Edenfield's Charged with 2007 Aduction, Rape, Murder of 6 yr old Christopher Barrios

[annalyzer]

Money Crunch Delays Edenfield Murder Trial

http://www.news4jax.com/2007/0402/11496328_240X180.jpg

POSTED: Thursday, March 12, 2009
UPDATED: 4:18 pm EDT March 12, 2009

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- The first trial resulting from the death of 6-year-old abducted, raped and killed in 2007 has been postponed until the next fiscal year because of a shortage of state funds to pay the expenses of the defense.

David Edenfield, his wife and his son are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christopher Barrios Jr. Jury selection was scheduled for April 20, with the trial expected to begin two weeks later.

The Glynn County Superior Court Clerk's office told Channel 4 on Thursday that the first trial -- that of David Edenfield -- was pushed back to September to ensure that defense would have adequate state funding to pay for experts and investigators in the case.

The Office of Georgia Capital Defender is responsible for paying the legal bills for capital cases in the state. That department, like other state agencies, has been asked to cut 10 percent of its budget as part of state budget reductions.

Due to the high profile of the case resulting from a week-long, community-wide search for the missing boy, Glynn County Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett last month granted a defense motion that a jury will be brought in from another part of Georgia.

http://www.news4jax.com/2007/1219/14889971_147X150.jpg
Christopher Barrios

Prosecutors said Barrios was kidnapped, molested and strangled in the Edenfields' trailer in a Glynn County mobile home park.

Due to the extensive media attention the case received, Scarlett ruled jurors from Jeff Davis County would be brought in to hear the case and would remain sequestered during the trial.

Edenfield's wife, Peggy, and their adult son, George Edenfield, face charges in Barrios' death.

George Edenfield, a convicted sex offender, lived in the same mobile home park as Barrios and across the street from his grandparents. Prosecutors said Edenfield and his father, David, sexually abused the boy while the mother watched.

Prosecutors said Peggy Edenfield has reached an agreement to testify against her husband and son in exchange for a possible life sentence.

David and George Edenfield could face the death penalty.

Earlier this year, Donald Dale pleaded guilty to making a false statement to police in connection with the case was remanded to a psychiatric facility for five years.

Prosecutors said Dale was not involved in the killing, but helped hide the body and lied to police during an extensive six-day search for Christopher before his body was found.

Previous Stories:
February 5, 2009: First Trial In Boy's Slaying Set
August 29, 2008: David Edenfield Wants Murder, Molesting Charges Dismissed
June 26, 2008: Man Pleads Guilty To Charges Connected To 6-Year-Old's Slaying
June 9, 2008: Trial Set For Man Accused Of Hiding Boy's Body
June 5, 2008: Suspect In Boy's Slaying Withdraws Plea
March 14, 2008: Mother Sues State, Trailer Park Over Son's Death
August 15, 2007: Judge Rules On Defense Motions In Boy's Murder Case
July 30, 2007: Boy's Accused Killer In Court For Hearing
April 13, 2007: Molester, His Parents Charged In Christopher's 'Horrific' Slaying
March 21, 2007: As Slain Boy's Viewing Begins, 3 Charged With Murder
March 19, 2007: Child Molester Got Probation Days Before Slain Boy Vanished
March 17, 2007: Community Copes After Boy's Search Ends In Tragedy
March 16, 2007: Missing Boy Found Dead; 4 May Face Murder Charges
March 15, 2007: Body Of Missing Brunswick Boy Found
March 15, 2007: New Search, More Evidence, But No Sign Of Missing Boy
March 15, 2007: Police Search Pond, Follow New Tips In Missing Boy Case
March 14, 2007: 2nd Search Warrant Executed At Sex Offender's Home
March 14, 2007: Sex Offender, Offender's Mother Arrested In Boy's Disappearance
March 13, 2007: Police Search Sex Offender's Trailer In Hunt For Missing 6-Year-Old
March 12, 2007: After 4 Days, Police Believe Georgia Boy Was Abducted
March 11, 2007: $27,000 Reward Offered For Missing Georgia Boy
March 10, 2007: Searchers, Family Determined To Find Missing 6-Year-Old
March 9, 2007: After 24 Hours, No Sign Of Missing Georgia Boy

http://www.news4jax.com/news/18917447/detail.html

[annalyzer]

Christopher Barrios Murder Trial Delayed

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/genthumb.ashx?e=3&h=240&w=320&i=/assetpool/images/081030045817_103008_barrios.jpg
Christopher Barrios

Created: 3/12/2009 11:00:35 AM
Updated: 3/12/2009 11:27:55 AM

BRUNSWICK, GA (AP) -- A Glynn County judge is delaying the death penalty trial of a man charged with sexual assault and murder in the 2007 death of a 6-year-old Brunswick boy.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett ruled Wednesday that defense lawyers for suspected killer David Edenfield have not received adequate state funding to pay for experts and investigators in the case.

Scarlett had planned to start Edenfield's trial May 4, but now has pushed back jury selection to begin Sept. 8. Scarlett says state funds needed for Edenfield's defense should be available after the new fiscal year begins July 1.

Edenfield, along with his wife and adult son, are charged with the March 2007 slaying of young Christopher Michael Barrios.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/mostpopular/news-article.aspx?storyid=133562&provider=top

[annalyzer]

Christopher Barrios Murder

David Edenfield Trial

http://www.jurorthirteen.com/Portals/0/Christopher%20Barrios/Christopher-Barrios-Framed.jpg

Georgia

Christopher Michael Barrios Jr., 6, was last seen March 8, 2007 in his Glynn County neighborhood playing on a swing set near his grandmother's home around 6:15 p.m. When he was not home just after 8 p.m., police were called.

His disappearance prompted a massive search, which ended when his body was found wrapped in trash bags and dumped near some woods. He had been assaulted, raped and killed, as the wife, and mother of the accused rapists and murderers watched.

George Edenfield (right), one of the accused, was a registered sex offender who had just been to court on March 5th, three days before the murder, for violating his parole. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to probation instead of being sent to jail. http://www.jurorthirteen.com/Portals/0/Christopher%20Barrios/George-Edenfield-001.jpg

David Edenfield, George's father and also accused of the crimes, had a sex offense against him for incest of a grown female family member. http://www.jurorthirteen.com/Portals/0/Christopher%20Barrios/David-Edenfield-001.jpg

In an indictment that was issued March 21, 2007 George Edenfield and his 58-year-old father sodomized the boy and forced him to perform oral sex while Peggy Edenfield watched and masturbated. http://www.jurorthirteen.com/Portals/0/Christopher%20Barrios/Peggy-Edenfield-001.jpg

In an agreement approved by the victim's family, prosecutors will spare Peggy Edenfield's life to bolster their case against her husband, David Edenfield, 58, and their son, George Edenfield, 31, in the abduction and killing of the Glynn County kindergarten student, District Attorney Stephen Kelley said.

David Edenfield will be the first to be tried for this heinous crime. His trial was to start in April of 2009, but has been delayed due to a lack of funding.

Jury selection will begin Sept. 8, tentatively in Hazlehurst, and testimony will begin Sept. 21, 2009, at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett ruled in a order filed March 11, 2009.

David, Peggy and George Edenfield Charges:

1.Malice murder - punishable by death, life without parole or life with eligibility for parole
2.Kidnapping with bodily injury - punishable by death, or 25 years to life in prison
3.Enticing a child for indecent purposes - punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison
4.False imprisonment - punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison
5.First-degree cruelty to children - punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison
6.Child molestation - punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison
7.Concealing the death of another person - punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison
8.Tampering with evidence - punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison

George and David Edenfield Additional Indictments:
1.Aggravated child molestation, two counts - punishable by 25 years to life on each count

http://www.jurorthirteen.com/GeneralCategories/UpcomingTrials/ChristopherBarriosMurder/tabid/1117/Default.aspx

[LiveLaughLuv]

:1187603408.CR.Mothe

The torture Chistopher went through is so sad and sickening. This woman who is also a "mother" watched and masterbated as this child was being raped and sodomized...sick, sick....

I do hope they all get LWOP, for they deserve nothing less..

Rest Peacefully Christopher, you're justice is coming, little man..:1222423:

:1187603408.CR.Mothe

[lost indie]

:1187603408.CR.Mothe

The torture Chistopher went through is so sad and sickening. This woman who is also a "mother" watched and masterbated as this child was being raped and sodomized...sick, sick....

I do hope they all get LWOP, for they deserve nothing less..

Rest Peacefully Christopher, you're justice is coming, little man..:1222423:

:1187603408.CR.Mothe

It's so horrible to think of what that sweet child's last hours were like....

