Jury convicts Tucson couple in fatal child abuse case

However, after listening to more than three weeks of testimony, much of it from doctors, the jury did not find that Penny and Randall West “knowingly and intentionally” caused Emily Mays’ death, as prosecutors alleged.

The jury convicted Penny West of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause death, but they found that she acted with criminal negligence. The jury convicted Randall West of child abuse under circumstances not likely to cause death and that he committed the abuse in a reckless manner.

Deputy Pima County Attorney Susan Eazer said the jury apparently believes Randall West caused Emily’s brain injury, but he did not realize the injury could result in her death. The jury apparently believed Penny West knew about Emily’s injury, but didn’t seek help for her despite knowing she could die, Eazer said.

Both are eligible for probation. Their sentencing date is set for Sept. 15.

Most of those in the standing-room-only crowd were supporters of the Wests. Many cried in elation after the first “not guilty” verdicts were read, but then turned stone silent when the “guilty” verdict came down.

Randall West mouthed the words “thank you” to the jurors after the first “not guilty” verdict, then shook his head the rest of the proceeding.

Had the Wests been convicted of “knowingly and intentionally” causing Emily’s death they would have faced between 17 and 27 years in prison.

Emily and two of her sisters came to live with the Wests about a month before Emily's death because the youngest sister tested positive for drugs at her birth.

According to court testimony, Emily was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital on the morning of Aug. 24, 2005, after Penny West dialed 911 and reported the child was unresponsive after a fall.

The child underwent surgery at Tucson Medical Center, but she was taken off life-support several hours later and died.

A pathologist determined Emily died as a result of blunt-force trauma.

Autopsy reports indicate Emily suffered a massive subdural hematoma, when blood collects underneath the protective lining of the brain. Her brain swelled so much it shifted to one side. She also had retinal hemorrhages.

Penny West told doctors and police Emily bent forward, stood up and then collapsed backward, hitting her head, shortly after she’d walked the baby down a flight of stairs.

Over the course of the trial approximately a dozen doctors gave their opinions about the cause of Emily’s death.

Doctors for the state testified Emily had to have been struck in the head or severely shaken.

Doctors hired by the defense testified Emily's injuries could have been caused by a short fall or a series of short falls. Some also testified she may have suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that made her more susceptible to brain bleeds.

Eazer and fellow prosecutor Michelle Araneta told jurors there were other reasons to believe Emily’s death was suspicious.

According to court testimony, the Wests’ daughters, then ages 7 and 10, told police their mother, Penny West, had stripped the baby to check for bruises after the baby collapsed.

In addition, Penny West’s oldest son, Michael Webb, then 17, told police he heard his mother repeatedly muttering, "I should have carried her upstairs" later that night.

The prosecutors and detectives believed this was suspicious because Penny West gave inconsistent statements about the night before the baby died.

At first, Penny West told detectives the baby was feeling fine and was put to bed at her normal time of 7:30 p.m.

Later, after it was clear Emily was going to die, detectives asked Penny West if Randall West had been left alone with the baby when she left for a parent-teacher conference around 6 p.m.

At that point, Penny West said she’d put the baby to bed before she left for the conference because the baby had been feeling ill.

Defense attorney Steve Sherick pointed out during his closing argument that Penny West told detectives she should have carried Emily from her bedroom upstairs to the kitchen that morning. If she had, Penny reasoned, the baby wouldn’t have fallen.

Sherick also told jurors that Penny West even told the 911 operator that Emily had been suffering from diarrhea and dehydration.

The prosecutors also told jurors that phone records indicate the Wests made an unusually high number of calls to each other between the time Randall left the house and the 911 call. They speculated they began after Penny realized something was wrong with Emily.

Neither West told police about the phone calls despite being asked repeatedly to go over the events of that day, the prosecutors said.

Webb, who was in the car with Randall West for some of the calls, testified he and Randall West were arguing that morning and called Penny West to referee.

Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo presided over the trial.

Emily’s mother, Katherine Mays, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the state and the Wests.

The suit alleges that the state didn't adequately evaluate the baby's needs, placed the children in a home that was filled beyond capacity, didn't monitor the home or case managers well enough and didn't investigate allegations of abuse by Penny West. It also alleges that the state didn't properly notify the baby's family about her injuries, hospitalization and critical condition.

At the time of her death, Emily was one of four foster children living in the Wests' Southeast Side home with the Wests and their three biological children.

Mays, 31, is currently in prison on drug charges.