios was reported missing by his father at approximately 8:15 p.m. on the night of March 8, 2007 from the Canal Mobile Home Park. Christopher had been last observed playing on a swing set by himself at approximately 6:15 p.m. in a neighbor’s yard. When he failed to come home by 8 p.m., and after his father searched the mobile home park, police were called.
The Search
The search for Christopher began at 8:30 p.m. March 8, 2007.
An extensive search of the areas surrounding the mobile home park was conducted utilizing search dogs, searchers on ATVs , heat-sensing aircraft, and National Guard personnel.
The search was scaled back on Saturday night, March 10, 2007 because there were no new leads.
The Investigation
During the course of the investigation into Christopher’s disappearance investigators interviewed registered sex offenders in the area including Christopher’s father and George Edenfield.
Christopher’s father also appeared on the Georgia State Sex Offender Registry. He has a conviction for Statutory Rape. However, it was determined early on that Christopher’s father was not a suspect in his son’s disappearance.
This would not be the case pertaining to the interview conducted with George Edenfield, the registered sex offender living across the street from the mobile home of Christopher’s grandmother, Sue Rodriguez. One day after Christopher’s disappearance, George Edenfield was taken into custody based on statements he made to investigators indicating that he had recent unsupervised contact with Christopher on March 8, 2007.
George Edenfield made comments to investigators indicating that he had murdered the child. However, he was reluctant to tell investigators where the body was located because he feared going to prison.
George Edenfield’s History
George Edenfield had two prior convictions for child molestation dating from 1997.
George David Edenfield was required to register as a sex offender after he pleaded guilty in 1997 to molesting two boys, ages 7 and 9. Prosecutors said he rubbed his clothed body in a sexual manner against the boys, who also were fully dressed. He was sentenced then to 10 years on probation. ((Sun-Sentinal.com))
He had recently moved into the mobile home park after having been ordered to move by the sheriff in September 2006 from a house on Union Street because it was determined that residence was in close proximity to a park where children congregated.
Because George Edenfield failed to move he was charged with a probation violation. He appeared in court on that charge on March 5, 2007, three days prior to Christopher’s disappearance.
Sheriffs’ deputies told George David Edenfield in September that he had to leave his home near downtown Brunswick because it was too close to a playground. Georgia law prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools and other places that draw crowds of children.
His family went to live in the trailer park in October after George David Edenfield was arrested for failing to move as ordered. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to probation March 5, three days before Christopher went missing.
David Edenfield’s History
David Edenfield, George’s father also has a history of being a sex offender. David Edenfield plead guilty to incest in 1994 for having a sexual relationship with an adult member of his family.
Superior Court records show that David Edenfield was arrested for committing incest against his daughter in 1993, and that he pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation in 1994. ((Jacksonville.com))
Peggy Edenfield’s History
There really is not any information about Peggy Edenfield as it pertains to past brushes with the law. She has been married to David for many years and they have two children, George and an unnamed daughter. Both children have grown into adulthood.
New Leads
Investigators then went back to the mobile home of Peggy Edenfield and brought along with them a representative from the Gas Company. They asked if they could conduct a test to detect methane gas. Methane gas is a by-product of body decomposition. The test proved the presence of methane gas inside the mobile home.Later that day when another interview was conducted with Peggy Edenfield, she also made comments to investigators indicating not only her son’s involvement but also her involvement, her husband’s and a family friend’s involvement as well in the crime against Christopher.
Peggy Edenfield indicated the following during her interviews with investigators:
Peggy Edenfield told police March 12 that George Edenfield, her son, confessed to her that he had killed Christopher.
Peggy Edenfield witnessed her son and David Edenfield, George’s father and Peggy Edenfield’s husband, choke Christopher until he was dead.
In a follow-up interview (on March 12, 2007), with Glynn County police Sgt. Keith Stalvey, Peggy Edenfield admitted that George attempted to clean fingerprints off Christopher’s neck using a pot of water and soap and wrapping him in plastic trash bags.
That statement is consistent in three of the four search warrant applications. In the fourth this one to search the Edenfield home it is stated that Peggy Edenfield said she washed Christopher’s neck.