RIP sweet baby...

[annalyzer]

I followed this case when he went missing. We had such high hopes he'd be found safe.

There was a video photo tribute to him that I would watch and just sob.

[annalyzer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIb-HMppeWY

[SavannahStar]

OMG I had forgotten about this case. The details were horrifying. :1187603408.CR.Mothe That poor child, that beautiful little boy! :frown:

[Pandabear]

All these delays must be pure hell for Christopher's family. The trials will be terrible and I pray they find the strength to get through them.

I hope this pair of father and son murderers are put to death for this crime and I hope this sorry excuse for a woman never sees the light of day again.

RIP sweet Christopher. :1222423:

[Faith]

Jury Selection Begins For Trial In Boy's Slaying
Defendant In First Of Three Trials Receiving Mental Evaluation

POSTED: Sunday, September 20, 2009
UPDATED: 4:16 pm EDT September 20, 2009

http://www.news4jax.com/2009/0915/20927893_240X136.jpg
David Edenfield in court.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of a Brunswick man charged in the molestation and killing of a 6-year-old boy who disappeared from his mobile home park in March 2007.

David Edenfield, 61, faces he death penalty if convicted. He is charged with kidnapping, child molestation and murder in Brunswick. Due to pre-trial publicity in the case, the jury will be picked in Jeff Davis County, southwest of Savannah, and brought to Glynn County for the trial.

Edenfield, along with his wife, Peggy, and adult son, George, were charged after Christopher Barrios' body was found after a multi-day search. The father will be the first defendant to be tried.

http://www.news4jax.com/2007/1219/14889971_147X150.jpg
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.

Peggy Edenfield and the couple's 34-year-old son, George Edenfield, who is a convicted child molester, will be tried later.

http://www.news4jax.com/2009/0915/20927830_154X150.jpg
George Edenfield in court.

Police have said George Edenfield confessed that he choked Christopher because the devil told him to kill the boy.

David and George Edenfield will face the death penalty if convicted, but not against the wife because of her willingness to testify for the state.

Edenfield's trial was scheduled to begin as early as Sept. 28, but earlier this month Judge Stephen Scarlett ordered a mental evaluation of the defendant, which could delay the proceedings.

http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/21020859/detail.html

[annalyzer]

Prosecutor: Boy, 6, begged killers to 'let me go!'

By RUSS BYNUM (AP)

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A 6-year-old boy pleaded with his captors — a man and his adult son — as they stripped and sexually assaulted the child inside a mobile home before strangling him, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

The comments were made during opening arguments in the trial of David Edenfield, 61, who faces the death penalty if convicted of the March 2007 slaying of Christopher Michael Barrios. The boy was missing for a week before police found his naked body dumped off a road and wrapped in trash bags.

Prosecutor John B. Johnson told jurors in his opening statement that they would learn the details of what happened to the boy "in the most horrible two hours of his life" from a taped confession Edenfield made to police.

Johnson said Edenfield and his son, 34-year-old George Edenfield, lured the boy into their trailer across the street from the home of Christopher's grandmother, stripped the boy naked and took turns molesting him.

"You will hear him say this from his own mouth," Johnson said of David Edenfield. "Christopher Barrios didn't want to be there. He said, 'Let me go! Please don't do this! I'm going to tell my parents!'"

He said George Edenfield then wrapped his hands around the boy's throat while his father "began to — instinctively, you will hear him say — place his hands on top of George Edenfield's and help choke him."

David Edenfield is the first suspect to stand trial in the slaying. His son and wife, Peggy Edenfield, have also been charged with molesting and killing the boy, then hiding his body. The jury was selected from residents some 90 miles away because of pretrial publicity, and the jurors are being sequestered in Brunswick.

Defense attorney James Yancey told jurors that his client's son was a convicted child molester and told police he'd killed the boy hours after Christopher went missing.

Yancey said the elder Edenfield's confession was influenced by the police officers who questioned him, but stopped short of telling jurors he was coerced.

Barrios lived in a mobile home park in the port city of Brunswick, about 60 miles south of Savannah, where his father and grandmother both had separate homes. He would pass the Edenfields' trailer when walking between them.

A shy boy with a big smile that showed off the silver caps on his front teeth, he loved superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man. When police began searching for him, they found his toy Star Wars lightsaber abandoned by the road.

The Edenfields moved into the mobile home park where the boy lived just a few months before his death. The family had been forced to move because George Edenfield was a convicted child molester. The family's previous home was close to a playground, a violation of Georgia's sex offender registry law.

Police discovered George Edenfield was a sex offender and questioned him a few hours after Christopher was reported missing. Court records say he confessed to choking the boy and told police "the 'devil' told him to kill Christopher."

Peggy Edenfield later told investigators she watched her grown son choke the boy and then try to wash fingerprints from his neck using soap and a pot of water, according to court affidavits. She said she and her husband, David Edenfield, helped dispose of the body.

George Edenfield is still awaiting the outcome of court proceedings to determine if he's mentally competent to stand trial. Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering has described him as mentally slow but capable of understanding right from wrong.

Peggy Edenfield agreed to testify against her husband and son in return for a promise that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxI20bdjcrV1Gr--mahRpNvTej0gD9B1P7PO0

[annalyzer]

Testimony begins in David Edenfield's death penalty murder trial

Story updated at 2:09 PM on Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009

BRUNSWICK - Prosecutors described in graphic detail today the sexual abuse and slaying of Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. in the first day of testimony in the death penalty murder trial of David Edenfield who is charged with murder in the 6-year-old boy's death.

Edenfield, 59, is charged with abducting, molesting and strangling the Glynn County kindergarten student who disappeared March 8, 2007. Christopher's body was found a week later hidden inside five plastic trash bags dumped in woods about 2 miles from his home off Canal Road north of Brunswick.

His wife, Peggy Edenfield, 58, and their son, George Edenfield, a 33-year-old convicted child molester, also are charged with the sex abuse slaying. All three are jailed without bail, and the elder Edenfield is the first to stand trial in the case.

In laying out a timeline on Christopher's disappearance, his family testified of their efforts to find him and calling police when they failed.

The trial opened this morning with Special Assistant District Attorney John B. Johnson telling the nine-man, seven-woman jury the evidence against David Edenfield would be graphic and beyond a reasonable doubt. The jurors were brought from Jeff Davis County and four of them are alternates.

Christopher spent the last two hours of his life stripped naked, raped and sodomized before being choked to death as he pleaded for David and George Edenfield to stop and let him go. After being abducted, the boy was molested and murdered in George Edenfield's bedroom as Peggy Edenfield watched while masturbating, Johnson said.

"He was stripped of his clothes and sexually molested by George Edenfield, then David Edenfield became part of it and began molesting Christopher, too," Johnson said.

Johnson told jurors that David Edenfield later confessed to Glynn County police. In the confession, which was recorded, David Edenfield admitted sodomizing Christopher and said he helped his son choke Christopher to death.

"Christopher Barrios told them: 'Let me go. I don't want to do this. I'm telling my parents' as he was being sexually assaulted," Johnson said.

David Edenfield described himself as acting instinctively, Johnson said.

"You will hear his words. George Edenfield put his hands around Christopher's neck and began choking him. David Edenfield put his hands over George Edenfield's and instinctively began choking Christopher, too," Johnson said.

The evidence also will show how David Edenfield, Peggy Edenfield, George Edenfield and their friend Donald Dale later disposed of Christopher's body.

When found, Christopher was wrapped in five black plastic bags. Leaves and pine straw inside the bag indicated the body had been hidden outdoors before being stuffed into the bag and dumped where it was discovered, Johnson said.

Because of decomposition, authorities had to use dental records to identify Christopher. No DNA evidence was recovered, however, saliva found on Christopher's back, and semen traces on the plastic bags substantiated David Edenfield's confession, Johnson said.

In his opening statement, lead defense counsel James Yancey Jr. focused on George Edenfield's background as a convicted sex offender, and the police methods of questioning David Edenfield. George Edenfield confessed to the killing almost immediately after police began interviewing him, Yancey said.

"George Edenfield admitted that he in fact killed Christopher Barrios," Yancey said.

Yancey said the evidence will show that police manipulated David Edenfield during a series of lengthy interrogations until he confessed.

In additon, both Peggy Edenfield and Dale later made plea bargains with prosecutors in the case, Yancey said.

Although Peggy Edenfield has agreed to testify against her husband and son, prosecutors did not include her in the list of state witnesses read off this morning to Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett.

Dale was on the defense witness list, along with David Edenfield's daughter Minnie Edenfield.

