Andrew Burd was a small four year old infant who was living with fostering parents Hanna and Larry Overton. This child was placed in their home to be cared for and nurtured. Unfortunately he lived his short little life at the hands of two very abusive people. He died on October 3, 2007 at Driscoll Childrens Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas of sodium poisoning. otherwise known as Hypernatremia. His foster parents were charged with capital murder.
Hannah Overtons' attorneys alleged that Andrew was not abused, but died of Diabetes Insipidus. This disease can cause a person to have nausea, vomiting, intense thirst, lethargy, excessive irritability, muscle twitching, coma and finally death. Which remarkably were some of the symptoms Andrew exhibited before his his death.
In the days before Andrews' death, his foster mother Hanna Overton, told a neighbor that Andrew was intentionally misbehaving. She stated that Andrew made himself throw up and poop. She alleged that he defecated at least eight times and smeared the feces everywhere. Most people know that extremely spicy foods can cause diarrhea. Hannah was quoted, "He's doing it to get to me." No human being on earth can force himself to defecate eight times.
On the the day Andrew fell ill, Hannah was quoted as stating, she fixed two sippy cups with chili and water. Then forced little Andrew to drink it. The first cup was to teach him a lesson. The second cup a form of punishment. The he fell over, hit his head and threw up. She picked him up the stated, "Beat the s*** out of him," in an affidavit.
This illness was not brought on by Diabetes insipidus. According to the Merk McNeal fiffteenth edition, Diabetes insipidus can be caused by severe head injury after a patient has already been in a state of coma or death. It was also alleged that a previous car accident in which Andrew hit his head in the weeks prior brought on the disease. Andrew was not in a coma at the time of the accident nor was he near death.
This is a clear case of abuse. Andrew endured the worse kind of neglect and abuse imaginable by the people who were supposed to care for him. He was under constant video surveillance by his foster mother, Hannah Overton. She often sent him to bed without eating for two days in a row. She used the camera to assure that he did not get up to go to the restroom.
Then little Andrew defecated on himself and all over the bed. Afterwards the sheets were removed and burned. And the mattress was found under the swing set. Andrew was forced to sleep on a piece of plywood. Even the Overtons' own children, who are ages seven and five were not immune to the abuse. They were also punished in the same manner with pepper or soap which was placed their mouths if they were every untruthful or misbehaved.
Andrews little body was observed by the physicians at Driscoll Childrens Hosptial. it was discovered that he had a cigarette burn on his right arm and bruising to his arms and legs. He also had scratches along his stomach, neck and head trauma. There was also bleeding on Andrews brain. The facts indicate he was clearly an abused child.
Further, The Annals of Internal Medicine state that Hypernatremia is usually found in elderly patients who may have been inadvertently prescribed an overdose of fluids via IV in a hospital or nursing home. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine, states that infants who dies from Hypernatremia have an underlying condition or disease that predisposes them to an increased water loss. If no underlying cause such as a disease is indicated, then the only other cause is parental or caretaker neglect as the underlying cause of death.
The news reported that Attorneys speaking on behalf of the Overtons are trying to seek a new hearing. The attorneys submit that there were other witnesses that were not allowed to testify. And also want to submit more important information that could aid their client, Mrs. Hanna Overton. This case, in my opinion was tried fairly and justice prevailed.
On March 25th, 2010 an article posted in the Corpus Christi Caller Times indicated that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to hear an appeal from Mrs. Overton. It appears Mrs. Overton will continue to serve a life sentence. And her husband Larry Overton, plead guilty to a lesser charge of Criminally neglect homicide. He was sentenced to five years deferred adjudication probation and a $5000.00 fine.
Little Andrew Burd is the real victim. he will never see another birthday, go to high school, marry and have children or life at all. Someone decided his fate for him. Perhaps there is some form of mental illness in Mrs. Overton. There are psychologist and psychiatrist at the state penitentiary who can assess this. In any case, the state penitentiary is a good place for Hannah Overton. It's far enough away from her natural born children. Her own children will be safe with someone who will protect them. Hopefully they will be placed in the care of someone who is more compassionate; for away from their mothers twisted idea of punishment.
