Thomas Darling was brought to tears during his committal hearing in a Lee County courtroom as witnesses for the prosecution shared the details of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter’s death.
“They called it a lacerated liver. It was almost, with the exception of a 3/8th's inch piece of tissue it was severed in half. The two lobes were only being held together by a 3/8th's piece of tissue,” said Miles O’Quinn investigator for the district attorney’s office.
Darling is facing murder and cruelty to children as well as two drug possession charges. 2-year-old Lila Newman was left in Darling's care at a home on Knollwood Drive where he was renting a room. Allegations that Newman may have fallen off of the bed were met head-on during the proceedings.
“Towards the end of the interview Mr.. Darling stated that that morning at about 7:30 when he woke up he got up and went to the bathroom and as he was coming back he heard the child crying. He basically dropped a knee thrust on the child's abdomen when he was going to the child,” said GBI investigator Brian Smith.
Testimonies included information that the medical examiners believe the damage to the 2-year-old's liver came from a different force. The defense contested that darling has no prior history of abuse. The case has been turned over to superior court and no trial date has been set.
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