Christopher's father, Mike Barrios, was the first to testify. He was followed by Christopher's stepmother, Paula Anderson, and the boy's grandmother, Sue Rodriguez.

They testified to the timeline leading up to Christopher's disappearance about 6 p.m. that day, Anderson's and Mike Barrios' efforts to find him and, when they couldn't, the 911 call to police for help.

This afternoon, police were expected to testify about the search and statements the Edenfields made about Christopher.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-09-30/story/testimony_begins_in_david_edenfields_death_penalty _murder_trial

[Roamer]

This whole thing is so disgusting! IMO, first offense, kill them.

[lalema]

RIP Christopher!! Prayers for Christopher's family during this awful time.

[Faith]

The prosecution's opening statement in the trial of a Georgia man on trial in the 2007 molestation and slaying of a 6-year-old Christopher Barrios contained a graphic description of the boy's final days and hours.

David Edenfield, 61, is the first of three suspects to be tried in the Barrios' slaying, whose body was found wrapped in a trash bag and dumped by a road in 2007 -- one week after he disappeared.

Prosecutor John Johnson told jurors as the trial began Wednesday that the boy was stripped and sexually assaulted by Edenfield and his grown son in their mobile home.

"Christopher Barrios didn't want to be there. He told them to let him go. He said, 'I want to leave; let me go; don't do this; I'm going to tell my parents,'" Johnson said in his opening statement.

Johnson said Edenfield admitted in a taped statement to police that he helped his son choke the boy to death. He said Edenfield got sexual satisfaction from killing the child. :madranting94dp: :45024:

more here
http://www.news4jax.com/news/21140102/detail.html

[Pandabear]

Wow, how the rats start turning on each other when they are caught.

I hope they all die a slow painful death for what they did to this precious child. God bless you Christopher, and I pray the Barrios family can get through this and find some peace. :1187603408.CR.Mothe

[annalyzer]

First day of Barrios Trial Wraps Up

Created: 9/30/2009 11:04:46 AM
Updated: 9/30/2009 7:07:35 PM

Michael Barrios, Christopher's father, was the first to testify today. He said he saw the Star Wars toy his son had been playing with abandoned in the Edenfields' yard next door to the Barrios' mobile home. That tipped off police to question the family.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/special/barrios/news-article.aspx?storyid=145895&catid=336

[annalyzer]

Lunsford watching Brunswick boy's murder trial

Posted: Oct 01, 2009 10:08 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 01, 2009 10:08 AM EDT

http://wtoc.images.worldnow.com/images/11238793_BG1.jpg
Mark Lunsford in court at David Edenfield's murder trial.

BRUNSWICK, GA (WTOC) - As the trial of David Edenfield, the man charged with killing a 6-year-old boy continues in Brunswick Thursday, another man whose daughter was murdered was also in the courtroom.

Mark Lunsford was in court Wednesday watching Edenfield's trial. Edenfield is charged with sexually assaulting and killing Christopher Barrios in 2007.

Lunsford's 9-year-old daughter Jessica was kidnapped four years ago and murdered by John Couey, who was convicted and sentenced to death.

Couey died of natural causes Wednesday at a prison in Jacksonville. Mark Lunsford said he's glad it's finally over.

"It would be to any family whoever caused them some kind of grief like this, before their actual sentencing date," said Lunsford. "Yeah, most definitely, it does take a lot off of you 'cause now you don't have to worry about his efforts for his next appeal."

Lunsford has become an advocate for laws to protect children from sex offenders.

Edenfield faces the death penalty if convicted of Barrios' murder. His trial resumes Thursday in Brunswick.

http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11238793

[LiveLaughLuv]

The prosecution's opening statement in the trial of a Georgia man on trial in the 2007 molestation and slaying of a 6-year-old Christopher Barrios contained a graphic description of the boy's final days and hours.

David Edenfield, 61, is the first of three suspects to be tried in the Barrios' slaying, whose body was found wrapped in a trash bag and dumped by a road in 2007 -- one week after he disappeared.

Prosecutor John Johnson told jurors as the trial began Wednesday that the boy was stripped and sexually assaulted by Edenfield and his grown son in their mobile home.

"Christopher Barrios didn't want to be there. He told them to let him go. He said, 'I want to leave; let me go; don't do this; I'm going to tell my parents,'" Johnson said in his opening statement.

Johnson said Edenfield admitted in a taped statement to police that he helped his son choke the boy to death. He said Edenfield got sexual satisfaction from killing the child. :madranting94dp: :45024:

more here
http://www.news4jax.com/news/21140102/detail.html

Christopher spent the last two hours of his life stripped naked, raped and sodomized before being choked to death as he pleaded for David and George Edenfield to stop and let him go. After being abducted, the boy was molested and murdered in George Edenfield's bedroom as Peggy Edenfield watched while masturbating, Johnson said.

Sick, sick, sick....I can't imagine this woman, a mother would watch this boy being molested and masterbate while watching him being tortured...Sick...no other words to describe this outrageous act upon this innocent child..

Too bad the prosecutors did not seek the DP, they all deserve to die for what they did to Christopher...

Poor child, his last moments on earth filled with, fear, pain, hurt, tortured so this sick family could be sexually gratified...OUTRAGEOUS! :madranting94dp:

[annalyzer]

Peggy should get the DP even more so than her son the child molestor imo. Sick disgusting people. I bet the son was sodomized by his father when he was young and Peggy knew about it. She looks to be about the same age as Christopher's grandmother. I can't imagine that poor boy getting raped and seeing this woman just watching and not helping him.

[annalyzer]

Confession Drilled into Jury on Barrios Trial Second Day

Ann Butler Created: 10/1/2009 12:03:43 PM
Updated: 10/1/2009 12:50:43 PM

BRUNSWICK, GA -- The prosecution in the second day of David Edenfield's murder trial spent the morning driving home the defendant's confession by showing members a taped interrogation.

On the videotape, which the jury watched in part Wednesday afternoon, Edenfield tells Glynn County Investigator Raymond Sorro, that he sexually assaulted and strangled 6-year-old Christopher Barrios.

The Barrios' neighbors, David Edenfield, 61, his wife, Peggy, and their son George are charged in the 2007 death of the first-grader; they are being tried separately and David Edenfield's is the first trial.

Christopher had been playing in the yard of the mobile home park where he lived. That evening, his grandmother Sue Rodriguez was unable to find him.
Today, the jury also heard Edenfield describe to Sorro Christopher's crying and threats tell his parents.

At one point on the tape, Sorro asks Edenfield what he thinks should happen to him. He responds, "Well, um, well, um, I'm really not sure right now....because I have never done nothing like this before. I really don't know...."

Later, Edenfield, 61, says he "should be punished for the crime."

The trial is expected to last three to five days at the Glynn County courthouse. The defense and prosecution are expected to call several dozen witnesses.
The jury was seated in Jeff Davis County, about 90 miles from Brunswick, where they will be sequestered during the trial.
Peggy Edenfield, 58, will be tried last per a deal with the prosecution to testify against her husband. George Edenfield's trial is pending a determination of his mental fitness for trial.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/special/barrios/news-article.aspx?storyid=145956&catid=336

[annalyzer]

Barrios murder suspect: "I should be punished"

Posted: Oct 01, 2009 10:19 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 01, 2009 12:01 PM EDT

BRUNSWICK, GA (WTOC) - It's day two of testimony in the murder trial of David Edenfield. He's charged with sexually assaulting and killing 6-year-old Christopher Barrios in 2007.

Thursday, jurors were shown the second hour of what prosecutors say is Edenfield's taped confession of the murder to investigators.

In the tape, Edenfield says he and his adult son George Edenfield, molested Christopher in their mobile home while Edenfield's wife Peggy watched.

Christopher went missing in March of 2007. His body was found a week later inside a trash bag just three miles from his home.

On the tape, the suspect also admitted placing his hands on top of his son's hands as his son strangled the boy and says in the tape, "I should be punished."

Glynn County police detective Raymond Sarro is expected to take the stand again Thursday afternoon so he could be cross-examined by Edenfield's defense lawyers.

Wednesday, defense attorneys said the Edenfields were across town when the search for Christopher began.

They also tried to point guilt towards George Edenfield for the murder and cast doubt on the upcoming testimony of Peggy Edenfield, who has already reached an agreement with prosecutors.

David Edenfield could face the death penalty if he's convicted.


http://www.wtoc.com/global/story.asp?s=11238908

How could anyone defend these monsters? It just boggles my mind.

[Roamer]

I'd rather starve than be a defense lawyer. I don't understand how or why they can do it.

