Escambia Mom Sentenced For Death Of 9-Year Old

May 28, 2019

An Escambia County woman has been sentenced to state prison for the death of her adopted daughter.

Grace Smith, 71,  received a 20-year sentence by Circuit Judge Jan Shackelford. She was previously found guilty of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse after Veronica Posey, her 325-pound niece Veronica Posey sat on 9-year old Derricka Lindsay as a form of punishment. Lindsay could not breathe and died.

On October 14, 2017, law enforcement was called to the home of Grace and James Smith for a report of an unresponsive child. It was later learned, Grace Smith had summoned her niece Veronica Posey to the home to assist her in disciplining her adopted children.

During the punishment, Posey sat on the child’s back for several minutes as she was bent facedown into the seat of a chair; and as a result, the child died from mechanical asphyxia. Evidence from the autopsy also showed the child had been severely beaten on the day(s) prior to her death, and both Posey and Grace Smith admitted to striking the child. James Smith was also present in the room when the death occurred. Both he and Grace Smith admitted being present and doing nothing to intervene with Posey’s method of discipline.

On March 15, Posey was convicted by an Escambia County jury of first degree felony murder and subsequently sentenced to life in state prison. On November 29, 2018, James Smith entered a plea straight to the court to one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child and received 10 years in state prison.

Comments

7 Responses to “Escambia Mom Sentenced For Death Of 9-Year Old”

  1. Tee bug on May 30th, 2019 6:03 pm

    Why didn’t all involve get the death penalty ?

  2. Chris Paul on May 29th, 2019 8:31 pm

    Demons are real and they operate in certain people;
    IM NOT excusing her behavior.
    If it was up to me? Fire up ol sparky

  3. bewildered on May 29th, 2019 9:13 am

    Now they need to sentence the individuals who allowed these people to adopt a young child with behavioral issues! Totally incompetent and stupid regardless of how many degrees they had obtained in life.

  4. Chris on May 28th, 2019 6:45 pm

    Evidently that child’s Life didn’t Matter.

  5. Matchbox on May 28th, 2019 5:25 pm

    Hopefully someone can return the favor and sit on you until death…rest in peace little angel

  6. Preston Hardy on May 28th, 2019 5:11 pm

    Derricka Lindsey never had a chance at life. Human potential is often so tragically wasted.

  7. w.w. on May 28th, 2019 2:31 pm

    Right where you belong…..

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News