That same warrant includes Peggy Edenfield telling police that David Edenfield and George Edenfield used clothing to wipe semen off their bodies. No further information on this detail is included in any of the warrant applications. The Brunswick News.com
The Search Resumes
After investigators spoke with Peggy Edenfield investigators made an emergency entry of the Edenfield mobile home because Peggy Edenfield indicated to investigators that Christopher could be found alive inside of a closet at the mobile home. They were not able to find Christopher but they did find items of interest inside the mobile that did indicate Christopher had been there at some point. There was renewed interest and investigators asked once again that the heat-sensing aircraft be sent to the area of the mobile home park. A search warrant was obtained and the mobile home was officially searched.
George Edenfield was brought to the mobile home so he could show investigators where Christopher’s body had been placed but Mr. Edenfield was unable or unwilling to tell them where to find Christopher.
More Arrests
Peggy Edenfield was placed under arrest on March 14, 2007 and charged with giving false statements, obstruction of an officer and concealing the death of another person.
David Edenfield, George Edenfield’s father and husband of Peggy Edenfield was arrested on March 15, 2007 on charges of giving false statements, obstruction of an officer and concealing the death of another person. That same day, family friend Donald Dale, was arrested and charged as well.
The suspects were escorted to various sites they claimed where Christopher’s body could be located over the ensuing days but none of those searches proved fruitful.
Discovery of Christopher’s Body
On March 15, 2007, a searcher noticed tire tracks on a road located approximately 3 miles from the Canal Mobile Home Park. Those tire tracks led to a black trash bag covered with bugs, containing Christopher’s body.
The Indictments
David, Peggy and George Edenfield Indictments
- Malice murder – punishable by death, life without parole or life with eligibility for parole
- Kidnapping with bodily injury – punishable by death, or 25 years to life in prison
- Enticing a child for indecent purposes – punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison
- False imprisonment – punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison
- First-degree cruelty to children – punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison
- Child molestation – punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison
- Concealing the death of another person – punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison
- Tampering with evidence – punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison
George and David Edenfield Additional Indictments
- Aggravated child molestation, two counts – punishable by 25 years to life on each count
Donald Dale Indictments
- Concealing the death of another person – punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison.
- Tampering with evidence – punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison.
Pre-Trial
April 2, 2007
George, David and Peggy Edenfield appeared in Glynn County Superior Court today to once again hear the charges against them. They will be formally arraigned on April 13 at 2 p.m. They are all expected to enter pleas on the murder and molestation charges.
The prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against all three defendants. Because of a Georgia Supreme Court ruling there are a series of steps that need to be followed when the death penalty is being sought. This series of required steps are expected to take about a year to complete.
April 13, 2007
George, David and Peggy Edenfield each entered pleas of not guilty today through their attorneys in separate appearances before Superior Court Judge Stephen G. Scarlett.
Judge Scarlett also addressed in the court the issue regarding his decision in March 2007 to not sentence George Edenfield to prison for his parole violation. George Edenfield appeared before Judge Scarlett just 3 days prior to the new charges. In those proceedings George Edenfield was charged with living too close to a park in violation of his parole. Judge Scarlett sentenced George Edenfield to an additional 10 years of probation instead of sending him to prison. Below is Judge Scarlett’s explanation for his ruling in that case:
“…[Edenfield’s] his prior sentence was appropriate considering George Edenfield faced his first probation violation in almost 10 years. He also said he felt for the loss suffered by Christopher’s family.
“But this court’s conduct will not be colored by that,” the judge said… Access North GA.com
August 29, 2008
David Edenfield was in court with his attorney yesterday. His attorney was trying to have the murder indictment thrown out based on the idea that the Grand Jury underrepresented Hispanics. I am trying really hard to understand this reasoning. David Edenfield is white. The victim, Christopher Barrios is half Hispanic and I believe half Black. One would think David Edenfield’s attorney would be more concerned if the Grand Jury had been stacked the other way.
Judge Scarlett said he would take the motion under advisement and rule on it quickly. Edenfield’s attorney said if the judge does not rule in his favor, then he will move to have a change of venue because of publicity.
