Jury to hear closing arguments Friday in day care owner’s murder trial
Jurors will hear closing arguments Friday in the trial of a former day care owner accused of second-degree murder. But they won’t hear from Janna Thompson in person.
Thompson, 58, won't be testifying in her trial, though jurors have heard her in audio recordings from her interviews with Alpharetta police. Thompson is accused of leaving 3-year-old Max Stephens alone for 18 minutes on July 8, 2014, during which time the child hung himself on a piece of yellow twine, the type used around a bale of pine straw. Max died the following day after being removed from life support.
Prosecutors have said Thompson was using her cellphone to look up college football schedules inside her home while three children played outside. Thompson had seven kids in her in-home day care that morning, though state regulations limit her to six.
Thompson’s attorneys have argued the boy’s death was a freak accident.
“In my heart and mind I know I didn’t do anything intentional that day,” Thompson said. “I’ve never had an incident in my home, but that’s not because I’m an awesome daycare provider. It’s because I believe God built a hedge of protection around my home.”
Detectives testified in Fulton County Superior Court that Thompson provided different answers during her interviews about whether her adult son was awake, the amount of time she was inside, and her ability to see the yard through the back windows in the home.
Thompson's phone records appear to show 18 minutes passed between when she went inside her home and returned to the backyard, where she found Max near the bottom of a slide. Thompson said she initially believed the boy had fallen asleep, but she called 911 and began CPR when she realized he was in distress.
Thompson’s attorneys, Ed and John Garland, called one person to the stand Thursday. Juan Medina, speaking through an interpreter, said his landscaping company installed mulch and pine straw in Thompson’s yard about two weeks before Max died.
“Did you leave a string on the play set in the backyard?” John Garland asked Medina.
“No, we pick up everything we bring,” Medina said.
Medina said it was not likely a piece of twine had fallen to the ground while pine straw was being installed. Thompson’s attorneys have said she had no knowledge of the twine being in the backyard.
After closing statements, the case will be sent to the jury for a verdict. If convicted, Thompson could be sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison.