[annalyzer]

Prosecution Expected To Wrap Up Case Today In Edenfield Trial

http://media.wsav.com/wsav/img-story/images/uploads/EDENFIELDS.JPG
The prosecution is expected to wrap up their case this afternoon. Their final witness will be the Glynn County Medical Examiner.

WTLV- Jacksonville
Published: October 2, 2009

excerpt — Georgia Bureau of Investigations forensic biologist Barbara Retezer said there was no DNA evidence found on the remains of the 6-year-old. However, she said, time, heat and humidity are all variables in collecting DNA and other forensic evidence. After seven or eight days, any such evidence is not viable, she said.

In a videotaped interrogation shown in court, Edenfield told a Glynn County Investigator that he sexually assaulted and strangled Christopher. Edenfield described Christopher’s crying and threats tell his parents.

http://www2.wsav.com/sav/news/local/article/prosecution_expected_to_wrap_up_case_today_in_eden field_trial/53533/#

[annalyzer]

Edenfield calmly says killing 6-year-old Christopher Barrios was exciting

Accused killer says he wanted 'to see what it felt like to choke somebody'

Story updated at 6:53 AM on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009

BRUNSWICK - Jurors watched intensely Thursday the rest of a DVD recording of David Edenfield confessing that he sexually assaulted then choked 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. to death.

On the recording, Edenfield is seen calmly describing the killing as exciting and saying he acted instinctively to kill the boy.

As in Wednesday's opening of his death penalty murder trial, Edenfield, 61, showed no emotion as he watched himself dispassionately describe how he and his 34-year-old son, George Edenfield, killed the kindergartner who had begged them to stop. The boy was killed after he threatened to tell his father and grandmother the Edenfields had molested him, David Edenfield told a Glynn County police detective during the 21/2-hour interview.

David and George Edenfield, who is a convicted child molester, and Peggy, David's wife and George's mother, were neighbors of Christopher's extended family in Canal Mobile Home Park on Horseshoe Lane.

All three are charged with molesting and murdering the boy. District Attorney Stephen Kelley is seeking the death penalty against all but Peggy Edenfield. David Edenfield is the first to stand trial.

Aside from the DVD of Edenfield, much of Thursday's testimony centered on the results of DNA tests, identifying Christopher through dental records and other forensic evidence. Special Assistant District Attorney John B. Johnson told Judge Stephen Scarlett that he would likely call four more witnesses today and conclude the state's case.

Prosecutors played another shorter DVD of an interview with Edenfield, in which he described his son as mentally retarded and said his son alone was responsible for Christopher's death and molestation.

He continued those denials initially in the longer recorded interview before he gradually detailed how he sodomized then helped strangle the boy.

Edenfield said he put his hands on top of George's and together they choked the boy, he said on the recording.

"I guess it was just instinct ... I just wanted to see what it felt like to choke somebody," said Edenfield, who initially denied squeezing the boy's neck.

After Christopher was dead, Edenfield said he, George and Peggy Edenfield sexually gratified themselves.

"Christopher was dead. I guess it excited all of us," Edenfield said.

Edenfield said he didn't know how the boy got into their home, but George had him in his bedroom, where he stripped off his clothes before sexually assaulting him.

Kelley played the first hour of the recording Wednesday.

Some of the jurors grimaced Thursday morning as they listened to Edenfield detail in crude, sexually explicit language the March 8, 2007, slaying he first blamed on his son. As he was being sexually assaulted, the boy cried and begged them to stop, which prompted George to say they would have to kill him, David Edenfield said.

"Christopher was crying, not screaming, just kind of scared. He was saying: 'No. Stop. Stop. Stop' while George put his hands around his throat and choked him," Edenfield said.

The boy struggled and tried to push George's hands away. George grabbed and held the boy's hands behind his back so he couldn't fight or escape while being sodomized then strangled, Edenfield said.

Detective Ray Sarro asked Edenfield if he helped restrain the boy. Sarro, who has since retired, told Edenfield to tell the truth because police had evidence that would reveal if he lied, the recording showed.

"Yes sir, I was holding him down and he was alive then. It was just me holding him down," Edenfield said.

He confessed to Sarro during an interrogation March 16, 2007, the day after authorities found the boy's decomposed body wrapped in five black plastic bags and dumped in woods.

Edenfield told Sarro that Christopher was molested and slain before they called a family friend, Donald Dale, to come to their home to help dispose of the body.

That call was about 8:40 p.m. March 8, 2007, about two hours after the boy was last seen alive by neighbors.

Dale's landlord, Tim Frayne, testified Thursday that Dale was with him from 9 a.m. until about 8:45 p.m. March 8, 2007, and therefore could not have been at the Edenfield home before Christopher was killed and his body disposed of.

Sarro left Edenfield alone several times during the interrogation at Glynn County police headquarters. During those times, Edenfield picked up crime scene photos of Christopher's body, muttered to himself and tossed them back onto a table where Sarro had left them.

At times, Edenfield put his head in his hands, rested his head on his folded arms on top of the table or leaned back in his chair while waiting for Sarro to return.

After returning, Sarro asked Edenfield what he thought when he looked at the photos.

"It's my fault. I should have been a grown man and stopped it, but I didn't. I should be punished .... I guess go to prison and get killed for it," Edenfield replied.

Sarro later asked Edenfield if he felt any emotions at seeing the photo of the boy's decomposed body.

"It's a horrible, horrible sight. It never should have happened," Edenfield responded.

Also Thursday, Barbara Retzer, a forensic biologist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, testified she analyzed saliva found on Christopher's body, semen found on the bags he was wrapped in and blood samples from all three Edenfields.


http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-02/story/edenfield_calmly_says_killing_6_year_old_christoph er_barrios_was_excit#

[annalyzer]

Jurors in Edenfield trial examine photos of slain 6-year-old Christopher Barrios

Story updated at 6:53 AM on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009

BRUNSWICK -- Jurors examined crime scene and morgue photos of Christopher Barrios Jr.'s decomposed body this morning as police testimony entered its third day in the death penalty murder trial of David Edenfield.

Several jurors recoiled in their chairs or quickly looked away when first given the photos.

Edenfield, 61, his wife Peggy, and their son, George, 34, are all charged with molesting and murdering 6-year-old Christopher. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against all but Peggy Edenfield, who has agreed to testify against her husband and son.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the Glynn County boy is expected to testify this afternoon

It was unknown if Edenfield will testify in his own defense when the trial continues Saturday.

As former Glynn County police detective Ray Sarro testified, the jury looked at photos of Christopher's naked decomposed body as police found it wrapped in five black plastic trash bags on March 15, 2007, a week after he disappeared while playing near his home.

Sarro then testified about interrogating Edenfield on March 13, 2007. As he would in other police interviews, Edenfield initially denied any involvement. He instead blamed his mentally retarded son, George, a convicted child molester, for abducting, molesting and killing the boy, Sarro said.

Edenfield gradually incriminated himself, however, as Sarro and police Capt. Marissa Tindale pressed him for details, saying they had evidence showing he was lying and withholding information about the slaying.

Because of equipment problems, only the audio portion of the interrogation was recorded.

Sarro, reading from a transcript of the interview, said Edenfield originally said he overheard his wife, Peggy, George and family friend, Donald Dale, talking about hurting Christopher, which they described as "a problem" they needed to deal with.

"George said he didn't know if he hurt Christopher or not but guessed that he did hurt him, and there was a problem. They didn't say how they were going to get rid of him," Edenfield said.

Edenfield said George, Peggy and Dale were in George's bedroom and he was out in the living room sitting in his recliner watching television when he overheard them talking because "the walls are thin."

"George and Donald said they had a problem with the little boy and what were they going to do about it. Peggy was in there in the room, too," Edenfield said.

Sarro testified that as Edenfield continued talking he said he never saw George, Peggy or Dale take Christoher's body out of the home or carry it past him in a trash bag.

At that time, Sarro said, the boy's body had not been found. When it was recovered two days later it was wrapped in trash bags similar to those later found inside the Edenfield home, previous police testimony has shown.

Replying to a question from Tindale, Edenfield later admitted the others got rid of Christopher's body.

" . . . They got rid of Christopher the same day he went missing but not in my car," Edenfield said.

Other testimony this morning included Glynn police detective Mike Owens who told jurors that he interviewed a woman and her daughter who substantiated Dale's whereabouts on the day Christopher was killed.

Dale had been working all day with his landlord renovating a house. Owens said Ruth Daniels told him that about 9 p.m. Dale borrowed her pickup truck to go to the Edenfield home after they called him.