Christopher’s grandmother, Sue Rodriguez, was at the hearing. She just wishes the proceedings would move on.
February 5, 2009
It was announced today the first person to stand trial in the sexual assault murder of six-year-old Christopher Barrios will be David Edenfield. Jury selection is set to begin on April 20 with the trial beginning on May 4. The trial is expected to last two weeks. The state is seeking the death penalty. The two other co-defendants, Peggy Edenfield, wife of David Edenfield; and George Edenfield, their adult son, will stand trial at a later, unannounced date. The state has entered into a plea agreement with Peggy Edenfield. She will be spared the death penalty in exchange for her testimony during her husband’s and son’s trials. She could receive a sentence of life with the possibility of parole for her testimony.
March 15, 2009
Judge Scarlett ruled earlier this week that David Edenfield’s trial date will be pushed back until September 8. Jury selection will begin tentatively that day in Hazelhurst; testimony will begin at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick on September 21. The judge cited the tough economy and lack of funds to provide for defense experts, and investigators to aid in Edenfield’s preparation for trial for the delay. He believes that when the new budget is enacted on July 1 the funds will be available.
Final motions will be heard on August 19. During that hearing, the defense team will argue that David Edenfield cannot get a fair trial anywhere is coastal Georgia.
Meanwhile, Sue Rodriguez, Christopher’s grandmother, waits and is aggravated with the repeated delays.
“We’ve already waited two years, and now what? We wait and wait and wait some more. It’s just ridiculous,” she said. Edenfield Murder Trial Delayed Until State can Pay for Defense Expense, Jacksonville.com
My heart goes out to the Barrios family as they try to get some sort of justice for Christopher. This month marks the second anniversary of Christopher’s murder.
August 26, 2009
David Edenfield’s murder trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on September 21, 2009. A motions hearing was held today in Judge Stephen Scarlett’s courtroom. Two motions were discussed, one pertaining to admission of statements and the other deciding from where the jury pool will be drawn.
David Edenfield’s attorneys, John Beall, IV, and James Yancey, Jr., first argued that statements their client made to police during the investigation into Christopher Barrios’ disappearance and murder were obtained through police coercion and should not be admissible in court. They also argued the jury pool should not be drawn from anywhere near Brunswick because the pool would be tainted.
Judge Scarlett ruled that statements made by Edenfield will be admitted into evidence and heard by the jury. He also ruled that the jury pool will come from nearby Jeff Davis County which is in southeast Georgia. Well, according to MapQuest, the drive between Hazelhurst (which is in Jeff Davis County) and Brunswick (which is in Glynn County) is about 2 hours or 86.7 miles. I am going to guess they will draw the jury pool from Hazelhurst because that appears to be the county seat. There is no way people living two hours away did not hear about the case. As far as that is concerned, I live in California and I know more than I would ever want to know about the case. I feel bad for the jury members who will have to hear what was done to poor little Christopher.
September 20, 2009
David Edenfield’s trial for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 6-year-old Christopher Barrios is set to begin with jury selection tomorrow in Jeff Davis County, Georgia. Judge Stephen Scarlett ruled the jury would be selected from that county and then transported to his courtroom in Glynn County for the trial.
Last week Edenfield’s attorneys notified the prosecution that there may be an issue with David Edenfield’s mental status at the time of the crime. This new information prompted a request from the prosecution to have Edenfield submit to a mental evaluation. The judge ordered Edenfield to cooperate fully with the process. He ordered Edenfield to see a state-selected expert Georgia Regional Hospital at Savannah or at Milledgeville:
to evaluate Edenfield “with regard to his competency at the time of his commission of the crimes” and whether he suffered any mental illness at that time. Evaluation Ordered of Boy’s Accused Killer, WJXT, Last Accessed: September 20, 2009
This suggestion of a mental defect or illness at the time of the commission of the crimes sound like a last-ditch effort to avoid the death penalty. I read in another article that the prosecutor mentioned during the September 15 hearing when the request was made for the evaluation that during earlier discussions with the defense they indicated that mental illness or defect was not an issue as it pertained to David Edenfield.
