Doctor convicted in teen's starvation death

Makayla Normans doctor pleaded no contest to three misdemeanors Friday, becoming the last of five people to be convicted of crimes in connection with the 14-year-olds starvation death.

Margaret Edwards, 51, of Trotwood was convicted of three counts of failure to provide for a functionally impaired person. She will be sentenced May 16 in Montgomery County Juvenile Court.

Makayla, who had cerebral palsy, could not speak, move, or feed herself. She weighed 28 pounds when she died March 1, 2011. Her body was covered with filth and open bedsores, her hair and eyebrows were infested with lice, and her diaper and colon filled with feces, according to Dayton police.

Makaylas mother and her nurse are already serving prison terms. Two other nurses who were to supervise her care have also been convicted of felonies.

This case is heartbreaking, said Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. What was done to Makayla should never be done to any person, let alone a child. She was totally dependent on these dependents for her care and they failed her miserably.

Edwards was required to provide care and treatment for Makayla and to inspect the living conditions of her home, Heck said. She also faces procedings before the Ohio Medical Board concerning her license, Heck said.

Nurse Mollie Parsons was to work from 3 to 11 p.m. six days a week caring for Makayla, while the girls mother, Angela Norman, provided the care the remainder of the time, Dayton police Detective Rebecca Rose testified during a December 2011 court hearing. Rose said that though Parsons was rarely there when she was supposed to be, witness statements showed that Parsons was there that night.

Rose said the daily records kept by Parsons indicated Makayla was in good health with no problems and had been fed when Parsons left at 10 p.m. the day of her death. Two minutes later, Makaylas mother called 911 saying Makayla was having difficulty breathing. The child was rushed to the Childrens Medical Center of Dayton where she died at 10:30 p.m., Rose said.

Parsons, now 43, was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison; failure to provide for a functionally impaired person, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison; and a misdemeanor count of tampering with records. She pleaded guilty to all charges on Nov. 6 and was sentenced to 10 years, the maximum penalty, which the Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman called a travesty of justice.

Huffman is the same judge who sentenced Makaylas mother to nine years in prison in May. In that case, Angela Norman, now 44, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangering.

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Doctor convicted in teen's starvation death