Prior evidence has shown that Dale arrived at the home after police had begun searching the area for Christopher. The evidence also showed that Christopher was killed and his body was dumped before the police there for the search.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-02/story/jurors_in_edenfield_trial_examine_photos_of_slain_ 6_year_old_christoph

[annalyzer]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/genthumb.ashx?e=3&h=240&w=320&i=/assetpool/images/091003073811_100309_EDENFIELD2.jpg

Prosecution Rests in Barrios Murder Trial

Created: 10/1/2009 12:03:43 PM
Updated: 10/4/2009 6:40:54 PM

BRUNSWICK, GA -- The prosecution has rested it's case against David Edenfeild late Sunday afternoon and closing arguments will begin tomorrow.

The prosecution continued on with its case in the trial of David Edenfield in Glynn County around 1 p.m. today.

Edenfields wife, Peggy Edenfield remained on the witness stand for several hours testifying against her husband.

Today, for the first time the jury saw video of Peggy and George talking in private after their arrest. Both were heard denying killing Barrios.

Also for the first time the prosecution played video of Peggy being questioned by police and describing the gruesome details of when she watched her husband and son molest Christopher Barrios.

David Edenfield is on trial for murdering and sexually assaulting 6-year-old Christopher Barrios. Barrios was found dead in garbage bags a week after he was reported missing by family.

Peggy Edenfield, who is also charged in the boy's death, spent several hours testifying as to what happened in the Edenfield's trailer home.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Peggy Edenfield in exhange for her testimony.

Edenfield told the jury her husband, David, carried Barrios' body from their trailer and put it in the trunk of their car.

"I tried to get my husband's hands off my son's, then tried to get my son's hands off Christopher's," testified Edenfield who said her husband and son, George, were choking the 6-year-old.

Defense attorney's hammered away at Edenfield's credibility, saying she has been less than truthful from the very beginning with police. David Edenfield's attorneys on Sunday are expected to begin presenting their evidence in the murder trial.

Peggy Edenfield recounted details of how her husband placed the body of young Christopher Barrios into their car after he was strangled and sexually molested.

After three days and a description from the medical examiner of how 6-year-old Christopher Barrios Jr. was sexually assaulted and died of asphyxiation, the prosecution continued into early Saturday morning.

There was evidence of a sexual assault, plus a bite mark on the young boy's back, Jamie Downs of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told the jury today - the final day of the prosecution's case in the David Edenfield capital murder trial.

"My opinion would be, the most likely means to cause Christopher's death would have been by that neck compression, be it by an arm from the sides in a sleeper hold, by a towel
on the neck or by palms up against the side of his neck," Downs said.

Edenfield sat with his lawyers showing little emotion during the medical testimony Friday.

The Barrios' former neighbors, Edenfield, 61, his wife, Peggy, and their son George are charged in the 2007 death of the first-grader. They are being tried separately, and David Edenfield's is the first trial.

Christopher had been playing in the yard of the mobile home park where he lived. That evening, his grandmother Sue Rodriguez was unable to find him.

Former Glynn County Investigator Raymond Sarro finished testifying today, telling the jury that he had to pull information from Edenfield, who he said was not honest with him during the early stages of the interrogation.

Sarro also described what he saw when he arrived at the Edenfields the day Christopher disappeared. "The house was lit up but, the shades and the curtains were closed and you could see outlines of the individuals in the house and the edge of the curtain being pulled back," he said.

The investigator noted that when he first entered the home and met David Edenfield, he was dressed in a T-shirt and underwear. Sarro told him to get dressed so he could question him.

(more at link)
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/special/barrios/news-article.aspx?storyid=145956&catid=336#

[annalyzer]

Defense to begin today in Georgia child's slaying

Story updated at 6:15 AM on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A state medical examiner used a medical model to show jurors Friday how 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. was choked to death after being sexually assaulted two years ago.

David Edenfield, 61, rested his chin on one hand or looked straight ahead while listening to the testimony in the third day of his death penalty trial on murder, molestation and abduction charges in the Glynn County boy's killing.

The kindergartner died as a result of asphyxiation, testified Jamie Downs, medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab in Savannah.

Downs, a nationally recognized forensic pathologist and expert in child and sexual abuse homicides, performed the autopsy on Christopher after his decomposed body was recovered March 15, 2007, a week after he was slain.

Balancing a model depicting the inside of a human throat on the rail of the jury box, 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.

He also found saliva on the body and other biological evidence on black plastic trash bags wrapped around him. Because of decomposition, however, Downs said he was unable to extract usable DNA to compare with samples from Edenfield, his wife, Peggy, or their son, George, who is a convicted child molester.

Downs was the last prosecution witness called, but Edenfield's attorneys, James Yancey Jr. and John Beall IV, recalled former Glynn County police detective Ray Sarro for cross examination. District Attorney Stephen Kelley is expected to rest the state's case this morning and Yancey and Beall will offer evidence in Edenfield's defense.

It was unknown whether Edenfield will testify. His attorneys, however, said they planned to call three witnesses.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett told the jury, which is being sequestered, that he would like to hold court Sunday afternoon if evidence is not completed today. Scarlett asked jurors to vote on whether they wanted to do that or recess until Monday.

If jurors convict Edenfield of murder, they would immediately begin hearing evidence in the sentencing phase of the trial.

Also Friday, several jurors flinched or quickly looked away when they were given crime scene and morgue photos of Christopher to examine as police testimony continued to establish the sequence of events in the slaying.

Edenfield, 61, Peggy, 58, and their son, George, 34, are all charged with molesting and murdering Christopher. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against all but Peggy Edenfield, who has agreed to testify against her husband and son.

Sarro returned to the witness stand as the jury looked at photos. He identified each photo and testified about interrogating Edenfield on March 13, 2007. As he would in other police interviews, Edenfield initially denied any involvement. He instead blamed George, who is mentally retarded, for abducting, molesting and killing the boy, Sarro said.

Edenfield said his wife and family friend, Donald Dale, then helped dispose of the body.

"He said George brought him [Christopher] inside to play video games and then George hurt him. After Christopher was killed, they wrapped him up in a blue blanket, then Peggy and Donald Dale took his body out to the woods and dumped him," Sarro testified.

Edenfield gradually incriminated himself, however, as Sarro and police Capt. Marissa Tindale pressed him for details, saying they had evidence showing he was lying and withholding information about the slaying.

Sarro, reading from a transcript of the interview, said Edenfield originally said he overheard his wife, Peggy, George and Dale, as they talked about hurting Christopher, which they described as "a problem" they needed to deal with.

"George said he didn't know if he hurt Christopher or not but guessed that he did hurt him, and there was a problem. They didn't say how they were going to get rid of him," Edenfield said.

Edenfield said George, Peggy and Dale were in George's bedroom and he was out in the living room sitting in his recliner watching television when he overheard them talking because "the walls are thin."

Sarro testified that as Edenfield continued talking he said he never saw George, Peggy or Dale take Christopher's body out of the home or carry it past him in a trash bag.

At that time, Christopher's body had not been found, Sarro said. When it was recovered two days later, it was wrapped in five trash bags similar to those later found inside the Edenfield home, previous police testimony has shown.

That slip of the tongue about the trash bag, Sarro testified, reinforced police suspicions that Edenfield actively participated in the slaying.

Replying to a question from Tindale, Edenfield asserted the others got rid of Christopher's body.

"... They got rid of Christopher the same day he went missing, but not in my car," Edenfield said.

Other testimony Friday included Glynn police detective Mike Owens, who told jurors that he interviewed a woman and her daughter who substantiated Dale's whereabouts on the day Christopher was killed.

Dale had been working all day with his landlord renovating a house. Owens said the woman told him that about 9 p.m. Dale borrowed her pickup truck to go to the Edenfield home after they called him.

Prior evidence has shown that Dale arrived at the home after police had begun searching the area for Christopher. The evidence also showed that the boy was killed and his body was dumped before the police arrived for the search.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-03/story/defense_to_begin_today_in_georgia_childs_slaying

[annalyzer]

Closing Arguments Monday In Edenfield Trial

Created: 10/4/2009 10:28:28 PM
Updated: 10/4/2009 11:12:24 PM

BRUNSWICK, GA -- The prosecution rested its case Sunday in the murder trial of David Edenfield. The defense also rested without calling any witnesses.

Edenfield is the first of three on trial for the death of a 6-year-old boy.

He's charged with molesting and murdering Christopher Barrios

Just before resting its case prosecutors played video of David Edenfield's wife, Peggy Edenfield, describing in horrific detail what happened in the last few minutes of Barrios' life.

"I heard him say stop, he was crying," Edendfield explains on the video.

Peggy Edenfield was on the witness stand for several hours Sunday testifying for the prosecution against her husband David Edenfield in his murder trial.