It will be interesting (actually sickening) to hear Peggy Edenfield’s testimony about what she observed her husband and son do to Christopher Barrios.
Witnesses expected to testify against Edenfield include his wife, who police say watched her husband and adult son take turns raping Christopher Michael Barrios before killing him. Jury Selection Begins for Trial in Boy’s Slaying, WJXT, Last Accessed: September 20, 2009
It does not sound like Edenfield was suffering from some sort of mental illness at that time. It sounds as if he was just enjoying himself. Of course, it will come out that Peggy was not just ‘watching’ what was happening to Christopher. She was ‘pleasuring herself’ as she watched.
I suppose some would say anyone who would rape and murder an innocent child must be insane. Fortunately in this case, the legal definition of insane at the time of the offense will not apply. My bet Edenfield is going to go for the fact that he is a pedophile and could not help himself. I am guessing that is going to be his ‘mental illness’ defense.
There is a possibility that the evaluation may delay the start of the trial. It is my understanding that jury selection will go on as planned tomorrow whether or not Edenfield is present in court.
Trial
For the Prosecution: Special Assistant District Attorney John Johnson
For the Defense: James Yancey, Jr.
Presiding Judge: Judge Steven Scarlett
Death Penalty Case
David Edenfield’s murder trial is set to begin with jury selection on September 21. He is being tried for the sexual assault and murder of 5-year-old Christopher Barrios of Brunswick, Georgia. This is a death penalty case.
September 21, 2009
Jury selection began today in the murder trial of 61-year-old David Edenfield for the murder of 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios. Attorneys will be picking from a pool of 100 potential jurors selected from Jeff Davis County, Georgia, a rural area 80 miles from Glynn County. Once the jurors are selected they will be transported to Brunswick and sequestered there for the remainder of the trial. Opening Arguments could begin as soon as September 28.
One of David Edenfield’s attorneys gave the following statement to an Associated Press reporter:
“We’re planning on a hard-fought trial,” said John Beall IV, one of David Edenfield’s defense attorneys. “David Edenfield is entitled to a fair trial, despite the allegations that have been raised against him.” Russ Bynum, Associated Press Writer, Ga. Man Faces Trial for 6-Year-Old Boy’s Slaying, Macon.com, Last Accessed: September 21, 2009
Christopher Barrios deserved to live a long life and he deserves justice. Of course, in this country the accused are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
It is hard for me to believe that the people from Jeff Davis County have never heard of the murder of Christopher Barrios or if they have heard have not come to some sort of conclusion regarding the guilt or innocence of David Edenfield. Time will tell.
September 29, 2009
The jury has been picked and they will be sworn in later today. Opening statements are set to begin on Wednesday. It is amazing how long it took for this trial to get to opening statements, it seems like it has been forever for the Barrios family to have their day in court. I am equally amazed that the trial is only expected to last three to five days. The jury will be sequestered at an undisclosed location.
September 30, 2009
The trial of GA v David Edenfield opened today with the prosecution quoting from David Edenfield’s confession. According to the prosecutor, Edenfield said he and his son, 34-year-old George lured Christopher into their home. Once they had him inside they stripped his clothing off of him. Edenfield claimed Christopher begged them to stop doing what they were doing, begged them to let him leave, and told them he was going to tell his parents. At some point, according to Edenfield, his son placed his hands around Christopher’s neck and began choking him, he then instinctively placed his hands over his son’s hands and helped strangle Christopher to death. I don’t know what the word ‘instinctively’ is doing in the same sentence as one describing the strangulation death of a child. In my world it is not an instinctive thing to do.
The defense’s opening statement to the jury focused on saying there is no evidence tying David Edenfield to Christopher’s murder. Defense Attorney James Yancey, Jr. went on to say in a nutshell that the evidence against his client is more about the planned testimony of Peggy Edenfield and her plea arrangement with the prosecution. Peggy Edenfield, wife of David and mother of George, has agreed to testify against both men in exchange for both the death penalty and life without parole being taken off the table in her prosecution.
