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Community Corner

No Verdict in Davia James Trial

Jury to reconvenene on Tuesday.

No verdict was reached today in the trial of a Banning woman accused of standing by while her boyfriend fatally beat her 2-year-old
son, then trying to cover for him when investigators arrested them both.

Jurors weighing the fate of Davia Damanique James, 23, will resume
deliberations in the case on Tuesday morning, in what will be their third day
behind closed doors.

James faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree
murder and child endangerment in the Nov. 11, 2011, death of Robert Voorhees.

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A separate jury last week convicted Andrew Lee Payne, 24, of second-
degree murder and assault on a child resulting in great bodily injury for
beating the tot to the point of inflicting catastrophic internal injuries.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz is expected to
sentence Payne to 25 years to life in prison on Nov. 2.

Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham described little Robert's death
as "horrific,'' telling jurors that the child was hit repeatedly in the
kidneys and suffered a "fractured spine, a collapsed lung, cerebral edema and
a herniated brain.''

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The official cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
According to Beecham, the youngster was left under Payne's supervision
on Nov. 7, 2011, while James went to a doctor's appointment and ran errands for most of the day. By the time she came home that afternoon, her son appeared to be sleeping, the prosecutor said.

In fact, the boy was virtually comatose, unresponsive and slipping away.
When paramedics were summoned to the single-story house at 1435 W. Hays St., they initially believed the child was dead, Beecham said.

The tot was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was
declared brain dead on Nov. 11 and removed from life support.

Beecham alleged that Payne, a drug user, severely beat the boy, and
James, fully aware of what was going on, covered for him.

James's attorney, Stuart Sachs, described his client as a "devoted
mother'' who believed Payne when he told her that Robert had fallen and injured
his head in the bathroom.

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