A Chicago grandmother has been found guilty of first-degree murder after strangling and brutally beating to death her 8-year-old granddaughter.
A Chicago grandmother has recently been found guilty of first-degree murder, after brutally beating her 8-year-old granddaughter to death in July 2013. Given the brutal nature of the crime, the 55-year-old Chicago grandmother might be ordered to serve a life sentence. During the trial, the woman showed no signs of remorse for her deed.
On Thursday, 55-year-old Helen Ford of Chicago was found guilty of beating her 8-year-old granddaughter to death back in July 2013. While the 8-year-old girl’s relatives burst into tears during the woman’s trial, Evelyn Clay, the judge who presided over Ford’s trial cried in outrage, declaring that the poor girl endured unimaginable torture before her death.
Despite the relative’s emotional response, the Chicago grandmother remained calm during the trial and showed no sign of regret. According to court documents, Helen Ford brutally beat and then strangled 8-year-old Gizzell Ford. The reason why the woman decided to torture and murder her granddaughter in cold blood remain unknown.
Furthermore, the evidence presented by the family’s prosecutors reveal that the girl was already dying at the time the Chicago grandmother attacked her. As the girl’s biological mother was homeless and destitute, the girl was sent to live with her father and grandmother.
During her stay, Ford and the girl’s father refused to give her food and water and did everything they could to keep her awake and alert. Gizzell’s autopsy revealed that, due to the inhumane treatment, the girl was suffering from kidney failure.
Probably the most haunting piece of evidence presented during Ford’s trial was Gizzell’s journal. In her last entry, the distressed girl wrote that she grew tired of her life and that she fears that she will soon be in great peril.
The prosecutors declared that the girl was sent to live with her grandmother and father since her mother was destitute. However, it turned out that Gizzell’s father is a convicted criminal and that he doesn’t have a job. All this time, the girl’s mother tried to regain custody.
Prior to the trial, the girl’s father was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, but the man died in prison after he had a heart attack. Now, the girl’s mother intends to file a lawsuit against DCFS, accusing a worker of overlooking the sign which might have pointed out that the girl was in distress after being sent to live with her grandmother and father.
Image source: Flickr
Joe Hennessey