The first person to testify today was Michael Barrios, Christopher’s father. He testified that he noticed Christopher’s Star Wars light saber toy laying in the Edenfield’s yard next to the Barrios home. Christopher had been playing with the toy earlier that day. The elder Barrios notified police of the find and that is what led them to question the Edenfields. Also testifying today were a few neighbors and the girlfriend of Michael Barrios, Paula Anderson, testified that Christopher had left their home with the toy in hand to go see his grandmother.
Testimony continues tomorrow at the Glynn County Courthouse in Room 1.
October 3, 2009
Judge Scarlett has decided this trial should go on throughout the weekend. Kudos to him. I am guessing part of the reason is that the jurors are sequestered and it is costing the county money to put them up in a hotel so the sooner this trial is over, the better. The state of Georgia does have a law that prevents jurors from deliberating on Sundays, however, they can hear testimony.
So far the jurors have listened to taped interviews between David Edenfield and detectives. At first Edenfield denies any involvement in Christopher’s death and places all the blame on his retarded son. Eventually he does confess to his part in the rape and murder of Christopher Barrios.
He claims his son, George Edenfield, 34, lured Christopher into their home. He discovered George and Christopher in his son’s bedroom and his son was stripping the boy. Instead of telling his son to stop as Christopher was begging him to stop, he joined his son in the assault. He said he held Christopher down with his hands behind his back while George assaulted the boy. According to news reports I have read, David Edenfield described the assault on Christopher using crude terms. When the assault was finished and after George, with his help, choked the life out of Christopher, Edenfield claims he and his wife became excited. Then all three pleasured themselves. Edenfield claims his wife, Peggy, then washed Christopher’s body and she and family friend Donald Dale placed his body inside several garbage bags and went and dumped his body where it was found a week later.
Jamie Downs, medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab in Savanna testified as to Christopher’s injuries and cause and manner of death.
Downs explained that Christopher was killed by someone who choked off his supply of oxygen by crushing his windpipe, voice box and carotid artery.
“The most likely means this was done was neck compression, be it by an arm around from the sides in a sleeper choke hold, by a towel around the neck or by placing the palms of the hands on opposite sides of the neck and compressing inward,” Downs testified.
Downs said he found a human bite mark on Christopher’s back. There also were bruises and other trauma injuries to the boy’s throat, genitals and legs consistent with being raped and sodomized, he testified.
“The injuries were sustained while he was still alive,” Downs testified. Teresa Stepzinski, Defense to Begin Today in Georgia Child’s Slaying, Jacksonville.com, Last Accessed: October 3, 2009
All I can say is poor Christopher, how he suffered in his last two hours of life. He must have felt so all alone and so full of terror. The Edenfields deserve the death penalty as far as I am concerned. I wish the prosecution had not made a deal with Peggy Edenfield. It does not appear from the testimony I have read so far that they needed her to get a conviction. Hopefully she will not be truthful when she takes the stand voiding out her plea arrangement. She was called to the witness stand this morning.
The defense is supposed to begin their side of the case later today. It is unknown whether Edenfield will take the stand. The defense has indicated they will call three witnesses.
October 4, 2009: 3 p.m. PST
The trial concluded for the day with Peggy Edenfield still on the witness stand after having testified for nine hours.
She testified for the prosecution that she discovered her son George and her husband sodomizing Christopher in her son’s bedroom. She claimed this occurred after David Edenfield had stripped the child naked. After describing for the jurors in graphic detail the assault on Christopher and his murder, the defense proceeded with their cross-examination.
When the defense began the cross-examination Peggy Edenfield started to basically recant everything she had told the prosecution. At first she claimed she didn’t know Christopher was in the house. Then she claimed he was in the house with her son George without her knowledge or consent. Then she even claimed when she found Christopher in her house she grabbed him by the hand and walked him home. At that point in the testimony, Christopher’s grandmother, Sue Rodriguez, grabbed her chest and was led out of the courtroom. She returned in about twenty minutes. She told the media that she got a ‘sick pain’ in her chest listening to all of the lies Peggy Edenfield was telling while on the stand.