In the video played during her testimony she tells her police interviewers about watching her husband David Edenfield and their son George Edenfield molesting Barrios. "I tried to get them to stop, they wouldn't stop. I said you all stop," says Edenfield.

In cross examination defense attorney's tried to highlight some of the contradictions in Peggy Edenfield's testimony over the last two days. But the video clearly laid out what is at the heart of the prosecutions case, with Peggy Edenfield describing how when George and David Edenfield finished molesting Barrios they then, together choked the boy.

In the video Edenfield gestures to her own neck to show how it happened saying, "George had his hands like this and David had his hands on top of George's."

Both sides will present their closing arguments starting first thing Monday morning.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=146117&catid=3

[Roamer]

This was so terrible. I wish they would all three get the death penalty.

[nomadpatti]

This was so terrible. I wish they would all three get the death penalty.

ITA Roamer!
I am USUALLY not an advocate of the DP UNLESS it is totally proven beyond a reasonable dout what occurred.
The unspeakable, horriffic, and uncomprehensible acts on Christopher leaves me speechless. Their own graphic and vivid account of what to took place in his last few hours is more deserving of the DP than any case I can recall.

My heart breaks for his family that now have to live the nighmare in details spoken by these monsters!

Is there really enough JUSTICE for Christopher?

:1187603408.CR.Mothe:1187603408.CR.Mothe:118760340 8.CR.Mothe

Rest In Peace sweet boy! :1222423:

[annalyzer]

Edenfield Guilty Of Molestation, Murder
Same Jury Being Asked Whether Killer Receive Death Penalty

POSTED: Monday, October 5, 2009
UPDATED: 6:47 pm EDT October 5, 2009

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- After jurors heard days of videotaped interviews in which David Edenfield admitted helping his son rape and kill a 6-year-old neighbor, it took them only two hours Monday afternoon to find him guilty of murder and seven other charges.

That same jury was immediately put to work deciding whether Edenfield should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison for the molestation and slaying of Christopher Barrios in March 2007.

In closing arguments Monday morning, the defense blamed Barrios' death on the defendant's son, George, who is awaiting trial in the slaying the boy's molestation and slaying more than two years ago.

Prosecutors told the jury both men were responsible, and both should be convicted.

"Why would anyone want to rape a child. Why would anyone want to murder a child," District Attorney Stephen Kelley said in his closing statement. "It tears the very fabric of my soul to shreds just thinking about the answers to those questions."

Within hours, the jury found Edenfield, 61, guilty of murder, false imprisonment, three counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of cruelty to children, one count of concealing a death and one count of tampering with evidence.

The victim's father, who had not talked with the media during the six-day trial, smiled as he left the courtroom after hearing the verdict.

"The truth came out in court," Michael Barrios said.

The verdict was reached on the fifth day of the trial, which had continued through the weekend with two days of testimony and cross-examination of Edenfield's wife, Peggy, who is also facing murder charges in the March 2007 slaying.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death of Peggy Edenfield, 58, in exchange for her agreeing to testify against her husband and son. In rambling statements that were sometimes contradictory, she gave details of her husband and son raping and killing Barrios.

"I tried to get my husband’s hands off my son's, then tried to get my son's hands off Christopher's," testified Edenfield.

Edenfield admitted she did not call 911 or seek any help for the boy.

George Edenfield, 34, is expected to face trial next and will also face the death penalty if convicted. Neither that trial nor one for Peggy Edenfield has been scheduled.

http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/21202547/detail.html

[LiveLaughLuv]

I don't think anyone thought he (David E) didn't kill Christopher...now I want to know if he will be given a life sentence or a death sentence...

This baffles me..

The verdict was reached on the fifth day of the trial, which had continued through the weekend with two days of testimony and cross-examination of Edenfield's wife, Peggy, who is also facing murder charges in the March 2007 slaying.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death of Peggy Edenfield, 58, in exchange for her agreeing to testify against her husband and son. In rambling statements that were sometimes contradictory, she gave details of her husband and son raping and killing Barrios.

"I tried to get my husband’s hands off my son's, then tried to get my son's hands off Christopher's," testified Edenfield.

Edenfield admitted she did not call 911 or seek any help for the boy.

I wonder "how" much she really tried to help Christopher? Is this all just to avoid death? How can the state take her testimony as gospel truth? She may be saying things just to save her own hide? Outrageous to me but at least I didn't hear she won't be tried for murder...she too faces a murder charge...:45024:


The victim's father, who had not talked with the media during the six-day trial, smiled as he left the courtroom after hearing the verdict.

"The truth came out in court," Michael Barrios said.

Yes, he has much to smile about as the truth came out and this POS was found guilty of Christophers murder, I too would be happy...God Bless Michael Barrios for he had a heavy burden to carry, sitting though this testimony must have been so difficult hearing what his son's last moments were and how he was made to suffer through them. :give_rose:

:45024: Justice prevails....:party52:

[Roamer]

One of the articles included Peggy in "gratifying themselves sexually" after the murder.

[LiveLaughLuv]

One of the articles included Peggy in "gratifying themselves sexually" after the murder.

That's what I'm saying, Roamer...she claims to have tried to remove her son and husbands hands from around Christopher's throat. I don't buy that...I think she just sat there and watched as they tortured and raped Christopher while she sat masturbating.....:cray: She is a mother herself, how does she find that sexually stimulating...it's torture, Christopher was tortured....:madranting94dp:

[Pandabear]

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/man-guilty-of-murdering-155187.html

Man guilty of murdering boy in Ga. trailer park

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A jury deliberated for about two hours Monday before finding a Georgia man guilty of murder and child molestation in the death of a 6-year-old boy whose body was later discovered wrapped in trash bags and dumped near a road.

The jury in coastal Brunswick convicted David Edenfield, 61, in the March 2007 sexual assault and choking death of young Christopher Michael Barrios.

The jury now must decide whether to sentence Edenfield to death or life in prison.

Edenfield is the first of three suspects to stand trial for the boy's slaying. His wife and grown son have also been charged with molesting and killing the boy, then hiding his body.

The sentencing phase of the trial began soon after the verdict with Christopher's family telling jurors of the boy's smile — brightened by stainless-steel caps on his front teeth — and the grief that still lingers 2 1/2 years later.

"Sometimes you just want to die, or catch yourself looking for Christopher to come home as if it never happened," said Sue Rodriguez, Christopher's grandmother.

The boy lived in a Brunswick mobile home park where his father and grandmother had homes. He would pass the Edenfields' trailer when walking between them.

Because of pretrial publicity, the jury was selected from residents who live some 90 miles away, and the jurors were sequestered in Brunswick, 60 miles south of Savannah.

District Attorney Stephen Kelley, in his closing argument to the jury, described the slain kindergartner as a "precious blessing, thrown away in a trash bag."

"Why would anyone want to rape a child? Why would anyone murder a child?" Kelley said, sounding both close to tears and rage. "It tears the very fabric of my soul to shreds just thinking about those questions."

Kelley replayed for the jury portions of Edenfield's videotaped confession in which he described watching, along with his wife, as their grown son stripped the boy and molested him in their mobile home.

On the tape, Edenfield said he rubbed his partially undressed body against Barrios, who begged them to stop, then placed his own hands on top of his son's as his son choked the boy to death.

"It's my fault. I should've been a grown man and stopped it right then, but I didn't," the elder Edenfield tells a police detective on the tape, recorded a day after the boy's body was found. "I should be punished for the crime."

Defense Attorney James Yancey Jr. urged jurors not to assume Edenfield's confession was genuine. Edenfield, Yancey said, likely told police what they wanted to hear after investigators repeatedly assured him he'd done nothing wrong and wouldn't go to jail as long as he told the truth.

He described the defendant, who sat passively in the courtroom, as a man who worked long hours at a fast-food restaurant to support a wife and son who left him feeling defeated.

He said Edenfield knew his wife, Peggy Edenfield, was unfaithful to him and their 34-year-old son, George Edenfield, was both mentally disabled and a convicted child molester whose behavior was beyond his father's control.

After the verdict, a forensic psychologist hired by Edenfield's attorneys told jurors that tests showed Edenfield to be "psychotic but technically competant to stand trial."

Dr. James E. Stark, whose testimony jurors would weigh during sentencing, said Edenfield showed symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia and had a lower-than-average IQ.

"He's in poor touch with reality," Stark testified. "He may have hallucinations and some kinds of delusional thinking."

In an earlier police interview from March 2007, also shown to the jury, Edenfield acknowledged he had been charged with incest in 1994, when he was accused of having sex with an adult relative who was not his son.

Edenfield pleaded guilty to the charge, but in the police interview he denied wrongdoing. He said the relative was angry with him and made up the accusation.

