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ZEBULON - In March of 2022, Pike residents Tyler Alexander and Tarilyn Lester were charged with 8 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree and 8 counts of aggravated battery based on 10 broken bones on their baby with the injuries found to be in 3 stages of healing—acute, healing, and healed. The baby was only 8 weeks old at the time of these injuries.

The District Attorney’s Office presented the case before a jury in Pike County Superior Court over the past 2 weeks with the case coming to a close on Thursday, May 9. Months had been spent in preparation for the presentation of this case.

There was 6 days of testimony. During this time, 12 doctors from across the state were brought in to testify about the baby’s injuries. Testimony included 4 different hospitals.

The baby was 8 weeks old and had spent 11 days in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The baby had subconjunctival hematomas that showed trauma to his eyes.

District Attorney Marie Broder advised Pike County Times that all of these witnesses called to the stand said that the baby is fine with no genetic disorder, and all agreed that this was child abuse.

Broder advised that hundreds of medical records were presented to the jury during the course of the trial. The family spoke during the trial as well as the presentation that was made by the DA’s Office of first eight weeks of life including the 11 days spent in NICU.

“Baby P was with his parents for seven weeks, and all he felt was pain because he was abused. Twelve doctors from all over the state testified that this was abuse, and it was not a disorder,” said Broder. “It’s abuse, and babies are a gift that should be cherished.”

She said that all Baby P felt was pain in 3 stages of abuse from being injured three times and urged the jury to convict Tyler Alexander and Tarilyn Lester saying that they “should be charged accordingly.” The jury convicted on all but 4 counts.

After the verdict of guilty was given, Judge Ben Miller Jr. sentenced Tyler Alexander and Tarilyn Lester to 15 years on probation with 18 months to serve.

More information is included in the article below.

Thank you to First Bank of Pike for sponsoring Pike County Times’ Breaking News Alerts! First Bank of Pike has been serving customers in Pike County and the surrounding area since 1901 and offers Personal and Business banking with a personal touch. Services include checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and IRA’s. Mobile Banking and Bill Payment services are also available! Click here for more. Please let First Bank of Pike know that you appreciate their sponsorship of Breaking News Alerts on Pike County's only FREE online newspaper!

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ZEBULON - On Thursday, May 9, 2024, a Pike County jury returned guilty verdicts against Tarilyn Allie Lester Alexander and Joseph Tyler Alexander on eight counts of Aggravated Battery and four counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree. The verdict followed a six day trial tried by District Attorney Marie Broder and Administrative Chief ADA Kate Lenhard. The case concerned repeated physical abuse to the defendants’ eight week old infant son.

The jury heard evidence that the victim had been in his parents’ sole custody for less than seven weeks as he had spent the first ten days of his life in the NICU. After being released from the hospital to his parents’ care, the victim was soon diagnosed with reflux. Soon thereafter, he began to develop bruising on his face and on his testicle, as well as subconjunctival hemorrhages (broken blood vessels in the eyes). By the time he was eight weeks old, the victim had 11 broken bones in multiple different stages of healing and hemorrhages in both eyes. The investigation showed the victim had suffered horrific abuse on multiple occasions. When confronted with the multiple injuries, the defendants offered no explanation of any trauma, either purposeful or accidental. Doctors from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta diagnosed the victim’s injuries as consistent with non-accidental trauma.

During the pendency of the case, the defendants hired doctors to testify that the victim had a connective tissue disorder known as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which explained his broken bones. The State brought eleven of the victim’s treating doctors and one pediatric nurse practitioner to testify. The medical witnesses represented four different major hospital systems in Georgia (Piedmont, Emory, Navicent, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta), as well as two different local pediatric practices. All said that there was only one explanation consistent with all of the victim’s injuries and that was abuse. Several doctors who treat patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome specifically testified that it does not cause injuries like those suffered by the victim. Jurors also heard that the victim has not had one single broken bone since he was removed from the defendants’ care.

The jury deliberated for just over five hours before returning guilty verdicts against both parents on twelve of sixteen counts. The defendants faced 240 years in prison for systematically breaking their eight week old son.

Judge Ben Miller, Jr. sentenced them to 15 years of probation with 18 months in custody. Once they are released from prison, they may again have contact with their son.

Thank you to First Bank of Pike for sponsoring Pike County Times’ Breaking News Alerts! First Bank of Pike has been serving customers in Pike County and the surrounding area since 1901 and offers Personal and Business banking with a personal touch. Services include checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and IRA’s. Mobile Banking and Bill Payment services are also available! Click here for more. Please let First Bank of Pike know that you appreciate their sponsorship of Breaking News Alerts on Pike County's only FREE online newspaper!

INFORMATION ABOUT RECEIVING BREAKING NEWS ALERTS CAN BE FOUND, HERE.

Thanks for reading and supporting Pike County Times.com!