Edenfield finally admitted she allowed Christopher to be in the bedroom of her son, George, even though she knew as a registered sex offender he was not allowed to be around children. She also admitted she watched as first her son and then her husband proceeded to choke Christopher. She claimed she tried to remove first her husband’s hands from around Christopher’s throat and then George’s hands but she was unsuccessful. When the the defense asked her why she did not call authorities to try and save Christopher, she responded, “I didn’t do nothing … I didn’t know my neighbors that good…”
It is interesting to note that after Christopher lay dead inside her home, she was able to call a family friend, Donald Dale to ask him to come over and install some electronics for the family. With Christopher’s body inside several trash bags, Edenfield testified her husband David placed the boy’s body inside the trunk of the family car. She claimed that when Donald Dale arrived her husband asked him but ordered her to go with he and George to dispose of Christopher’s body. The four then drove to a location in the woods two miles from their home. Edenfield claims she stayed in the car while the men disposed of what she called ‘the little boy’. She doesn’t know if they buried Christopher then or not.
So, Peggy told some lies. Let’s begin with where and when Peggy claims to have seen Christopher in the home. After finally admitting knowing that Christopher was inside her son’s bedroom, she claims to have walked out of the bathroom and found her husband and son sodomizing Christopher after her husband stripped him. She has some explaining to do. The assault took two hours. I am going to take a guess that it took less than a minute to choke the life out of Christopher. She passed the room where the assault was taking place after leaving the bathroom. There is no way in hell I believe she did not hear screams coming from Christopher during the assault by two grown men. Does she really want that jury to believe she heard nothing and came across the tale end of the assault and murder? Maybe she will be able to explain what she was really doing during the assault based on this quote from the indictment:
George Edenfield and his 58-year-old father sodomized the boy and forced him to perform oral sex while Peggy Edenfield watched and masturbated. Molester, His Parents Charged in Christopher’s ‘Horrific’ Slaying, WJXT Jacksonville, Last Accessed: October 4, 2009
Maybe that is why Peggy was getting a little uncomfortable on the witness stand and was struggling for words during her testimony. Her behavior would be hard for her to explain to a courthouse full of people. Maybe she is feeling some shame for what she has done. Her husband did say in his confession to police that they were ‘excited’ after Christopher was dead and they continued to ‘pleasure themselves’. Only Peggy knows if she feels any shame for her part. I am guessing that whatever Peggy testifies to in this trial will be used in her trial. In short, her words could come back to bite her in her ass. That’s why she said her husband asked Donald Dale to help dispose of the body, but ordered her to do it. She wants the jury to perceive her as another of David Edenfield’s victims.
Donald Dale was indicted on charges of concealing a death and tampering with evidence. He plead guilty but mentally retarded to lying to police. He was sentenced to a state mental health facility outside of the county. Dale is expected to testify during this trial. Trial testimony resumes today at 1:30 p.m. I don’t think Peggy Edenfield is finished with her testimony.
October 4, 2009: 11:30 p.m. PST
Call me perplexed. The prosecution rested after playing the video interview with Peggy Edenfield where she explains in detail what David and George did to Christopher. She says in the video that Christopher was crying and telling them to stop. Peggy says she told them to stop too, by saying “Y’all stop”. Why someone would not do more to stop a sexual assault and murder of a child is perplexing enough. What the defense did or rather didn’t do is more perplexing. They rested their case without calling one witness, not one.
I guess the defense strategy will be to state in closing arguments that the evidence presented does not prove his client raped, murdered and dumped Christopher’s body like so much trash out in the woods. He will most likely remind the jurors that the medical examiner could not find any DNA evidence that connects David Edenfield to Christopher’s body. He will most likely mention Peggy Edenfield’s plea agreement one more time making a suggestion that she has a reason to help convict his client of Christopher’s murder. But there is that confession his client gave to authorities that was recorded and played for the jurors. I am sure the jurors will recall the sometimes vulgar terms he used in describing what he and George did to Christopher, they will recall he mentioned how excited all three Edenfields became after the assault and murder, so excited he said that he and his wife engaged in some sort of sexual activity. Disgusting. I don’t think this jury will take much time to come back with a verdict of guilty on all charges.
