RIPLEY, W.Va. — A Cottageville man is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday after being found guilty last month for the October 2016 death of an infant.
A Jackson County jury determined 33-year-old Benjamin Taylor was guilty of first-degree murder, death of a child by child abuse and sexual assault by a guardian in connection with the death of 10-month-old Emmaleigh Barringer at a Fairplain apartment.
Taylor testified in court he could not remember much about the night of Barringer’s death because he had been drinking most of that day. His attorney said DNA evidence did not link his client to the acts.
Amanda Adkins, Emmaleigh’s mother, testified she found Taylor over the daughter, noting blood in the area. The child died days after the attack.
The jury also determined Taylor should not receive mercy.