------------------------------------------------------


If this crime doesn't scream for the death penalty, I don't know what does. Take this one to death row then bring on the son and the so called mother.

RIP sweet Christopher.:1222423:

[Faith]

Man Found Guilty of Murdering Boy, 6, in Georgia Trailer Park

10/6/09

http://www.foxnews.com/images/269353/5_62_Edenfield_george.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,560662,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime

[Faith]

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/man-guilty-of-murdering-155187.html




If this crime doesn't scream for the death penalty, I don't know what does. Take this one to death row then bring on the son and the so called mother.

RIP sweet Christopher.:1222423:

I hope he fries.

Rest in peace precious child, you hurt no more.You are safe from the evils of David Edenfield :1222423:

[annalyzer]

Man Found Guilty of Murdering Boy, 6, in Georgia Trailer Park

10/6/09

http://www.foxnews.com/images/269353/5_62_Edenfield_george.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,560662,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime

http://www.foxnews.com/images/269711/6_46_edenfield_david.jpg
David Edenfield, Found Guilty

[Nut44x4]

Ga. man ordered to die in boy's molestation, death

Oct. 6, 2009, 7:23PM

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A Georgia man was sentenced to death Tuesday for molesting and strangling a 6-year-old boy inside a mobile home before the child's body was wrapped in trash bags and dumped near a road.

Jurors deliberated two hours before unanimously agreeing on a death sentence for 61-year-old David Edenfield. He was convicted Monday of aggravated child molestation and murder in the March 2007 slaying of Christopher Michael Barrios.

Edenfield stood passively as the judge read his sentence, and the victim's family silently dabbed at tears.

Edenfield was the first of three family members to stand trial in the case. His wife and their 34-year-son have also been charged with abducting, molesting and killing the boy.

"He got his justice — Christopher got it today," said Sue Rodriguez, the boy's grandmother, smiling through tears. "Now we've got two more to go."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6655579.html

[LiveLaughLuv]

A Georgia man was sentenced to death Tuesday for molesting and strangling a 6-year-old boy inside a mobile home before the child's body was wrapped in trash bags and dumped near a road.

Jurors deliberated two hours before unanimously agreeing on a death sentence for 61-year-old David Edenfield. He was convicted Monday of aggravated child molestation and murder in the March 2007 slaying of Christopher Michael Barrios.

Edenfield stood passively as the judge read his sentence, and the victim's family silently dabbed at tears.

Edenfield was the first of three family members to stand trial in the case. His wife and their 34-year-son have also been charged with abducting, molesting and killing the boy.

"He got his justice — Christopher got it today," said Sue Rodriguez, the boy's grandmother, smiling through tears. "Now we've got two more to go."

Absolutely the right verdict. Absolutely the perfect verdict and am so glad these jurors saw this crime for what it was...:love0085:

Now to wait for the years and years of appeals before his sentence is carried out...

My Blessings to the Barrios family...:1222423:

They are so right, one down and two more to go...IMO, the parents will be given a life sentence. After all the mother made that deal, no DP against her but still can be put away for the rest of her nasty life, whatever life she may have left, it will be considered a death sentence at their ages...:madranting94dp:

[annalyzer]

They are so right, one down and two more to go...IMO, the parents will be given a life sentence. After all the mother made that deal, no DP against her but still can be put away for the rest of her nasty life, whatever life she may have left, it will be considered a death sentence at their ages...:madranting94dp:


David Edenfield was just given the death penalty. He is the father of George. George also faces the death penalty.

Peggy should've also faced death but they took it off the table in exchange for her testimony against her husband and son.

[LiveLaughLuv]

David Edenfield was just given the death penalty. He is the father of George. George also faces the death penalty.

Peggy should've also faced death but they took it off the table in exchange for her testimony against her husband and son.

I confused the names, eh....Shoot I thought this was George...I saw the photo above and just ass....I know what they say about assuming...:duh:

So I have to change my last paragraph in the post before this...LOL :0t31:

Originally Posted by LiveLaughLuv
They are so right, one down and two more to go...IMO, the parents will be given a life sentence. After all the mother made that deal, no DP against her but still can be put away for the rest of her nasty life, whatever life she may have left, it will be considered a death sentence at their ages...

The son and mother now face a trial, she will undoubtedly get a life sentence which at her age would be a death sentence...the son George will hopefully get the same fate as his daddy...DP is what they all deserved but will be satsified with two DP and one LWOP...:6u8ky2o:


ETA
Where are my manners....
Thanks Anna for the correction.,

[Roamer]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/21255131/detail.html

Christopher Barrios' Family Suing Soapnet

Soapnet Used 6-Year-Old Boy's Picture In Episode Of General Hospital


POSTED: Friday, October 9, 2009
UPDATED: 10:27 pm EDT October 9, 2009


(http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/#)
BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- The family of Christopher Barrios has filed a lawsuit against the cable channel Soapnet.

Last year, a photo of the 6-year-old boy who was killed in 2007 appeared in an episode of the show General Hospital Night Shift.


In the show, he was portraying Billy Dee Williams' long lost son. In the scene, Williams' character received a letter and a photo from a son he supposedly abandoned.


The family did not authorize any use of the picture. Now they're suing Soapnet for using it.


It's been almost a year since Channel 4 showed the video clip to Christopher's grandmother, Sue Rodriguez.

Video: http://helpfindthemissing.org/sh/images/ibs_icon/post/video.gifBarrios' Family Suing Soapnet (http://helpfindthemissing.org/video/21256696/index.html)


"They ain't got no right doing that. Not a bit of right," Rodriguez said at the time.


Mark Gelman, the family's attorney, said he has spent the last several months trying to get answers from Soapnet and ABC to find out how this happened.


When the picture first appeared, ABC told Channel 4 it was a mistake, and they apologized.


They also produced a series of public service announcements on missing and exploited children they aired on Soapnet in Christopher's honor.


Gelman said he hasn't had much luck getting specific answers from Soapnet on how this happened. By filing an invasion of privacy lawsuit, he said they'll have to answer his questions.


Then, he said, he'll be able to determine if it was a just an honest mistake like the television station claims it was.

[sarahhod]

Edenfield son next in slaying trial

George Edenfield’s mental disability is stirring debate over sentencing



By Teresa Stepzinski (http://jacksonville.com/authors/teresa_stepzinski)
Story updated at 1:34 AM on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009


BRUNSWICK — With his father convicted Monday and condemned Tuesday, George Edenfield will be the next to stand trial in the sexual abuse slaying of their 6-year-old neighbor Christopher Michael Barrios Jr., which was more than 2.5 years ago.
George Edenfield will be confronted with much of the same evidence used successfully against his father, and he’ll face the same possible penalty: death. No date has been set for the next legal round.
But his limited mental capacity may ultimately prevent him from ever getting the death penalty.
In a recorded confession, David Edenfield said he and his son sodomized then choked the boy to death on March 8, 2007. George Edenfield brought the boy into their home under the pretext of playing video games, his mother, Peggy Edenfield testified during her husband’s trial.
Both said their son is developmentally disabled but also said he knows right from wrong.
With David Edenfield’s conviction and sentencing, Christopher’s father, Mike Barrios, said he was able to smile after crying so hard and so much over his son’s death that “my eyes were sore from wiping them.”
The family is steeling themselves for the next round of trials.
“We’re holding up our end of the bargain. We’ve had Christopher’s back all his life, and we still do,” Barrios said.
They’re also bracing themselves for the likelihood that even if convicted, George Edenfield could escape the death penalty, Christopher’s grandmother, Sue Rodriguez, said.
“I’d like to see him get the death penalty. That’s what he deserves. But in a way, I don’t think that he will because they say he is mentally retarded,” Rodriguez said Friday.
During the trial, prosecutors acknowledged as much saying George has the mind of a 5-year-old. But in her testimony, Peggy Edenfield said her son knows right from wrong, and David Edenfield said the same in his recorded confession.
In a DVD recording of a conversation between them, George is seen explaining bail procedures to his mother after their arrests following Christopher’s disappearance. Prosecutors played the March 13, 2007, recording during the elder Edenfield’s trial.
Before George Edenfield can stand trial for murder, however, there must be a civil trial to determine if he is mentally competent.
“I expect the court to have some pretrial hearings on the competency issue in the coming weeks,” but no schedule has been set, District Attorney Stephen Kelley said.
At issue is whether George Edenfield understands the court proceedings and is competent to assist his lawyers, Gerald Word and Todd Wooten, in his own defense.
Word and Wooten could not be reached for comment. They have asserted George Edenfield is mentally incompetent, incapable of understanding the nature or importance of the proceedings and has been unable to assist them.
The night Christopher disappeared, George told Glynn County police he killed Christopher because the devil told him to do it. He later recanted.
After being arrested, he was agitated but appeared to understand the seriousness of the situation. He and his mother talked about what they had told detectives, and hashed out what they would tell them in the future, the recording shows.
“I don’t want to go to prison …What are you going to tell them?” asked George. He later explained bail procedures to his mother who, unlike him, had never been arrested before.
“You’ve got to see the judge and get a bond,” he said.
Classified as mentally retarded in school, he attended special education classes but graduated from high school, records show.
Georgia law is clear regarding defendants with diminished mental capacity, said District Attorney Rick Currie of Waycross.
“If a criminal defendant is found guilty but mentally retarded beyond a reasonable doubt, the only sentence possible is life with eligibility for parole,” said Currie, who has tried several death penalty cases in the Waycross Judicial Circuit in which mental disabililty has been an issue.
It took a six-man, six-woman jury selected in Jeff Davis County two hours Monday to convict David Edenfield and a few minutes longer Tuesday to authorize the death penalty.
Glynn County Sheriff Wayne Bennett said it will be six to 12 weeks before David Edenfield is transferred to prison.
At 61, he is the oldest of the 110 people sentenced to be executed in Georgia.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-11/story/edenfield_son_next_in_slaying_trial