The Verdict
October 5, 2009: 2 p.m. PST
The jury deliberated for just two hours and returned a verdict of guilty on all nine charges against David Edenfield. Those charges included kidnapping; murder; enticing a child for indecent purposes;
false imprisonment; cruelty to children; aggravated child molestation; child molestation; concealing the death of another person; and tampering with evidence.
During Closing Arguments the defense attorney only argued two points – there was no proof to tie his client to the murder and Peggy Edenfield’s testimony against his client was riddled with inconsistencies. I am glad Edenfield has a crappy attorney. The penalty phase is underway.
Sentencing
October 6, 2009: 4:30 p.m. PST
During the sentencing phase of the trial, jurors heard Witness Impact Statements from Christopher’s father and grandmother.
Christopher’s father, Michael Barrios testified Monday evening, sobbing as he read his witness impact statement to the jury. He recalled how his smiling son would cheer him up on bad days, how Christopher would go to grandma’s house to watch TV and play computer games, and how they’d go to the beach together.
“I often look at his pictures and it hurts so bad that I won’t see this child grow up to be a man,” he said.
He told jurors he loved to take his son to Walmart to look at the latest toys. “I always tried to get him what he wanted,” said Barrios. “He was a good kid and deserved it.”
“My only joy is my kids and a chunk of it is gone,” said Christopher’s grandmother Sue Rodriguez. “I had to quit my job. It’s hard to do anything with all of this.” Gary Detman, Edenfield Jury Deliberating in Sentencing Phase, FirstCoastNews.com, Last Accessed: October 6, 2009
Today during closing arguments the prosecutor referred to David Edenfield as an ‘animal’. The defense immediately objected and moved for a mistrial. The request for a mistrial was denied, the prosecutor apologized to the jurors and Judge Scarlett told the jurors to disregard the remark.
The prosecution called one witness, forensic psychologist Phillip Barron, who examined David Edenfield at the request of the defense.
“There is nothing about his mental health picture in terms of intelligence or any kind of mental illness that would get in the way of being able to differentiate right from wrong,” he said. ((Ibid.))
The prosecution finally mentioned David Edenfield’s past conviction for incest for molesting his mentally retarded daughter back in the mid-1990’s and mentioned other instances of improper sexual activity within the family. He also mentioned that after Christopher had been murdered, David Edenfield masturbated over Christopher’s naked, lifeless body. Well, no wonder the prosecution referred to Edenfield as an animal. I can think of other words as well.
Defense co-counsel John Beall asked the jurors to show mercy on his client, that deciding on life instead of death is not forgiveness. No matter what sentence they ultimately choose his client will die in prison either from natural or unnatural causes. Beall also mentioned to the jury that if they choose death for his client, they will have to deal with that with the rest of their lives. He ended with “Homicide by execution is an awesome, awesome decision”.
Edenfield’s co-counsel Yancey told the jurors it just isn’t fair to sentence his client to death when the other co-defendants will not receive the same sentence. I said it before and I will say it now – Edenfield has crappy lawyers.
Some neighbors and co-workers were called to the stand to testify about Edenfield’s good and helpful nature. Some said he was a bit slow. A corrections officer testified that Edenfield had been a model prisoner, spent most of his time in solitary confinement and caused no trouble. In the end, Edenfield did nothing to save himself.
The jurors were sent to deliberate at 4:20 p.m Georgia time. Their choices are life with parole, life without parole, or death. What would you choose?
October 6, 2009: 9 p.m. PST
The jury spoke loud and clear. They voted unanimously that David Edenfield’s life should be taken just as he took away Christopher’s life. Jurors took a little over two hours to come to their verdict.
Appeals
October 28, 2010
The appeal filed requesting a new trial for David Edenfield was denied today. Edenfield’s attorney claimed that his client should have a new trial based on the fact that during the sentencing phase, the prosecutor referred to Edenfield as an “Animal”. The prosecutor immediately apologized for the characterization and the judge advised the jury to disregard the comment.
Judge Scarlett said in his ruling said “While this was an unfortunate statement made during the heat of argument, for which [Kelley] apologized, it is not a ground for a new trial … The denial of the defendant’s motion for a mistrial on this ground was not an error…” Teresa Stepzinski, Judge Denies New Trial for Edenfield in Barrios Slaying, The Florida Times-Union, Last Accessed: 10.29.10
Sources
GA vs Dale: Victim – Christopher Barrios, The End of the Story.
