Billy Bob's Daughter-Indicted For Murder

Billy Bob Thornton’s daughter has been indicted on charges of murder and manslaughter after a one-year-old baby died while she she was supposed to be caring for it. An autopsy of the toddler indicated that the little girl died of blunt trauma to the head.

Amanda Brumfield - Thornton’s 29-year-old child from his marriage to first wife Melissa Gatlin - was arrested in May (09) following an incident last October (08), when a one-year-old girl she was babysitting allegedly fell from a playpen and hit her head.

At the time of her arrest in Florida, Brumfield’s mom claimed her daughter fell asleep with the infant - and it was only two hours later, when she awoke to find the baby’s still body, that she noticed something was terribly wrong and called for an ambulance.Gatlin said, “When you have a situation that does not indicate distress… there are no signs of distress, then there is no reason to immediately call police.”

Brumfield said she noticed the baby’s tongue was bleeding after the fall and cleaned it with a paper towel.She claimed she then played with the child, who seemed ‘happy’, and fed her bananas and fruit snacks.Brumfield told police she laid the child next to her on the couch and fell asleep.She says she was woken up by a phone call and went to take the child back to the playpen, only to find her body was limp when she lifted her.

But authorities claimed Brumfield’s explanation was inconsistent with the baby’s injuries and ruled the tragic death a homicide after autopsy results showed the baby died from a fractured skull and a subdural haematoma due to blunt trauma.Police say Brumfield’s call for help did not come until two-and-a-half hours after the original fall.

Brumfield was formerly charged with a number of crimes on Wednesday (24Jun09), including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter.She is being held without bail at Orange County Jail.

Billy Bob Thornton’s publicist told CNN news that Thornton is estranged from Amanda and has had no contact with her for quite some time. Arnold Robinson told CNN in a written statement: ‘When informed about this situation, he [Billy Bob] commented that, “‘Anytime a baby’s life is lost is an unimaginable tragedy and my heart goes out to the baby’s family and loved ones’”.

The actor’s first wife, Melissa Parish said her daughter, an unemployed bank loan officer, was close friends with the baby’s mother and couldn’t have harmed the little girl named Olivia.
‘It’s a tragic situation, she loved that little so much and it [her death] just crushed her, just devastated her,” Parish told The New York Post recently.
‘She was Olivia’s godmother and the mother’s best friend. It’s just a horrible situation and it’s being made worse and exploding even more just because of who my ex-husband is.’

I understand Amanda's mother defending her and standing by her,but the circumstances just look too suspicious. I if she is guilty, I hope she is not let off with a slap on the hand as so many famous or near famous people are in America.