If you are a victim of child abuse or a victimizer. Or you want to help someone get out of a difficult situation. Here are a few places to check out. Preventing Child Abuse Creative a Safe Place. http://www.faithaliveresources.org/Preventing-Child-Abuse
Written by
Donna C. Ledesma
Copyright (c)
All Rights reserved
References:
Corpus Christi Caller Times, http://www.caller.com/news/2010/mar/25/hannah-overton-loses-another-appeals-battle/
The Annuals of Internal Medicine, http://www.annals.org/
The American Journal of Forsensic Medicine and Pathology, http://journals.lww.com/amjforensicmedicine/pages/default.aspx
You have some errors in your story. Some errors that the Free Hannah sorts would make a bid deal out of.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, Although it was uncomfortably spicy, it wasn't spicy enough to make the child sick. But, what the Free Hannah sorts wouldn't tell you is that the sale would clearly be enough to make the child sick.
Also, the "beat the sh-t out of him" quote has been discredited. Of course, all that still leaves plenty of other facts that are not discredited. And most of the claims the defense made WERE discredited.
Also, there were no cigerette burns. There were no cigerettes found anywere near the house. BUT it does seem clear they were burns, just not from a cigerette.
It seems the husband was innocent of everything here except of being foolishly blind to what his wife was doing. Why else would the DA allow him to plead down to something that woudl not give him any jail time, without anything in return?
I also think Hannah is only guilty of half the things she is accused of. But that half is enough for me to want her to stay were she is for the rest of her life.
I also think it didn't start out abusive. I think she was way to controling and he rebelled. And she upped the control so he rebelled more. And the control became abuse and the abuse became deadly.
So the lesson here is to not be silent about lesser abuse. It can easily morph into something far more deadly.
Typo correction
ReplyDeleteThe SALT not "sale" was enough to make him sick.
I also want to say I am not attacking Andrew to say he rebelled. That is what many 4 yr olds do. They rebel. It was a perfectly normal response from a child who was adjusting to unrealistic expectations.
Thank you for that Typo correction. I try to watch what I am typing, but I times. A word or two escape me. Your right, children can be a bit rebellious. But no child deserves what this child endured. It was beyond normal parental care. It was sadistic.
ReplyDeleteWell as far as the errors. I corrected them. But the important fact is that Child Abuse is never an acceptable form of punishment for any child. Zararans is very spicy and people who are hyper-reactive to spicy foods can develop anaphylactic shock. And can cause diarrhea in children and adults. As for my quotes they are directly from the Corpus Christi Caller times and the news coverage of the events as they happened.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for her husband. He was foolish. But he was an accessory because he lived in the home and was aware of what his wife was doing. There is no way in my opinion that her husband was not aware of her form of punishment.
Whether the burns were made by cigarettes or another form of abuse is not excusable. The fact is he was burned. He had brusing.
I agree that Mrs. Overton was possibly controlling, but she should have sought help. Perhaps a Mothers Day Out Program. She may have been overwhelmed, but she is accountable for what she has done. And there should be no excuses for abuse.
I agree that we need to speak out about such things. And urge family members who witness such behaviors to do something. And have the child or children removed before matters get worse. Such as in the case of Andrew Burd.
In closing, even though some things may or may not have been discredited. The fact remains that a child is dead.
The caller times has sensationalized this story a bit.
ReplyDeleteStupid because the hard core facts, without sensationalizing are horrific enough.
Sad, because that gives the supporters of Hannah and excuse to defend her.
That is why I think we need to stick to the core facts.
The salt vs pepper is a good example. The spicyness of the seasoning is exaggerated. And it wasn't the spice that killed him. The salt killed him. Although the media and prosecution has exaggerated her medical background, it was enough for her to know that amount of salt was dangerous to say the least. And she OBVIOUSLY had enough experience to know he was having a life-threatening reaction to what she gave him, or to the knock on the head she gave him. Either way, she knew he needed emergency help hours before she took him to the clinic.
When this case first came to my attention, I so much wanted to believe she was not guilty of this. I carefully looked at what the "Hannahites" were saying. They are right on a few points, but not enough for her to belong anywhere but where she is right now! And most of their points are totally off base.
I am not bashing Caller Times any more than I would bash any other news outlet these days. News today seems to be more about catching the attention of people than about the facts. And spicy hot pepper is more attention getting than salt even though the salt was the fatal element.
ReplyDelete