[LiveLaughLuv]

If he graduated high school, if he explained the bail procedures to his mother, I think he knows enough to know how to go about doing things. He understands right from wrong and that is the most important aspect. Someone could be intellectually challenged but that doesn't mean he doesn't know right from wrong, heck even a 5 y/o knows right from wrong. :g:

Let him go through the competency hearings when he is found competent enough to stand trial, he too deseves to be put to death for what was done to Christopher...:1222423:

[Roamer]

I'd like to know what you all think about them using Christopher's picture on General Hospital Night Shift. (He was supposed to be the son of a character.)

I think it was wrong, wrong, wrong.

[LiveLaughLuv]

I'd like to know what you all think about them using Christopher's picture on General Hospital Night Shift. (He was supposed to be the son of a character.)

I think it was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Oh, that bypassed me, Roamer...:blondblush113268230

Of course it was wrong. Soapnet had no permission from the family. What they should do is compensate them for using Christophers photo..

When the picture first appeared, ABC told Channel 4 it was a mistake, and they apologized.

They also produced a series of public service announcements on missing and exploited children they aired on Soapnet in Christopher's honor.

Gelman said he hasn't had much luck getting specific answers from Soapnet on how this happened. By filing an invasion of privacy lawsuit, he said they'll have to answer his questions.

Then, he said, he'll be able to determine if it was a just an honest mistake like the television station claims it was.

I don't know what to say. Seems they tried to make ammends to the Berrios family for their unauthorized use of Christopher's photo. It's nice they did public service announcements in Christopher's name but the family should be compensated a little more than that. Someone goofed and they will have to tell it in front of the judge...:INhouseReading04:

[sarahhod]

I'd like to know what you all think about them using Christopher's picture on General Hospital Night Shift. (He was supposed to be the son of a character.)

I think it was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Lawsuit filed against SOAPnet over use of Barrios' photo


By Teresa Stepzinski (http://jacksonville.com/authors/teresa_stepzinski)
Story updated at 7:16 AM on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009
http://jacksonville.com/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/editorial/images/additional/109/ga_01barriosphoto103.jpg (http://jacksonville.com/files/editorial/images/additional/109/ga_01barriosphoto103.jpg)
CHRIS VIOLA/The Times-Union
Sue Rodriguez holds a photograph of her grandson, Christopher Barrios Jr.


(http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=162etubnv/M=600339108.600347815.403884708.403529988/D=ncnws/S=2022775850:LREC/Y=PARTNER_US/L=f07eb51c-b989-11de-9d31-63f8f031553d/B=iQtEAEwNiZE-/J=1255611296427307/K=nakuN2Ng1UJ0bdF6I5WbTg/EXP=1255618496/A=1734671612614829750/R=0/X=2/SIG=14l7auu23/*http://www.volkswagenoforangepark.com/new-inventory/index.htm?reset=InventoryListing&utm_source=jax.com&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=superfection)http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=f07eb51c-b989-11de-9d31-63f8f031553d&T=1991pfqgr%2fX%3d1255611296%2fE%3d2022775850%2fR% 3dncnws%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d8.1%2fW%3d0%2fY%3dPARTNER_US %2fF%3d1201875669%2fH%3dYWx0c3BpZD0iOTY3MjgzMTUxIi BzZXJ2ZUlkPSJmMDdlYjUxYy1iOTg5LTExZGUtOWQzMS02M2Y4 ZjAzMTU1M2QiIHNpdGVJZD0iMTA2NjU1MSIgdFN0bXA9IjEyNT U2MTEyOTY0MTgzODciIHRhcmdldD0iX3RvcCIg%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d23558862&U=13usp9ec8%2fN%3diQtEAEwNiZE-%2fC%3d600339108.600347815.403884708.403529988%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d1734671612614829750%2fV%3d2

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The father and grandmother of slain 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. think his photograph was used as prop on a cable television soap opera as the result of a “sick, demented and cruel” prank by an as yet unknown person, their lawyer said Wednesday.
Christopher Michael “Mike” Barrios and his mother, Sue Rodriguez, have filed separate but nearly identical lawsuits accusing SOAPnet of invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Each is seeking up to $75,000 in damages from the network, according to the lawsuits filed in Glynn County State Court on Oct. 8 — two days after a jury authorized the death penalty for David Edenfield, the first of three former neighbors charged with sexually assaulting and strangling the Brunswick boy.
More than money, Christopher’s father and grandmother want answers, their attorney Mark Gelman of Jacksonville said.
“They have given me permission to dismiss the lawsuits if we find out this was an innocent mistake,” Gelman said.
Although the network has apologized and said it was a mistake, it has not explained how the photograph ended up in an episode of “General Hospital: Night Shift” broadcast nationwide on Oct. 14, 2008, he said.
The photo was a prop depicting the abandoned son of a character portrayed by actor Billy Dee Williams. It resembled photos the Barrios family released to the news media and on fliers to enlist the public’s help finding Christopher when he disappeared.
Gelman said they have not been allowed to interview the soap opera’s prop master in the year since the episode aired, prompting Barrios and Rodriguez to file suit in an effort to find out what happened and why.
They suspect Christopher’s photo was picked because of what happened to him, Gelman said. It would have been “virtually impossible” to find a photograph of Christopher on the Internet that was not accompanied by information about his disappearance and killing, he said.
“We do believe it was a prank; a sick, twisted prank,” he said. “… If we find out that the prop master or someone else knew about Christopher and used the photo because he was abducted, raped and murdered, then we will pursue this full force all the way to trial.”
No one from the network returned calls seeking comment. A spokeswoman previously told The Times-Union the show’s production team “would never have knowingly chosen that particular photo” if it had known it was Christopher, and described its use as “a terrible error.”
Within two weeks of learning of it, the network issued an apology and broadcast a series of public service announcements to raise awareness of missing and exploited children.
None of that answered the family’s questions, nor lessened their trauma, Gelman said.
“Both Sue and Mike feel so used and totally exploited by SOAPnet,” he said.
The soap opera’s use of the photo has “exacerbated the severe emotional distress” including depression and post-traumatic stress that they have suffered as a result of Christopher’s death, according to the lawsuits.
Gelman hopes to begin taking depositions of soap opera personnel in about four months.
“I’d like this to be resolved before the next criminal trial in Christopher’s case,” he said.
Christopher was abducted, sexually assaulted and slain March 8, 2007. His decomposed body was found a week later wrapped in five plastic garbage bags and dumped in woods about two miles from his home north of Brunswick.
An imported jury convicted David Edenfield, 61, of malice murder and seven related charges Oct. 5, and imposed the death penalty the following day.
In a recorded confession, David Edenfield said he and his son, George Edenfield, sodomized then choked the boy to death. A convicted child molester, George Edenfield, lured Christopher into their home under the pretext of playing video games, testified Peggy Edenfield, who is David’s wife and George’s mother.
George Edenfield, 34, will stand trial next and faces the death penalty if convicted. However, he first must undergo a civil trial to determine if he is mentally competent. No date has been set for either trial.
Peggy Edenfield, 58, will be tried last. She will not face the death penalty. If convicted of murder, the only sentence possible is life with parole, and she likely would serve 30 years before becoming eligible for release, prosecutors have said.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-14/story/lawsuit_filed_against_soapnet_over_use_of_barrios_ photo