Mary Starr and Emily Stranger, ‘Indictment Planned in Slaying of Child,’ The Brunswick News, March 20, 2007.
Jeff Brumley, ‘Suspects Kept to Themselves, Except Son‘, The Times-Union, March 18, 2007.
Josh Rayburn and Emily Stranger, ‘Missing Child choked to death, court documents reveal,‘ The Brunswick News, March 21, 2007.
Teresa Stepzinski, ‘Indictment Details Final Hours for Boy‘, The Times-Union, March 22, 2007.
Teresa Stepzinski, Racial Makeup of Grand Jury is Challenged, The Times-Union, August 29, 2008.
WTOC Staff, First Trial Date Set for Barrios Murder Case, WTOCTV.com, February 5, 2009.
Teresa Stepzinski, Edenfield Murder Trial Delayed Until State Can Pay for Expenses, The Florida Times-Union, March 15, 2009.
Two Rulings in Christopher Barrios Murder Trial, FirstCoastNews.com, Last Accessed: August 26, 2009.
Teresa Stepzinski, Testimony to Begin in David Edenfield Capital Murder Trial, Jacksonville.com, Last Accessed: September 29, 2009.
Ann Butler, First Day of Barrios Trial Wraps Up, FirstCoastNews.com, Last Accessed: September 30, 2009.
Dal Cannady, Prosecutors: Edenfield Details Child’s Death, WTOC.com, Last Accessed: October 3, 2009.
Teresa Stepzinski, Grandmother of Christopher Barrios Suffers Chest Pains as Peggy Edenfield Recounts Boy’s Strangling, Jacksonville.com, Last Accessed: October 4, 2009.
Closing Arguments Monday in Edenfield Trial, FirstCoastNews.com, Last Accessed: October 4, 2009.
Edenfield Guilty on All Counts, FirstCoastNews.com, Last Accessed: October 5, 2009.
Teresa Stepzinski, Jury Deliberating on Death Penalty in Edenfield Case, Jacksonville.com, Last Accessed: October 6, 2009.
During the early morning hours of September 21, 2006 a 911 call was made from the Poole home requesting assistance because a child was non-responsive. When emergency personnel arrived they found Carol Poole there with an unresponsive toddler. Allison was transported to a local hospital and then air-lifted to another hospital due to the seriousness of her injuries.
Phillip Ellison, stands accused of the 2008 rape and murder of his 14-year-old niece, Jamesha Terry. Jamesha was reported missing after she did not return from school. Her nude body was found weeks later hidden in a field near her uncle’s apartment complex in California City, California.
It is alleged that George Edenfield lured Christopher to the mobile home he shared with his parents, David and Peggy Edenfield. While in the process of both George and David Edenfield taking turns sodomizing the boy, it is alleged that someone choked him to death. Peggy Edenfield is being charged for her part in the sexual molestation of Christopher as well as his murder.
Engelica Castillo is charged with the June 2009 murder of her 2-year-old niece, Jada Justice.
This is going to be an interesting case to follow once it gets started. William Page is accused of sexually assaulting and then taking his 18-month-old daughter out into the freezing cold, leaving her there to die. He then called police and claimed Nyia was kidnapped from his home.
Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, 44, of Manassas, Virginia is charged with the January 2009 murder of her adopted daughter Alexis ‘Lexie’ Glover, 13.
Aaron Thompson is charged with over sixty counts of child abuse, some charges include child abuse resulting in death.
The looks on the faces of Aaron and his attorney says it all. The jury pronounced Aaron Thompson guilty on 31 of the 55 counts they were considering, including the most serious charge – child abuse of a child resulting in death as it pertained to Aaroné’s death. The look of surprise on the face of the attorney indicates that he thought perhaps his client would walk out of the courtroom a free man today or at least just be found guilty of a few charges of child abuse. Here is the breakdown of the verdicts as reported on the Denver Post website:
Kevin Andre Towles is accused of beating his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son to death in December 2006.
The End of the Story 